Iwata Says Consoles Won't Die Any Time Soon

Head of Nintendo Satoru Iwata has said that he doesn't see consoles going anyway any time soon:

"We do not think that the combination of a game system and dedicated software will last forever," ... ..."However, we do not believe that hardware dedicated to gaming shall perish in a few years. I personally think that kind of scenario is unthinkable."

"The reason why we have been making systems dedicated to games is because creating engaging experiences that cannot be available on other devices is the lifeline for the company. "

"Should we stop what we are doing, the current business configuration with a video game system and dedicated software could become obsolete. However, as we have been thinking and proposing new ideas one after another, we do not think that it will become obsolete at all."

I would agree that those casual gamers will be happy to keep on buying their future iterations of Wii in physical form as long as Nintendo continue to produce them. Gamers or early adopters may move to digital-only format but there will always be those you yearn to own the product for real and that is something I don't see changing in our lifetime.