 Hey everyone, welcome back to Nintendo Prime and today we're gonna be going over Nintendo's shareholder Q&A because there were some very interesting comments on the future of Nintendo and Switch 2 and all of this, but I sort of refrained from covering a lot of this when it popped up earlier this week from the Japanese, well really it popped up last week because I wanted the official translations. A lot of stuff does get lost in translation so I wanted Nintendo's official interpretation in English and now we have the entire thing. I wanna go over all of the questions in today's video now before we do that I wanna remind you guys that we're on our road to 133, 150,000 subscribers really is the goal for 2023 and so I would appreciate if you would just subscribe to the channel. If you're enjoying stuff drop likes as well and maybe go down to the comment section and let me know what your top three favorite games of all time are really curious to see those lists. Now without further ado let's take a look at this stuff. So as you see here we have the 83rd annual general shareholders meeting and we're gonna go all the way up here to question one. It does note here that they do want the URL showed so here is the URL for you guys to go check this out for yourself but let's get into the actual Q and A. So question one it says it's convenient that games became unusable when you transitioned from one game system to the next like from Wii U to Nintendo Switch I'd like to know your thoughts about making digital games purchased for Nintendo Switch available on the next generation game console. So here is where we actually get to find out okay are we talking about backwards compatibility what's going on. Shantaro Furukawa representative director and president said Nintendo always looks at future hardware specifications from various angles but I would like to refrain from making any specific comments about future hardware at this time. Nintendo Switch software is marketed in various forms. In addition to the physical software sold on game cards in stores we sell digital software including downloadable versions of packaged software and download only software. In the case of Nintendo Switch many consumers play downloadable software and download only software and the proportion of digital sales is higher compared to previous generations of game systems. We aim to continue to offer unique entertainment via our integrated hardware software dedicated video game platform model and I believe you can look forward to that. So what you're seeing in this question here is where he kind of skirts around saying that there will be backwards compatibility. He does note that digital game availability and digital game sales are significantly higher and they want to continue to maybe increase those sales numbers and increase the integration between the hardware and software but that's really it. He's gonna stop and not be like hey it's gonna be backwards compatible. Remember this is a system they've confirmed exist but haven't really announced. So I'm not really surprised and not willing to go into the nitty gritty details at this time. The next question here says the campaign celebrating the 40th anniversary of the family computer system, Famicon was announced during the Nintendo Direct on 621, 2023. The game system was released as the Nintendo Entertainment System and markets outside Japan. My father played Famicon and I played Nintendo Switch. Nintendo is beloved by people across generations and borders but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this strength. So Furukawa says this year will mark the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Famicon in Japan. Looking back I was in the sixth grade when the Famicon was released over the years parents and grandparents that played games on Nintendo video game platforms with their children and grandchildren and that kind of fun shared across multiple generations can be seen all around the world. We recognize that this has become a major strength for Nintendo over the many years of our dedicated video game platform business. The value of the Nintendo brand today stems from so many people playing our games for so long and their nurturing of the many Nintendo characters and other Nintendo IP we strive to ensure that people worldwide will enjoy our game platforms for years to come by providing unique offering. So this is just getting into the whole culture of Nintendo and Nintendo gamers and fans how hey we were really ingrained in this world because Nintendo's been doing it for so long that there's many generations of people who have enjoyed Nintendo and that's obviously helped create sustainability over time. All right this next question you see actually deals with the Wii U a bit. The Wii U was launched around six years after the Wii. Crazy, right? And the Super Famicom was launched around seven years after the Famicom. Nintendo Switch has entered its seventh year and I gather it has come to its final phase. So can you tell us about the specific measures for transitioning to the next generation? Game system, as I said there's a lot of questions in here about this next system and this is a rather lengthy answer so let's see what Furukawa had to say. Nintendo Switch cumulative sales have exceeded 120 million units. In the history of our dedicated video game platform business there is never before been a time when we forecast annual hardware sales of 15 million units and software sales of 180 million units in the seventh year of a platform for Nintendo Switch that year ends in March of 2024. We believe that we have entered uncharted territory. It will not be easy for hardware sales to continue at the same pace going forward as seen in the past few years but we can take advantage of the large install base to create business opportunities for software among Nintendo Switch titles. There are some for which sales exceed 10 million units in just the first three days. Examples include last year's Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet and this year's the Legend of Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom. For our past platforms there's no examples of titles selling at such a pace, that's right. Those are the two fastest selling games in Nintendo history. By continuing to release new titles and also providing new add-on content for existing titles we hope people will keep playing Switch for a long time. Now let's get to where he actually addresses the question. Regarding the transition to the next generation platform, again he's using the word next generation. Just, I'm pointing out people were like doubting this whole next generation Switch mentioned in the FTC case. Did Nintendo really say next generation? They're saying next generation. So they are inferring that this next system is gonna be a generational leap. I just wanna clarify, there's been some conversation on that. In the past, hardware was the only way for us to connect with our consumers. And so with each new platform we needed to rebuild our relationships. This is key. But in the case of Nintendo Switch we can directly connect with a wide range of consumers via Nintendo accounts. More than 290 million Nintendo accounts have been created by people around the world, not only via our dedicated video game platform but also via mobile apps. Regarding the move from Nintendo Switch to the next generation platform we will make good use of the Nintendo account to make this transition smooth for our consumers. So this is one where he's reaffirming something they announced in a slide in 2021 where they said Nintendo accounts will be moving forward to the next Nintendo platform releasing in 20XX, right? They weren't gonna give us any dates that are even hinted at what that platform was but 2021 was the first time Nintendo publicly acknowledged they are working on their next system. And again, this is just reaffirmation Nintendo accounts will be moving forward but there was some interesting words in here. Like I said, the next generation, hey, this is a next generation device. It's not a Switch Pro. It's not just a simple we're making the same family of systems. Yes, they might still call it a Switch just like a PlayStation is a PlayStation and an Xbox is an Xbox but that doesn't mean it's not a next generation device. So they are working on a next generation device and Nintendo accounts will be forward compatible and they're hoping to make the transition smooth. This is where you might get into assuming there could be some backwards compatibility and stuff like that. Again, they already had a question on that that they didn't really address. So don't think we're necessarily gonna have backwards compatibility but if they wanna make the transition smooth it's not just about keeping the account system. You gotta actually transition to user base which you can only really do if that user base doesn't have to give up all the games they already own but hopefully Nintendo's figure that out. Next question, this may technical difficulties affected an official game tournament for Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet hosted by the Pokemon Company. Based on that experience, I'd like to hear about your initiatives for esports going forward. I really, really wish this would have been phrased to based on that experience and the promised update to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. What are you doing to address? Anyways, they're not getting into the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet performance issues. For Akawa, we are aware of technical issues you pointed out. The management of the Pokemon brand including general Pokemon events is handled by our affiliate, the Pokemon Company and we hope to continue working together with them to expand the world of Pokemon. Basically, hey, the issues with Pokemon are on the Pokemon Company. We are not gonna talk about that but we can tell you about our esports initiatives. Game tournaments, and we do not use the term esports for our game events, that was clarified. They don't like the term esports probably because that involves cash prizes and Nintendo wants nothing to do with that. Points out that they are an appealing way to enjoy games where many people could share the fun and excitement of the game together. At the same time and build enthusiasm. Nintendo itself has hosted a variety of other tournaments such as Splatoon. Koshien is always a way for people to continue playing the game and to generate interest among people who do not yet own the game. For this reason, we place great importance on having a wide range of people participate in our game tournaments regardless of age or gaming experience. Last year we held a variety of game tournaments at Nintendo Live 2022 in Japan. This year we're holding events for the first time in the US at Nintendo Live 2023 Seattle and it too will include game tournaments. Again, they're really avoiding the whole, what people really wanna know. Like don't avoid the term esports, just actually, Nintendo will likely never be all in on offering million dollar cash prizes in an official esport capacity. They've partnered with Panda for Smash Stuff and then that stuff's not really going well. I just, Nintendo really wants to avoid getting into esports in a more official capacity. But yeah, they do host tournaments that you get some bragging rights and some cool merch, I guess. It's weird. Question five, Nintendo is a company with its roots in the manufacturer and sale of Hanna Fuda. I don't know, I've never been able to pronounce it. It's playing cards and other playing cards. But in the field of trading card games, nothing new has been released since the Fire Emblem Zero Cypher for which support ended in 2022. What are your plans for card games going for? Very interesting. I'm assuming this must be an older shareholder that remembers when Nintendo was very prominent in this field. They haven't been prominent in it for a great number of years. It says, I cannot say anything specific about card games at the moment. If you consider Amiibo, it was originally a figurine product where you tap the figure of the gaming system for all sorts of connected gameplay, which is funny because that's still, you still can do that. But anyways, but it has since expanded to also include a card type product with the Animal Crossing Amiibo cards. Yeah. Those aren't playing cards, Nintendo. Those are just replacement for Amiibo. And there's a new company that provides entertainment. So if we come up with an idea that we think consumers will find interesting, we are ready to actively take up the challenge even in fields outside of dedicated video game platform business. Yeah. I mean, it's a non-answer. They really don't care that much about playing cards anymore. Question six, sales of Fire Emblem Engage, which was released on January 20, it seemed to be lower compared to Fire Emblem Three Houses, especially outside of Japan. For that previous installment, it felt like the excitement was maintained by the release of Fire Emblem Zero and related events. But those kinds of measures were lacking for Fire Emblem Engage. So why don't you consider more proactive measures? I don't know why people think the Fire Emblem card game was a big deal for Fire Emblem Three Houses, or three, that's a Tree Houses, three houses. Like, I honestly don't believe that that was really a major factor here, but I digress, let's see what Furukawa said. In order for consumers to keep their emotional attachment to game characters and IP, it is important that we not only provide new in-game offerings, but also appeal to those consumers in areas outside the game. And what I am saying here is not limited to any individual title. For instance, selling character merchandise at directly owned and operated official stores and working with our partner companies to sell licensed merchandise to provide opportunities for people to come in contact with Nintendo characters and Nintendo game worlds. Through these kinds of initiatives, we aim to continuously expand the number of people who have access to Nintendo IP. We appreciate your feedback about initiatives related to the Fire Emblem series. It's quite interesting that they're talking about this, like, hey, merchandise through our officially operated sort, there aren't that many officially operated stores. You need to go to like Nintendo World at Universal or Japan. It's not that easy to get your hands on all that stuff. Now they do have officially licensed merchandise to sell. Places like Walmart or whatever, but then it's just like Mario. Occasionally some Zelda. Like, it's not that expansive outside of those Nintendo stores. I would like to see Nintendo really expand that merchandise. I don't just mean like Lego sets. Like, I really want to see them expand all of their IP and maybe even get into some deals with Walmart or bigger retail chains where they could have like a section in the store that's like just Nintendo merchandise. I think it could do quite well, to be completely honest. I visited Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan the other day. It was a lot of fun, but the scale felt a little confined. Nintendo is a competitive company with its own characters. How about expanding the theme parks to more locations in the future? Okay, I mean, they want more theme parks for Akaba. There are plans to expand Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan by opening an area themed after Donkey Kong in 2024. That's just next year. It's not too far away. In addition, Universal Studios Japan began holding its no limit parade in March, including a Mario Kart float. And this summer, there's a plan to hold a water splashing festival called the Super Mario Power Up Summer. That sounds, that sounds a lot of fun for families. Following Super Nintendo World in Osaka, a Super Nintendo World area opened this year in the US and Hollywood. Super Nintendo World's also planning to open in the US city of Orlando and in Singapore, which we hope will provide a chance for more people around the world to come in contact with our characters. They're partnered with Universal. So anywhere that there's a universal park, that is where a Nintendo World's gonna open. Like it's pretty obvious those are where things are gonna be limited to, but they're gonna keep expanding. Like I understand that it seems confined and it does. I've seen footage. It does seem a bit confined, but that's because it's not fully realized. The full vision of Super Nintendo World is gonna include Donkey Kong and Zelda and a whole bunch of stuff. Like a decade from now, Super Nintendo World's gonna look vastly different than it does today with just that initial opening Mario World. So you have some patience. I think Super Nintendo World's gonna be pretty incredible. Now, Shigeru Miyamoto, who's been helping spirit some of this stuff, had this to add. Nintendo's appeal is in its ability to provide spaces where the whole family can have fun. The fact that Nintendo characters and games are enjoyed across three generations by people all over the world is our strength and it's something really special. I sense that our initiatives of mobile applications and movie production have increased the number of people worldwide who are interested or aware of our IP. With the Super Nintendo, or the Super Nintendo, the Super Mario Bros. movie, we've heard many people say they went with their families to the theater and had fun watching the movie together. Regarding the theme park business, we would like to continue to work closely with universal destinations and experiences. Stay tuned for announcements from them. So look towards universal, basically for those announcements. We intend to work on multiple visual content projects through these kinds of efforts. We hope to make our IP known to people of all generations around the world, creating a brand that families can enjoy in a peace of mind. Thank you for your continued support going forward. He's probably referencing some movies in there as well, but that was pretty much the extent of the universal talks. Now, question eight, this is recording the Inkling Boy. This was actually a much longer thing. This is where, if you heard the story that we ran and others ran with a person at the meeting, just ranting and raving about the lack of Inkling Boy options and being extremely rude to Furukawa and interrupting Furukawa, this is it. This is not the entirety of what was said. This is just what Nintendo is willing to officially include to not make it look like their shareholder meeting was as off the rails as it actually was. But here's what Nintendo was willing to put into their official report. This is regarding the Inkling Boy character who appeared in the Splatoon series, Splatoon 3. The latest title in the series allows players to select their character's appearance. However, I think designs resembling Inkling Boy were not featured as much as they should have been. Inkling Boy in the Splatoon series has many fans, so I would like this character to be featured more often. They rephrased everything he said in a much more respectful way. This was literally a multi-minute rant where Furukawa tried to interrupt and then he said, no, he shut Furukawa down and kept, it was a very heated moment. But Nintendo wasn't gonna represent that heated moment. In fact, many are surprised they even included it in the official doc release. But anyways, Furukawa said the specifications of the game are determined based on a comprehensive consideration of various factors, so while we can't satisfy a request, your opinions are valued, which again, isn't exactly what he said, but it's what Nintendo wants it to be phrased as. So we're gonna leave it at that. Question nine, are you thinking about providing a service for playing a 3DS software on Nintendo Switch in the future similar to the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo Switch Online? Again, very pointed question, I like it. Furukawa, Nintendo Switch Online members can play collections of Famicom, Super Famicom, Game Boy, et cetera on Switch. People with online plus expansion pack can also obviously get N64 or Game Boy Advance titles. For some reason, Sega Genesis isn't brought up. Is Sega not available in Japan? Is it North America only? Anyways, I don't know, I live in North America, so regardless, titles released for other platforms. I appreciate your question, because I don't have no specifics to share. So basically, hey, you know what? We hear you, we have nothing to share at this time. I don't think 3DS is gonna be coming to Switch. Gotta remember, 3DS isn't that old. That's something that maybe would be considered on the next generation platform. I think a more pertinent question would have been, could DS, Nintendo DS software come over to Switch? That would have been probably a more pertinent one, but anyways, we're obviously gonna get DS long before we get 3DS, but Switch might be done adding new platforms. It might be something that we need to wait another generation to get more. Anyways, question 10. Nintendo enacted a 10 for one stock split last year, but 100 shares still cost over 6,000, 600,000 yen. I feel that a further two for one or three for one stock split would make it easier for younger people to purchase your stock. If they become shareholders of the Nintendo, I assume they would support Nintendo by purchasing games and merchandise. Please tell us about your stance on stock splits. This is a weird question to me. I don't think splitting the stock, making it easier for younger people to afford the stock is going to increase purchasing games and merchandise. I don't see that correlation. Look, I would love to own some Nintendo stock and I could, like it's not like it's that expensive. You don't need thousands of dollars to buy Nintendo stock, right? I have a couple hundred bucks to get some Nintendo stock, but I don't think owning Nintendo stock would encourage me to spend more money on Nintendo. Like, I understand I wanted to get some younger investors in, but it really should be you want younger investors in to get newer ideas injected into the company through the shareholders. That's really why you would want younger investors. I don't think that's going to increase sales, but see what Furukawa says. Furukawa, Nintendo is aware that reducing investment, unit price by stock splits is one effective way of expanding our investor base and enhancing stock liquidity. And we've been carefully discussing this option. Last year we enacted a 10 for one stock split of our stock when we joined the prime market as a result of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Reorganization. We considered factors such as the direction of the stock market, the Nintendo share price prior to the split, and liquidity. We split the common shares of the ratio 10 for one with September 30th, 2022, as the record date in October 1st, 2022 as the effective date. After the stock split, the lower investment unit price resulted in an increase in the number of shareholders. Hence why we've seen fans popping up in the investors' meetings. Anyways, particularly individual investors. And the total number increased from 48,329 at the end of March of last year to 187,023 investors. He's basically saying, we already did it. We already, I mean, have you not seen young fans show up to yell at us in our investors' meetings? Like, we just increased our investor's life by like 300%. What more do you want? We've also seen an increase in the stock ownership ratio by individual shareholders. And we'll leave this action had a certain degree of influence in expanding our investor base. That's right. There's 187,000 people invested in Nintendo. They're not all major investors. They can literally just own one stock because they wanted to own part of Nintendo. But yeah, it's crazy. They already did it. Why would they need to do more? Question 11, will it become possible to play software released for Nintendo GameCube or Wii U and Nintendo Switch? So we got the 3DS question. Now we're getting the GameCube and Wii U question. I find this to be very strange. I don't know if this person's very informed. There's a lot of GameCube and Wii U games. Almost all the Wii U exclusives are there, but like two. What are we missing? Like Star Fox Zero. And then we're missing, what? I guess you can say Paper Mario Color Splash. Xenoblade Chronicles X. Like, I think that's only three games on Wii U exclusively as we're missing. And Nintendo GameCube, they've been doing remasters. So like, there's a number of remasters and there seems to be more coming. So I'm very interested that they're asking this question. But Furukawa, among the titles released for Nintendo GameCube, HD versions of Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 Digital just became available on Nintendo Switch and we value your requested opinion on this topic. This is Furukawa kind of like internally going, what is he talking? Didn't even address the Wii U because like, I don't know, does this investor not know anything about Nintendo? That's sort of what I got out of that question. Like, do you not pay attention to what happened on Switch? We use well supported and Nintendo GameCube supports just increase and increase. I mean, you could have mentioned Metroid Prime Remaster, like, anyways. Question 12, Nintendo has held game seminars, C-Note, in the past and released game builder garage for Nintendo Switch. Please tell us more about these kinds of activities that could spark people's interest in game development. In addition, I'd like to hear about how developers who have joined us here recently first got in the game in the middle of it. I like this question because it really introduces how Nintendo did offer a sort of mini game development game on Switch, even though it was through Labo. And I do like finding out a little background, so let's see what happened here. So Furukawa said, as you mentioned, we released game builder garage as a product that could spark interest in game development. We hope that many users engage with the title. He's not gonna have much to say about it because Furukawa is not a game developer, right? He came from the business sector. He was an accountant. He's very business-oriented but not experienced as a developer, so not the best person to answer. But Shinya Takahashi, who's a director and senior manager and has made several games at Nintendo, can talk about this. And he said, I have liked drawing since I was a kid and I've always continued with it. I also like math and science in middle school and high school. I encountered Famicon and 3D CG, a 3D computer graphics, in a university and felt the 3D CG is something that combines drawing with math and science. I thought 3D CG was closely related to game development, so I applied for a job at Nintendo and that's how I came to be here. My enjoyment of creating things has continued to this day and I think all of Nintendo's developers share this feeling. Going forward, I want to keep making new things, not limited to just software. Interesting, I don't know what new things he's talking about, could just be toys, could be theme park designs, movie designs, I don't know, but that's just stuff we've already seen Nintendo do. Question 13, the Wii system is in nursing homes, providing entertainment to the elderly. Yes, it actually still is, believe it or not. I've been to some nursing homes recently, they still have Wii's. I can imagine Nintendo content being used in medical care and rehabilitation. Why do you have any plans to implement these kinds of initiatives? Nintendo was kind of big on that back in the Wii days. For Akawa, using a game controller can be a challenge for people who do not normally play games, but titles like Nintendo Switch Sports which use intuitive controls are easily playable by a broad range of users. We want to continue creating titles that are easy to pick up, not only for users who normally play games, but also people across a broad range of ages who do not normally have an interest in games. We value your opinion on the use of Nintendo games in the field of medical care and rehabilitation. In other words, they don't have any plans, but you know what, if one of their games takes off and they would like to use it in the medical field, Nintendo's not opposed to it. It's basically what happened with Wii, but it didn't necessarily happen as much with the Nintendo Switch. All right, question 14, I think there's 18 questions. Please tell us, Nintendo's business model. I figure the source of Nintendo's profit is selling hardware at affordable prices to increase the global install place and then selling a large volume of software that can be played on that hardware. Rather than releasing new hardware immediately, want to be most effective for Nintendo's business to focus on Nintendo Switch, which has already sold over 100 million units worldwide and to work to maximize sales of upcoming releases like Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario RPG. I find this part of the question interesting that that's exactly what Nintendo's doing. But, let's go on. By the way, Nintendo's made no indication that hardware is coming soon. So it's a very, it's almost like somebody's reading the rumors out there and then accusing Nintendo of doing what the rumors say, which is interesting. In addition, I assume you will launch the next generation platform at some point. Well, yes. And when you do, I'd like to see you implement robust countermeasures against reselling so the console can reach the audience worldwide who wish to enjoy games. So they're talking about all the scalpers. Like they want to see Nintendo do something about it. For Wakawa, this is the seventh year since the launch of the Nintendo Switch. Up to this point, we have focused on dedicated video game platform business on that system and based on that belief, we can offer unique content to our consumers through the system with putting in consideration the consumer's reception towards our products and the software we have developed. As we announced in the recent Nintendo Direct, we plan to release a large variety of software for Nintendo Switch this year as well. And we intend to maximize our business by selling as many units and titles as possible. Regarding countermeasures against reselling when new hardware is released, I believe it is of paramount importance to manufacture and ship units in sufficient quantities to satisfy consumer demand. We will also consider whether there are any other countermeasures that can be implemented. In other words, their plan is just to have more units available at launch than they have in the past. And we don't know. It's a bunch of, I don't really know what to do about it, but we're just gonna make more. So we're gonna have more available than we did for Switch. They don't know what else to say. So, all right, I mean, that's fair. For Akawa, I mean, there are some things you can't control, a free and open market that allows scalping like the United States. It's gonna be pretty hard to really stop it. You just have to oversaturate the market with systems, I guess. That's one way to handle it. But then if your system bombs, you might never sell those. It's a risky proposition. Question 15, I'd like to hear an honest opinion of the developers of whether the hardware specifications of Nintendo Switch now in its seventh year are sufficient to bring all of their game ideas to fruition. So he's asking, Nintendo developers, hey, are you okay with Switch the way it is? Because we feel like you shouldn't be. Takahashi, an actual developer says, as a game software developer, if you ask me whether Nintendo Switch has sufficient performance, I would not say that it is lacking. I mean, do you expect him to bash Nintendo? Anyways, however, game developers generally want more and will always want to incorporate a lot of elements that exceed the hardware limitations. Since the Famicon era, we have worked on how to fit these elements inside a framework with certain limitations. And our job is to figure out how to create fun games within these constraints. I believe that some interesting content are created as a result of accommodating the limitations and we actually have to have been able to make this happen. So basically, hey, sometimes the limitations are cool because it makes us come up with new ways to do things. But obviously developers always want more. So it's sort of like, hey, I personally don't feel it is lacking, but other game developers do. This is one of the areas where it sounded like Nintendo was calling out third party developers. That was in reports before, but it turns out that's not really what happened according to this official translation. They didn't call it greed or anything. They just said, hey, you know, I might be okay with this. It doesn't mean our other game developers are. They always want more. So, you know, there are probably some internal developers that are kind of just waiting to release games on the new system. Ko Shioda, director and senior executive officer of Nintendo said, we have been developing Nintendo Switch software for a long time and have used various methods to overcome performance barriers. Even now, the system developers are listening to game developers and continuously implementing initiatives to increase the smoothness and longevity of Switch software development. Yeah, they're not willing to talk about the new system. They're not going to bash the Switch. What did you expect Nintendo to say to that question? Anyways, question 16, this fiscal year, you announced an increase in employee base salary in Japan. And I think that's a very positive initiative in retaining talented employees. It is. Good on you, Nintendo. On the other hand, increasing the employee base salary decreases the resources for dividends. So I can imagine that there was some sort of negative feedback from institutional investors. Please describe their reactions from institutional investors, employees and other companies in the industry regarding this wage increase. I mean, it's a fair question. Nintendo increased wages of employees, which is good for them, but that means less money for investors. I mean, you know, the money's got to come from somewhere, right? For Akawa. I believe the most important factor in maintaining our high level of competitiveness is to value the employees that have created various popular products and built our brand. That's correct by the way. Currently, we are experiencing unprecedented levels of global inflation. And in Japan, we understand that people are facing increasing financial pressure in their daily lives. For this reason, to deal with the long-term and continuing changes in the environment, Nintendo increased the base salaries for all employees in Japan by 10%. That's a pretty decent raise when you're doing it across the board for the whole company. Separate from the annual wage increase. So this isn't even, hey, we have an annual wage increase. This is on top of that. Go down you, Nintendo. In addition, to strengthen our competitiveness in the job market and increase the overall capabilities of the company over the medium and long-term, we also increased the starting salary of new graduate hires in Japan by approximately 10%. So they are just offering this across the board, even increasing the salaries of new employers. That's awesome. There have been various reactions to this wage increase and we received comments stating that the resources for dividends would decrease. But there are also positive responses from institutional investors who value the human resource strategy from a medium to long-term perspective. What he's saying is, yeah, people who like the short-term games aren't happy, but people that are invested us in the long haul know we need to, in order to maintain your investment and maintain longevity, like this was the right move. So it's sort of saying some maybe not happy, but there are some that are like, hey, we get it. This was the correct business move. Anyways, the level of competition for human resources is increasing within the game industry. And we understand that many companies, not just Nintendo, are increasing wages for new hires through a variety of methods. I hope that's true. I don't know enough about some of the other companies, but I hope that that's like a legit statement. Question 17. Recently, the concept of the metaverse, hey, you knew he was gonna be asked about VR metaverse stuff at some point, right? Where multiple unspecified users can play together in a shared virtual space has emerged. What do you think about this? For Akawa. Although the enthusiasm may not be as high as before, the metaverse continues to capture the attention of many companies around the world. And I think the concept has potential. But though we sense its potential, sorry, I don't know why I struggled to read that, we also believe it will not be easy to clearly define what kinds of fun and surprises it can provide to consumers. We might consider something if we find a way to express it within a Nintendo-like approach, which is to say one that is easily understood by many consumers, but I believe this would be difficult at the present time. In other words, we don't have any plans, but we're always looking into stuff. Like they're aware of what's going on. They don't really think they have any ideas to make this more user-friendly at the moment. So we're gonna dip out of that, but maybe it's a market we tap into at some point. Plus, it's a market that hasn't really proven that there's a big enough user base to really focus on it for Nintendo. Sort of like VR. VR is a market that's not really showing growth. So Nintendo doesn't really have a reason to dive all in until it is. And maybe it takes Nintendo coming up with a new approach to VR to pull that off. But again, they were asked specifically about the metaverse, which isn't just VR. It's a bit more complex than that. But anyways, question 18, the final one. I believe there are many fans among Nintendo shareholders. So what do you think about introducing unique shareholder benefits that would make fans happy? Okay, Furukawa. I'm trying to think, look, if I was a shareholder, I liked this idea. But also, I don't become a shareholder because I want a fan perk. Like free tickets. There's nothing to a movie or whatever. And it was Furukawa. Well, some companies do have shareholder benefits. Nintendo has various types of shareholders, including institutions. They do. They have banks and other things that are invested. And anyways, we believe that dividends are the most suitable method of fairly distributing returns. Going forward, we're gonna introduce other appropriate methods of returning profits to our shareholders. So yeah, I mean, Nintendo's saying, look, we're a business. We're a corporation. We're not a fan club. We're not here to give you free tickets to Nintendo World, free video games, some sort of, oh man, if you own 10 shares in Nintendo, you get a free switch. If you own, blah, blah. Like, they're not interested, like. Yes, some fans have bought the stock. Absolutely, out of the 187,000 plus investors, some of those are just fans. Not people looking to make money, but they are a business, a for-profit business, and dividends are how shareholders, especially long-term shareholders, make money. Short-term shareholders are just trying to, like, you buy low, sell high, right? That's how they're trying to make profits. But your institutionalized, long-form shareholders, they're there for the dividends. They bought in at a certain amount and they hope the dividends will pay off over time. So yeah, like that's, they already share profits with their shareholders. This is a very common way shareholders can make money, especially long-term shareholders. So yeah, it's sort of a weird question. But getting back to the main point here, there was a lot to take in here. This is a very long video because it was a very long Q&A session. Hopefully you guys learned a lot of new information about Nintendo, about the direction of the company, about even their plans for this next platform. They're calling it a next, like before anyone else said it was next generation, Nintendo themselves called it a next generation platform. And to me that's a pretty big takeaway from this Q&A. So let me know your favorite part of the Q&A session down below and I will catch you guys in that next video.