Nintendo’s new president, Tatsumi Kimishima, is finally talking to the American media, and he has something important to say to Wii U owners.
Mirroring the statements of the previous president, Satoru Iwata, Kimishima reaffirmed Nintendo’s commitment to the Wii U, particularly making sure Wii U fans are satisfied by continuing to give it games.
This is in response to a question from Time Magazine on how long they intend to keep supporting the game. Kimishima does not mince words about the expected 10 million hardware sell through for the Wii U. This is, quite simply, one tenth of what the Wii sold.
In his own words, this is why Kimishima’s Nintendo will continue supporting the Wii U:
What I want to do, I think our first job right now is to make sure that the customers, those 10 million customers who have a Wii U at home have software to play. And we need to make sure that they are satisfied with their purchase and continue to enjoy playing on this platform. So we can' just abandon them and say, 'Hey, it's time to move on to the next thing.
On the side, it turns out Kimishima was misquoted in an earlier interview when it was claimed he stated he predicted the Wii U’s demise.
Actually, Kimishima’s intent was very simple. When asked why the Wii U didn’t sell as well as the Wii, he pointed out Wii’s 100 million unit install base. Wii sold such an astronomically high number of units that Wii U simply had a tough act to follow, regardless if it did sell well or not.
While a seemingly noble statement, this decision limits Nintendo’s ability to be profitable. In particular, third party developers have for the most part abandoned the Wii U, although they may be on board for the NX if it gets released sooner.
However, Nintendo’s prospects with the Wii U at this point aren’t completely dire. They have successfully launched a new product category, amiibo, and use it to drive software and hardware sales. The Wii U also boasts bestseller IP, such as Splatoon and Super Mario Maker. The Wii U may never match the Wii, but it should be fine as long as Nitnendo can deliver good games for it – as it already has three years running.
