The Q&A summary for the Nintendo Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2021 are in. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa took questions about the future of the Nintendo Switch and its games. This included why research and development (R&D) costs are going up and what people can expect in the future. Essentially, developing games and preparing for next-gen development can get expensive. Here’s Furukawa’s exact statement on why Nintendo is spending more money on R&D. The question came up as the fiscal year ending in March 2022 estimates suggest it will cost “nearly 100 billion yen.” Our software development costs, which include outsourcing, are increasing as we work to maintain a continuous stream of new titles for Nintendo Switch as it enters the middle of its lifecycle. Because per-title development costs are higher now than they were on past platforms, we anticipate that R&D expenses will continue to rise as we work to maintain a sizeable lineup of titles. We are also conducting a variety of studies, which include investigating ways to enhance our digital business, and future services that will help maintain long-term relationships with our consumers, as was touched on in the Corporate Management Policy Briefing last September. In addition, the development of the next generation of hardware needs to begin years before launch, so R&D expenses for that are gradually rising. We are aiming to grow by continuing our integrated hardware-software entertainment business, and that means conducting all sorts of research and development in various areas including both hardware and software.