Nintendo’s Matt Ryan: More Wii U details next year, third-party announcements down the road, more
Just as a note, I hope this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Wii U in 2010. Hopefully Iwata says something at Nintendo’s Fall conference, if there is one.
Matt Ryan from Nintendo Canada on why it seemed Nintendo focused more on hardware than games…
“While Wii U hardware was a BIG focus this year for Nintendo we also have many software titles that were emphasized at the press conference and at the show. First of all, we are celebrating The Legend of Zelda 25th anniversary and that is bringing many Zelda titles to our systems. The newest offering being The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii. Also, for Nintendo 3DS we have Super Mario, Mario Kart and Kid Icarus: Uprising coming this holiday. So we had a nice balance of hardware and software but we are quite aware that the Wii U announcement really excited fans the most in our booth.”
Ryan on if there is any worry that Nintendo will displace their current consumer base with a new console…
“Not at all. We anticipate that Wii U will make all types of gamers happy! Wii expanded the video game market and brought many new people into gaming, we expect Wii U to not only to continue this trend but to take it even further with what the new console has to offer.”
Ryan on whether there is any concern about differentiating yourself from Apple…
“The Wii U is very different from any hardware on the market. The controller is a part of a larger system that creates a unique gaming experience not seen anywhere else. Think about the potential that this controller has for the games you play now (or could be playing in the future). Now think about how exciting that is for a developer and what they can do with a new way to play. We are confident that people will be able to notice that there are many different ways to play games out there and that there will not be confusion about which product does what.”
Ryan on the power of Wii U…
“We are not focused on the tech specs (ever); however Wii U will be a stronger system than Wii and will be able to do much more than we have ever done, and it will be HD. We will leave the rest of the details about Wii U until next year but know that our focus is on the experience you get playing our system, not the technical details that get us there.”
Ryan on Nintendo’s relationships with third-parties…
“EA, Ubisoft and many others have dev kits and are showing immense support for what Wii U means for their development teams, franchises and the future of the industry. We will be announcing more great development teams working on Wii U down the road.”
Ryan on whether Nintendo is pleased with how the 3DS is performing so far…
“Last year’s announcement did create a lot of buzz. Everyone is excited for the upcoming release of BIG Nintendo titles like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Super Mario and Mario Kart. As we continue to launch more titles we anticipate hardware to grow. We do not talk about a launch being successful or not until we are done, we are nowhere near done yet.”
Ryan on his most anticipated titles…
“I love this question! Thanks for not making me choose one!
Wii U – Any golf game, Assassin’s Creed (announced by Ubisoft) and Zelda when it comes. Also, any game that allows me to flick stuff from the Wii U controller to the TV screen (like ninja stars)
Wii – The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword but I would have to say that one under-rated title from E3 is Kirby Wii.
Nintendo 3DS – Super Mario, Mario Kart and Kid Icarus: Uprising in 2011; but my pick of the show was Luigi’s Mansion 2 which is coming in 2012 (also, developed by Next Level Games in Vancouver!)”
