Nintendo of America’s new CEO starts his reign with an apology, and a plan for the future.
“We feel deeply responsible for not having tried hard enough to have consumers understand the product,” says Satoru Iwata, Nintendo of America’s new CEO, as he outlines where he thinks Nintendo’s Wii U strategy let the company down. Nintendo had hoped that its latest console would have more of a presence in the market by now, but harsh reality has set in, and Iwata acknowledges that much more effort is needed after the Wii U posted sales results of just 390,000 units sold since Christmas. Some may think that the Wii U is just a Wii with an extra peripheral but, Iwata says, that misconception needs to be dispelled.
The lack of a killer app, something like Wii Sports, is what really dragged down Wii U sales, Iwata thinks. A new console needs something to draw in the customers, and – so far, anyway – there really hasn’t been that much for Wii U owners to look forward to, nor have people really been able to get to grips with the Gamepad. “We would like to take time to work thoroughly for its penetration,” says Iwata, “by making various efforts to have many people understand its product value as well as enriching the software lineup.”
While that bit about enriching the software lineup might give potential Wii U purchasers pause, Iwata didn’t go on to detail a list of titles. No, that kind of announcement has to wait for an event like E3, so no peeking at the product list until June. Iwata promises a slew of new key titles, to come out later this year and early next. “We have many titles whose release dates are yet to be announced,” says Iwata. Whether or not the promise of new titles is enough to boost Wii U sales is an open question but, if we’re waiting till E3 to find out what’s on offer, then sales until then might just remain flat.
Source: MCV
