Email: Iwata says price isn’t the problem with the Wii U

Hey Sean,

http://wiiudaily.com/2013/08/iwata-on-poor-wii-u-sales/

Price isn´t necessarily the problem, but Iwata seems to think that once the “quality software” is there, it´ll be fine.

I think we all know what that means. They are keeping it strictly gamecube style.

Meanwhile in the UK, Pikmin 3 seems to have slid off the Top 20.
-Penetrating the market like a swallow thudding off the patio doors.

I can´t wait for the Wii U to die, so so much.

Just stick Miyamoto in an honorary role, flush out the ideologues and get back to where they were when Reggie gave his State of the Industry breakfast speech… please.

I think Iwata is talking to investors here to deflect calls that he cut the price of the Wii U.

With the years it takes to make software, it takes a couple of years after the console launches to see the company’s true reaction to the sales. All these games such as Pikmin 3, Windwaker HD, and others were started and designed before the Wii U launched. It is why Wii’s first few years were soooo good and, once Nintendo could react to Wii’s success, the latter years became soooo bad. (The great Wii software was designed and planned during the dark last years of the Gamecube when Nintendo had humility.)

The question is how will Nintendo react, software and hardware, to the Wii U and 3DS sales? 2015 will be a very interesting year for Nintendo.

Also, a game console has one year to establish its reputation. After that one year, the reputation is set in stone and nothing the company does can really alter it. Gamecube was still seen as kiddie despite the Resident Evil games coming out for it. Xbox 360 was still seen as the ‘hardcore gaming console’ despite Kinect and its marketing coming out for it. Wii U will be seen as ‘the loser console’ that ‘no one wants’ if the next six months matches the last six. Pikmin 3 has already bombed. I expect Wind Waker HD to bomb. Wonderful 101 will bomb. Maybe Mario in 3d World will sell, but I don’t think that will be enough to save the console. Neither will the Donkey Kong game.

Now that Nintendo has another Gamecube on its hands, what will Nintendo do? Will it take the humble pills and go the Wii route or will it insist that ‘Japanese culture must be sold to the rest of the world!’ and give us more of the crap they’ve been serving?