Nintendo To Release First Free-to-Play Software This Fiscal Year

Nintendo plan to release their first free-to-play game this fiscal year, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said at a meeting with analysts this morning.

“For this fiscal year, in order to expand our digital business, we are planning to offer new types of content, Iwata shared. “We will release titles such as ‘New Super Luigi U,’ which is brand-new add-on content updating more than 80 courses from ‘New Super Mario Bros. U,’ and the first free-to-play software from Nintendo.”

Nintendo’s current fiscal year ends in March 2014. Iwata did not specify just what kind of free-to-play software Nintendo are looking into. The company does offer a number of free services already, such as its SwapNote and upcoming FlipNote Studio 3D apps on Nintendo 3DS, but one would imagine that Iwata is referring specifically to a game in this context.

Iwata went on to reiterate that Nintendo also plan to push web-based technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript on their Wii U platform, and do more business with small, independent developers.

Note: Photograph not from the analyst meeting.