Satoru Iwata Thinks Nintendo Isn’t Suffering After 30 Years in the Console Business on the NES’ 30th Anniversary

Satoru Iwata Thinks Nintendo Isn’t Suffering After 30 Years in the Console Business on the NES’ 30th Anniversary

Giuseppe Nelva July 15, 2013 11:03 AM EST

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the Nintendo Famicom in Japan, the same console that would then become massively popular in the west under the name Nintendo Entertainment System or NES for short.

On the occasion of this historical birthday, during an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Shinbun Nintendo’s honcho Satoru Iwata expressed confidence in the future, strong of the company’s past:

Coming from thirty years in the home console business, I don’t think we’re suffering.

We’ll have to see if Iwata-san is right about this, especially in light of the upcoming big releases on the Wii U starting with Pikmin 3. Of course the 3DS continues to print money, so there’s no problem in that area, but the word on the street is that achieving the previously announced 100 billion Yen operating income target for this fiscal year will be difficult.

That said, happy birthday old dear NES of mine, you’re still working after thirty long years, so here’s to you!