14 DAY TRIAL // Genyo Takeda, senior managing director at Nintendo, says that the company has always been careful not to focus on hardware specifications for its devices because computing power is not useful as long as there are no games to harness it.
NintendoEverything quotes the executive as saying that, “We have focused on how we can use technology to amplify the value of our entertainment offerings, and in this sense, technology for us is something that stays in the background.”
Takeda believes that the Wii U, the home console that is currently performing worse than initially projected, would not have been more successful if Nintendo offered clear information about the included pieces of hardware.
He adds, “It is not just the computational power of a computer that is important, but it is the way in which technology can connect with entertainment in ways that are easy for consumers to understand. It is my hope to communicate the value of the Wii U hardware with concrete examples with which consumers can feel, ‘Oh, so, this is it!’”
Nintendo initially expected to sell more than 9 million Wii U home consoles during the current fiscal year, but the company is now expecting to only deliver 2.8 million to players.
By way of comparison, the PlayStation 4 from Sony has managed to move 4.2 million devices in the less than two months it was available for in 2013, with the Xbox One a little further back.
Some analysts are expecting Nintendo to abandon the Wii U after it launches a couple of big releases like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros, both of which are set to be launched before summer is through.
The Japanese company will focus on an entirely new gaming platform that will unify handhelds and home consoles and will also offer gamers a complex quality of life experience.