Reggie on the “gutsy call” that was the Wii and Wii Sports
Wii was one of Nintendo’s better-performing systems having sold over 100 million units worldwide. However, that success wasn’t always guaranteed. Especially before release, questions were raised over Wii’s name and its heavy use of motion controls.
Former Nintendo of America president Reggie-Fils Aime looked back on Wii during his recent lecture at Cornell. The platform, he said, came about due to Nintendo feeling there was “a lack of innovation in games and consoles”. He also called the “interaction between players and the game” led by Wii and Wii Sports (which itself was a huge hit) “a gutsy call that paid off.”
Reggie’s full words:
“This was driven by intellectual curiosity during a slump in the video game market. Nintendo saw a lack of innovation in games and consoles – a lack of fun. The Wii and Wii Sports changed the interaction between players and the game. It was a gutsy call that paid off.”
