Reggie: The Wiis doing great
In a new interview Reggie reveals a little about the plans for Wii software in 2011, Zeldas 25th and more
In a recent interview with IGN, Nintendo of America’s CEO Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that Wii owners have nothing to worry about regarding the console’s declining hardware and software sales. Reggie seems to be pretty optimistic about the Wii’s sales, stating that: "Wii is now the first … home console to sell more than 7 million units in three consecutive years, no one else has ever done that." So, 35 million units later, roughly, how’s the Wii doing? The Wii’s doing great.
When queried on how the Wii will compete against similar products on the market such as Kinect and PlayStation Move, Reggie believes it’s all about software difference. Although they may have similar hardware styles, all Kinect, Move and Wii all have different styles of games, stating the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword as an example of that. Reggie: "We continue to be distinctive based on the software, and I think the best example of how we continue to be distinctive and how we continue to innovate is in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, because now you’ll have a motion-based game that is a more traditional … core, type of product. That’s how we’re going to continue to [move] Wii into the future, regardless of what our competitors do."
Another reason why some are assuming the Wii is dying is the lack of announced first-party titles from Nintendo, apart from the aforementioned Skyward Sword. Reggie acknowledges this, however, he also feels Nintendo need to "push Wii games back to focus on the handheld business", just for a short while at least. With the upcoming releases of the Nintendo 3DS and Pokemon Black and White, we don’t blame him. "Candidly, we’ve pushed out some Wii launches so we can focus on our handheld business, because … we’re already juggling two big balls … to add a third would be a bit challenging… So, there’s a reason why [the fans] haven’t gotten any information about Wii … from a first-party perspective. We’re waiting to space things out and let Pokemon Black and White and let Nintendo 3DS live and breath out there. But, there’s content coming, and we’ll be sharing more certainly in the … weeks ahead." And when will we find out about this new content? "Well, we will be bringing some content out before E3 and then at E3 we’ll be sharing some more news."
And finally, one of the biggest pieces of news to come out of GDC 2011 was the announcement that Nintendo will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Zelda, although he remained tight-lipped on the subject: "We showed the logo for the 25th Anniversary. On the stage Mr Iwata said that we were working on something that will excite the fans of Zelda, which … I’m proudly one of the biggest ones. At this point that’s about all we’re gonna say … We’re not going to give any more clues as to what that celebration might be. All I can tell you is it will be a lot more different to what we did for Mario .. but it will also be just as special."
Pokemon Black and White launches in Australia this Thursday, whilst the 3DS is being released down here on the 31st.
Source: IGN
