Nintendo CEO: It's "Not Important At All" to be First to Market
Will not rely on Wii U's head start to ensure success.
The Wii U will be the first next-generation console to hit store shelves. But Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata does not believe that this will give the company any real advantage against competitors.
"Being first in the next generation race is not important at all," he said in an interview with Gamasutra. "One of the reasons we believe this is the time for Nintendo to launch the Wii U is it's going to be important for the world."
A bit of a bold statement, there. But, consider that the Wii was not the first to market in this current generation and its innovations allowed Nintendo to storm ahead of Microsoft and Sony in terms of hardware sales. And Iwata believes the Wii U provides something new, in a similar way that the Wii did.
"When something unique comes up, it's difficult for people to understand it at the beginning. A lot of misunderstandings and pessimistic observations, like, 'Will a product like this really spread in the market?' prevail and then after some time, after being able to experience it, the atmosphere changes."
But, Iwata is not resting on his laurels. He added that the gaming landscape has changed significantly since 2006, and this is true of pricing structure too. "The pricing of Wii U is going to be one of the most important elements when it is going to be launched. The environment is different. Wii U is going to be launching in a different environment than when the Wii was launched. Also, the involvement surrounding [mobile and social] businesses is different than several years ago."
Source: Gamasutra
"Being first in the next generation race is not important at all," he said in an interview with Gamasutra. "One of the reasons we believe this is the time for Nintendo to launch the Wii U is it's going to be important for the world."
A bit of a bold statement, there. But, consider that the Wii was not the first to market in this current generation and its innovations allowed Nintendo to storm ahead of Microsoft and Sony in terms of hardware sales. And Iwata believes the Wii U provides something new, in a similar way that the Wii did.
"When something unique comes up, it's difficult for people to understand it at the beginning. A lot of misunderstandings and pessimistic observations, like, 'Will a product like this really spread in the market?' prevail and then after some time, after being able to experience it, the atmosphere changes."
But, Iwata is not resting on his laurels. He added that the gaming landscape has changed significantly since 2006, and this is true of pricing structure too. "The pricing of Wii U is going to be one of the most important elements when it is going to be launched. The environment is different. Wii U is going to be launching in a different environment than when the Wii was launched. Also, the involvement surrounding [mobile and social] businesses is different than several years ago."
Source: Gamasutra
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