Reggie Fils-Aime expects the Wii U to sell like the Wii once did come November, just with less shortages. The Nintendo of America president and chief operating officer talked about supply lines, what gamers and developers alike will find appealing about the console, and why he expects the original Wii to continue selling years down the line in an interview with Forbes.
"We’ve learned a lot of lessons from the launch of the DS, the launch of Wii and the launch of 3DS," Fils-Aime said. "And our supply chain is solid." He said Nintendo wants to "satisfy all the demand that's out there," though analysts have pointed out the company has carefully managed its console distribution to create perceived demand in the past.
Fils-Aime said the tastes of many consumers who may have played video games for the first time on a Wii have "matured," and that the Wii U might serve to introduce casual audiences to titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. With significantly more storage space, HD graphics, and a comprehensive online service, the largest barriers keeping many developers on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 instead of on Wii has been lifted, he said.
But Fils-Aime expects the original console, which has moved more than 40 million units in the U.S., to have a long retail life, much like the PlayStation 2. He said millions of people in North and South America are still looking to spend $150 or less for the type of experience Wii can provide.
"You know, PlayStation has done a phenomenal job driving sales on what is a [12] year-old machine. They’ve done a phenomenal job, and they have been able to address different marketing over time, to build an incredibly large install base. We believe that the Wii system, similarly, will keep selling for quite some time."
