E3: Nintendo's Satoru Iwata on his plans for the Wii U

Nintendo's president talks about regaining the Wii U's 'momentum', handheld versus mobile gaming and a new, original Zelda.

[3-4-5]

Pikmin3, Donkey Kong, 3D Mario World, Mario Kart 8, Legend of Zelda U, Super Smash Brothers.

These WILL sell Wii U's..... Millions of them.

Each of the games I listed will sell AT LEAST 500,000 copies in the first year alone.

Titles like Mario Kart8, Super Smash & Zelda will sell 3+ million each no problem.

2014 is when Wii U picks up. Actually more likely this holiday but after that it will sell quite well.

[gedden7]

YUP!! I totally agree with you!

[guitarded77]

Yes, Nintendo has some great franchises, but their first party franchises are not their problem. The infrastructure of the Nintendo Network is actually one of their bigger problems.

No accomplishment support (better attachment rate with them), no social integration except through Miiverse (the people using Miiverse already own a Wii U, people need to be able to share their screenshots and gaming experiences to Facebook, Twitter, etc freely... It's basically free advertising)... There are many more things Nintendo can/should do to get their network on par with what MS and Sony are doing. If you create a better social platform, more people will buy because their friends are buying.

With a better network, combined with their first party, and a price drop, the Wii U would do well. I know Nintendo is making improvements to NN, but the system has a ways to go. Nintendo needs to realize that without their first party classics, they would be dead right now, and they need to concentrate on the other things that gamers want. If they would create a great social network, they would have to spend less on advertising because the players would be advertising for them.

[unknownbystander]

1. Don't know why a trophy or accomplishment support is necessary since all it does is tell you how to play the game its way not your way. Anyway I heard that the next update will bring an "Accomplishment System" to the Wii U but it will be "very different from the others".

2. Social integration is already in Miiverse that are available for the ones accessible to Smartphones, tablets, and computers. I believe that the one coming to the Miiverse for Wii U will be available in the next big update.

3. In the next big update, a lot of rumors say that there will be cross video chat (remember that it is only a rumor!)

4. Of course Nintendo Network needs improvement! What did you expect, it was just established a couple of months ago aka when the Wii U launched. While the PSN and Xbox Live was already established for about 7-8 years! I say this to you, give Nintendo Network time to mature then you state whether they need to fix more of it in the future.

[ABizzel1]

Cut price, produce more 1st party games, get unique and exclusive 3rd party titles, improve system performance (OS, RAM allocation, etc...).

[jcnba28]

Ignore the dislikes, I couldn't agree more.

[AzureskyZ]

Although i think those games will sale extremely well on their own right, im not sure if wii u will sell millions per say. Hardcore nintendo fans will certainly buy the game and most likely already have a system, however will those games be able to pull customers away from playstation or xbox-- i have some reservation. Now a 100 dollar price cut may have a huge impact but wii u is in need of serious 3rd party support- and with lack there of i just dont see them being a huge holiday option. I already have a wii u so im excited as the only game i have is monster hunter, so ill have some great games to choose from, but i dont think nintendo have a mass market appeal they once had.

[jameson12345]

Anyone who disagrees with you must obviously be ignoring how well all the previous games in these series did. They are all, except maybe Pikmin, high selling for long periods of time games that don't lose their luster with age, and are from series that do well critically too. Plus, they all have family friendly reputations that the general public loves and stupid politicians can't scapegoat for their lack of ability to curb shooting violence.

[AzureskyZ]

Didnt say the games wasnt selling, but is it gonna move systems is another story. Honestly talking to a fanboy is like talking to a wall. Nintendo games always do well but its stuffed in a bubble-- only reason why wii was such a success is because it got the wind of casual market-- which has since left for tablets and smartphones-- Its good nintendo is supporting the system but without 3rd parties support is gonna lose steam fast. Nintendo traditionally have high support rate for their systems to game ratio from first party--- but it doesnt help the console business when 3-5 million copies of zelda is sold but only 10 million system sold worldwide-- it will only discourage 3rd party from investment. Nintendo does an excellent job catering the handheld audience with the 3ds, but they do a poor job of replicating that experience on console because of price and legacy technology. Simple put they dont know how to innovate on consoles to entice broader audiences to purchase the console. For example there online system is years behind the curve-- if you havent realized this is the first time nintendo had to jump into HD world-- Most 3rd party had many struggles transitioning from pre hd to hd era with ps3 and xb, but gained valuable incite-- nintendo does not have the same luxury, therfore 3rd party support is far more important for them to transition into hd until they themselve fully transition into it. BTW Iwata has already expressed this very statement.

[LOL_WUT]

Let's hope you don't jinx it. ;)

[ibroman]

Totally agree and im extatic that haters cant use this no games arguement anymore!

[PigPen]

Just surprise me Nintendo, keep your plans.

[Grimhammer00]

Announce a wiiu+
Give it twice power of ps4.
Launch with Zelda & Metriod.....with graphics and online that destroys competition.

Sell for $399....accept the hit while regaining market share.

[LOL_WUT]

I still think the guy should resign he has made nothing but bad business decisions ;)

[BlackWolf]

Yeah, but what about consumer confidence? Does that not matter?

You see, if Nintendo ditch the Wii U to release a new, more powerful console to compete with the PS4 and Xbox One, they'd be b***h-slapping the people that bought their current console, and with that, making sure they won't buy this replacement you speak of. They would be be admitting defeat in the consumers' eyes, and that weakens their brand, diminishing the possibilities of future sales.

Making a new console and ditching the Wii U is not a good idea. More losing than winning here.

[AzureskyZ]

Dont be a tard, never in the history have nintendo taken a lost for a system-- if they made a system twice as powerful as ps4 and sold it for 399 they would risk losing alot of money. Second, Nintendo have to abandon the current platform in order to create a powerful one-- all those reaseach and development would have gone to waste-- nintendo isnt built to be able to offset huge amount of losses-- it would bankrupt them.