14 DAY TRIAL // Many industry watchers were waiting for hardware maker Nintendo to make an official announcement about the price and the launch date of the upcoming Wii U home console, but the company chose to once again delay the big news and instead focus on the games that will be offered on the device and the capabilities of its new control scheme.
But Nintendo is still thinking about the issues and it looking back to the launch of the first Wii and that of the 3DS in order to make sure that the Wii U release is both smoother for the player and better for the company.
Speaking to both investors and potential buyers, Reggie Fils-Aime, who is the leader of Nintendo of America, stated, “What's important is value. We need to make sure we nail the value equation and let people know you get what you pay for. It's a matter of balance. ... We didn't get that value equation right on the Nintendo 3DS.”
The handheld performed well at first, but then entered a decline that was only reversed when Nintendo dropped the price sharply in August 2011.
The executive added, “As we get closer to launch, we'll manage projections and inventory – but to be fair, the Wii launch was a once in a lifetime experience. We want every consumer who desires a Wii U on launch day to be satisfied, but in the end, I've got to drive understanding of the concept.”
When the Wii first launched, gamers in North America had to face shortages for about one full year and that limited the profit that Nintendo could draw from its hardware at first.
Fils-Aime also talked briefly about the core entertainment services that will be linked to the Wii U, citing initial support from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Amazon Video and pledging more reveals closer to launch date.