Reggie: Sony/Microsoft need to react to us
Amid talk that the Wii U may not be a next-generation console due to specs that are in many ways comparable to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told CNET that it is Sony and Microsoft’s responsibility “to react to what we’re doing in the marketplace and figure out what their innovation will be.”
“In the end, our competitors need to react to what we’re doing in the marketplace and need to figure out what their innovation will be. It’s likely that faster processors and pretty pictures won’t be enough to motivate consumers. They need to react to what we’ve done and we need to continue innovating with the Wii U and we will.”
In the past – and especially as of late – some have said that the Wii U could become irrelevant or at the very least find itself in a position comparable to Wii if the machine’s capabilities aren’t up to par with the PS3 and Xbox 360 successors.
But for Reggie, he doesn’t believe releasing the Wii U is a way to catch up with current-gen consoles:
“We don’t believe so. For us, launching new systems is about bringing new consumer experiences to the marketplace and we’re doing that with Nintendo land and third-party publishers are doing it with games like ZombiU. For us, now is the right time to launch new hardware.”
Reggie wrapped up by saying that “consumer response [to the Wii U] has been very positive,” and the console’s performance thus far is “quite comparable” to the Wii. He also made sure to mention that he sees Wii U as “a living, breathing” product that will improve over the years.
