Nintendo Co., which dominates the portable video-game machine market, said Wednesday it is developing a new home game console in an apparent attempt to catch up with rival Sony Corp.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata refused to provide details on the product, which has been tentatively dubbed the Revolution, saying he feared competitors would steal the plan.
He claimed, however, that a prototype to be shown next year would deliver new ideas for entertainment and would not merely be a more powerful version of the current GameCube console.
Iwata stated that Nintendo should not follow the strategy of Sony, which is working on a more powerful chip to drive its next-generation home game machine.
He said the gaming industry is reaching a dead end as its past formula for success -- dazzling consumers with more sophisticated imagery -- no longer works.
Game sales have been declining for years in Japan, and growth has been slowing even in the more solid U.S. market, he said.
"What we need is not a next-generation machine but a next-generation way of playing games," Iwata told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.