14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo might have not yet revealed the launch date for the Wii U home consoles, but the company believes that the only thing that will mater on launch will be the price of the device.
Satoru Iwata, the leader of Nintendo, tells Gamasutra that, “Being first in the next generation race is not important at all. 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.”
“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 businesses is different than several years ago,” he then goes on to say.
A number of analysts who are watching the video game space, including Michael Pachter, believe that the Wii U will not be able to find an audience and will create a big loss for Nintendo.
Iwata believes that Nintendo was also criticized before the launch of the Wii, when many said that it could not compete with the systems Sony and Microsoft were launching.
The Wii is the most successful console of its generation, beating the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 when it comes to sales.
The Wii U will offer the same computing power as the two devices while adding a new touchscreen-enabled controller that will introduce new ways of controlling both first-party and third-party titles.
The Wii U should be out before the height of the Christmas shopping season.
Neither Sony nor Microsoft has announced exact plans for their coming generation of home consoles, but they should make statements before the end of the year, with the launch coming in late 2013.