Nintendo free-to-play game launching this fiscal year, not set in Mario or Pokemon series

Nintendo will release a free-to-play game sometime during its current fiscal year ending March 2014, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata announced at a financial briefing at E3 today.

Few details about the free-to-play property were revealed during the briefing, but Iwata said that the game wouldn't be based in the Mario or Pokemon franchises, because Nintendo "already [has] good relationship in those brands," according to a tweet from industry analyst David Gibson. Nintendo later confirmed Iwata's statements, adding that a transcript from the meeting will be available on Nintendo's investor relations site next week.

Nintendo has been forward about its interest in the free-to-play space and other alternative business models. In April, Iwata said during a Q&A that "we might see more games that are similar to free-to-play games, games that cost much less or games that require a monthly subscription fee."