The great Wii sales rush has calmed down a little over the past year, leading some to (foolishly) declare that the Wii is in decline. Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime believes, however, that now is the time for software to shine, claiming that true victory comes with great content.
“You win with great content, and we’re fortunate to have franchises like Mario, like Zelda, like Donkey Kong,” he states. “All of these great franchises really motivate consumers to buy the software, and what they’re looking for is an in-depth, great experience, and that’s what we offer.
“… It’s important to understand that the gaming industry is cyclical. There’re lots of systems sold early on, and then later on it’s driven by software. So for us, 2008, 2009 2010 were fantastic software years and that’s where the profit is made.”
Fils-Aime was also asked if his company regretted not releasing an updated Wii successor to combat Microsoft’s Kinect. Reggie was glib in his response, to say the least: “You know, we had a new version of the Wii, it was red and it did phenomenally well on a global basis as we celebrated Mario’s 25th anniversary. So we give credit to Microsoft for what they’ve done. Anything that’s good for our industry is good for all of us.”
Oh, Reggie!
Nintendo president talks up 3DS, sidesteps Wii question [MSNBC via CVG]