14 DAY TRIAL // The Wii U continues to underperform in terms of sales and one leading video game industry executive believes that most of the blame lies with Nintendo and its failure to convince third-party developers that the console is easy to work on.
Pete Hines, the executive at Bethesda in charge of public relations, is quoted by VG247 as saying that, “The time for convincing publishers and developers to support Wii U has long past. The box is out. You have to do what Sony and Microsoft have been doing with us for a long time and it’s not that every time we met with them we got all the answers we wanted.”
Traditionally, Nintendo has relied on its own teams to deliver high quality video games for its platforms, using a limited range of characters like Zelda and Mario that appeal to the fan base.
The company aimed to attract a wider array of experiences to the Wii U and succeeded in getting support from Ubisoft and other publishers.
Unfortunately, sales of their games were limited because of the small install base of the new console.
Hines adds, “I’m going to focus on other ones that better support what it is we’re trying to do. So you’ve gotta spend more time trying to reach out to those folks before you even make the box, when you’re still designing and thinking about how it’s going to work.”
Both Sony and Microsoft have worked hard to recruit the support of both big publishers and small indie developers for their own PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
At the moment, Nintendo is betting that a price cut for the Wii U and the launch of new high-profile games will drive up sales of the device.
The PlayStation 4 will be available in North America on November 15 and two weeks later in Europe.
The Xbox One will launch during the same month.