NEWS Nintendo, maker of the Game Boy, will reveal details of the next version of the handheld device next year.
The new product will be "surprising and unique," company president Satoru Iwata was quoted as saying in a report from the Reuters news agency. He declined to give more details, in a move typical of the company that left analysts grumbling.
After rival game-device maker Sony has unveiled plans to sell its own handheld, the PSP, in 2004, Nintendo's stock price fell, said the report.
Nintendo announced a loyalty points system called "Club Nintendo" which allowed consumers to accumulate points by buying software. The scheme will kick off in the US and Japan later this year.
The firm also makes a set-top games console, the Game Cube, which has also seen lower-than-expected sales, according to wire agency AP. The report said analysts doubted if Game Cube sales could keep growing because of the strong challenge from Sony's Playstation 2 console.
Iwata said in the report that there was potential for growth in new markets such as China, and the company also plans to court untapped markets such as women and elderly players.
PlayStation 2 leads in global sales with nearly 54 million shipped, compared with 10 million Game Cubes.