Books, magazines and other non-gaming media might be available for download on future handhelds as Nintendo considers the future of digital content.

Kindle, the popular digital book service sold and supported by Amazon.com has changed the way people read. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata has indicated his interest in chasing a piece of the Kindle pie, when he spoke to tech blog FT.com- “I’m interested (in the Kindle) because it’s a new business model in which the user doesn’t bear the communications cost”.

Iwata made the distinction over subscription services between Nintendo and the ever-popular iPhone and iPod touch- “That doesn’t fit Nintendo customers because we make amusement products. In reality, if we did this it would increase the cost of the hardware, and customers would complain about Nintendo putting prices up, but it is one option for the future.”

Currently, non-gaming media for Nintendo systems is limited to a few Manga in Japan and BBC’s iPlayer in the UK. The DSi is certainly already capable of providing a platform for books and magazines to be downloaded, but whether we will see such technology appear on the current line-up of handhelds is yet to be seen

Source: FT.com