Iwata On iPad: 'There Were No Surprises For Me'

Despite the media frenzy that surrounded the announcement of Apple's latest product announcement, its touch-based iPad tablet device, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata was less than enthusiastic. "There were no surprises for me," Iwata told the Associated Press, deriding the iPad as a mere repackaging of existing Apple products. "It was a bigger iPod Touch," said Iwata, whose company has seen massive success with its own touch-based product, the Nintendo DS. Neither was Iwata particularly impressed by 3D display technologies for home television systems and consoles, a feature to which Sony signaled its dedication during this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "I have doubts whether people will be wearing glasses to play games at home," he said. The CEO, whose Wii console features many games relying heavily on conspicuous body motions, asked, "How is that going to look to other people?" Also on Iwata's list of unimpressive technologies are further motion control extensions, such as those being pursued by Sony and Microsoft, and higher-definition graphics. "I question whether those features would be enough to get people to buy new machines," the executive said.