NoA says its hardware is best fit for its software, Wii U has the edge with second-screen experiences, Wind Waker a good GamePad showcase
Nintendo is both a hardware manufacture and software producer. Some say that the Big N should simply drop the hardware-side of things, but Nintendo of America senior director of corporate communications Charlie Scibetta says that the company’s titles are best suited on its own consoles because its “hardware is the best way to bring software to life.”
“Nintendo systems come to life the best when the hardware and software work in perfect harmony. That’s why we’re still in the hardware business, because we think our hardware is the best way to bring software to life.”
“It’s tuned perfectly for that. When Mario bounces from mushroom to mushroom, it feels so responsive because the software has been tuned especially for that hardware.”
Scibetta also commented on how second-screen experiences are starting to appear more and more regularly. Microsoft has SmartGlass, Ubisoft is taking advantage of tablets with upcoming titles, and Sony will be making its PS4 titles playable on the PS Vita through streaming.
Yet even though dual screen experiences are popping up at an increasing rate, Scibetta believes Nintendo has the advantage with Wii U due to the fact that all product comes with a GamePad.
“For Nintendo, having the second screen built right into the hardware means there’s no learning cure, no lag, no technology curve to try and figure out how to use it. When you talk about other companies utilizing a second screen, for us we wanted to have it built right in, that ensures that the software comes to life the way it was intended to be by the designer.”
Finally, although Nintendo may not have demonstrated a wide array of titles with asymmetric gameplay, Scibetta points to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD as one of the GamePad’s marquee titles, believe it or not.
“I think that one game that we have in the booth here that does a lot of interesting things with the capabilities of Wii U is The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD. You can use the GamePad to take photographs, to write messages, and you can use Miiverse which is our online service, and you can actually put those screenshots in a Tingle bottle and send them out.”
