S&S News: Wii U’s struggling sales have nothing to do with the console’s name, says Fils-Aime

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime doesn’t think Wii U’s struggling sales can be attributed to its name, but to the lack of steady game releases – something Nintendo has repeated over the past few months.  

Speaking with Kotaku, Fils-Aime said the fact Wii U has sold 1.5 million units – half of what Wii sold in the states during the same release period – has nothing to do with consumer confusion.

“The challenges we’re facing with Wii U are not issues of the name,” Fils-Aime said. “The issue is the lack of a steady rate of software launches to motivate the consumer to drive buzz and engagement and to highlight the wide variety of uses of the GamePad. That’s the issue.”

“The consumer understands that we have a new system. But the consumer is saying: ‘What am I going to play? And what am I going to play that’s a new and unique and compelling experience vs. what I can do today, whether it’s on the Wii or any other system?’

“And that’s why experiences like Pikmin 3, like Wonderful 101, like Zelda Wind Waker HD, with the off-TV play, experiences like Super Mario 3D World—that’s why it’s critical that we launch those, have consumers experience them in malls across the country, which we’ll be doing. It’s critical that the consumer see for themselves the range and breadth of compelling software for the system.”