Nintendo to drive 3DS into casual market by E3

Nintendo is developing its first wave of 3DS games specifically targeted for the casual customer, an executive at the company has said.

The new range of games, expected to be announced at E3 in June next year, is hoped will broaden the 3DS’s customer base and revive sales. If successful, it could pave the way for other developers to build content to an established casual market.

“My expectation is that, come E3, I think we’ll be showcasing a range of different titles that, for a more casual consumer, they’ll see reasons to jump on board with the Nintendo 3DS,” Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime told AOL.

"So, will there be content to appeal to consumers 50 plus the way Brain Age did? Absolutely. Will there be content that’s going to appeal to women the way we are able to do with the DS? Absolutely.

“I can’t go into the details of what exactly those titles will be, but stay tuned,” he added.

“There is information that we’ll be sharing prior to E3, plus a lot of information at E3 as well.”

Nintendo globally launched the 3DS in March this year. The company has sold about 6.7 million units since.

An unexpected sluggish sales run had prompted Nintendo to dramatically sink the retail price of the hardware, in some cases by as much as £80.

Nintendo went on to post a half-year loss of £578 million for the six months ending September 30th. Company president Satoru Iwata made a frank apology to investors for the poor financials.

The company is expecting to post a full year loss for the first time in 30 years.