Corrected: Nintendo sees life yet in the Wii

"We currently do not have an answer as to what point in the future that need will come."

The Wii -- which employs a stick-like controller that doubles as everything from a tennis racket to a baseball bat in games -- popularized motion gaming and has brought casual users into the gaming population in past years.

But that success was hard-won, Iwata said.

"When we first launched the DS and the Wii, very few people thought that we would have the success that we have had so far. Because of that, Nintendo had no choice but to try to create that market for those two platforms ourselves," he said.

"So when that time comes (for us to release a new platform) and we are able to garner third-party support coupled with our own properties, we will be able to create a very healthy environment for that platform."

Nintendo on Tuesday took the wraps off a new version of its DS handheld device that can play games and show movies in 3D without glasses, as the hardware wars with Microsoft and Sony Corp heat up.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

On Monday, Microsoft said it will begin selling its "Kinect" motion-sensing game system on November 4.

On Tuesday, Sony announced that its Move motion-sensing platform -- which will compete with the Wii and Kinect -- will begin selling on September 15.