Iwata: Natal arrived later than expected

Nintendo global boss Satoru Iwata has spoken of his surprise that rivals Microsoft and Sony did not reveal their motion-sensing technology earlier.

Both firms revealed new motion-sensing controls for Xbox 360 and PS3 at last week’s E3 – three years after Nintendo first showed off its Wiimote controller.

Sony’s PS3 Motion Controller and Microsft’s Project Natal became two of the most talked about revelations at the Expo.

To tell the truth,” Iwata told The Times, I expected them to come up with stuff like this last year. So in my mind they’re later than expected.”

I’d like to say to them, ‘Welcome to the motion-control world!’

We are happy that it is now becoming an industry standard. However, we still have no idea about when their products will be available, or how much they will cost, or what sort of software they will be used with.

So, I am not in a position to judge whether they are a threat or not. And they should bear in mind that over the next year Nintendo will not be standing still. We’re always at work on something new. I am actually looking forward to engaging in that sort of competition, because it gives our whole industry the chance to expand the gaming population.”