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Nintendo: Wii U Still Mistaken for Add-On
July 07 2012 by Dylan James
There is perhaps no greater potential stumbling block for the Wii U than the possibility people will mistake it for an addition to the Wii. This issue stems completely from the system’s name - there is no “2” in the title to denote it’s a successor, and yet it carries the Wii brand. While gamers will easily be able to make the distinction, many have been worried that the average consumer won’t be able to.
Nintendo of Canada’s Matt Ryan has opened up on this issue, and what he has to say can be seen as either relatively good news or seriously bad news depending on your outlook on the situation.
Here’s the full quote:
“Admittedly, yes, out of E3 2011 we had some people that didn’t feel they understood it was a new console. Nintendo feels that after [E3] 2012, we have gotten that message across. There are a few comments that we get, asking if it’s a new console, but the majority get it.”
“Our challenge now is explaining asymmetric gameplay, which is a term very technical in nature, but different rules and different perspectives offer a different way to play in the same game environment. We have to explain that, and it’s very hard to do in print, it’s hard to do even on TV… we have to get people to play it. That’s our mission right now; I think we’ve got the message out that it’s a new console.
At first glance, this comes across as comparatively good news - most people who ask them are aware it’s a new system, with only a few thinking it’s simply a Wii addition.
Unfortunately, this news starts to become more distressing the more you think about it. It should be noted that, being someone who gives interviews on behalf of Nintendo like this, the people who talk to him about the Wii U are most certainly people who actually work in or cover the industry in journalism. This means that there is still a sizable amount of people in the industry in some capacity that don’t get the Wii U is a new console.
If this is the case, then what does that mean for people who aren’t in the industry? It seems the second half of Ryan’s comment carries quite a bit more urgency when this is taken into account. Now more than ever - even more so than with the 3DS - Nintendo needs to get playable Wii U demos running in every major viable sales outlet. The message may be out that it’s a new console, but how many people are listening?
Does Nintendo need to focus on this situation as a top priority going forward? What can they do to dispel notion that it’s a Wii add-on? Comment away!
Source: My Nintendo News
Sorted Under: Wii UTagged With: No tags were found for this entry.
