Direct quote from Iwata on pre-E3 Wii successor announcement
A report from IGN a few weeks ago stated that Nintendo would announce the Wii’s successor before the end of April. And that’s exactly what Nintendo did. The company released a short press release confirming the console’s existence last week, only saying that more news will come at E3.
Although we did receive a summary as to why Nintendo announced Project Cafe before E3 a few days ago, we now have the direct quote from Iwata. Iwata also explained why he chose not to reveal the system at GDC.
“Next I would like to tell you why we announced Wii’s successor system at this time, not at GDC. Naturally, the earlier we announce a new system, the more speculation will be encouraged and there will be a higher risk of information leakage from those who are working cooperatively on it outside Nintendo. In addition, a lot of people interested in our next move might be less amazed at E3 if we disclose too much information in advance.
At the same time, however, if we make a totally surprising announcement at E3 on the spot, which would be an effective way to astonish people, some busy people might say, “Oh, Nintendo is a mischievous company. I could have visited E3 if I was informed of the announcement in advance.” We decided to make the announcement at this time because now is our last opportunity to inform people so that they can arrange their travel schedule for E3.”
