Nintendo’s sales data has revealed a sad state of affairs that exists in their internal revenues department; the Wii U has sold only 9.54 million units since November, 2012.
Compare that with the Wii which has sold over 100 million units since its launch in 2006. With numbers like that, it’s easy to see why Nintendo is already looking to the horizon for new hardware ideas. It should come as no surprise that Nintendo has already released a slow drip of information about their upcoming console, “NX”.
Miyamoto has stated that consumers did not fully understand their product, Fortune magazine reported
“I feel like people never really understood the concept behind Wii U and what we were trying to do,” he says. “I think the assumption is we were trying to create a game machine and a tablet and really what we were trying to do was create a game system that gave you tablet-like functionality for controlling that system and give you two screens that would allow different people in the living room to play in different ways” (Fortune).
Nintendo feels that they released the Wii U into the market at the wrong time — a mistake they hope to remedy with NX. Doing this will entail “what is going to be that element that is really going to catch the attention of a large number of players again and get them excited” Takahasi, who is in Nintendo’s Software Planning and Development Division, reported to Fortune.
With these revelations at hand, Miyamoto has stated, in an ultimate act of modesty for someone who has essentially created the Nintendo brand we know and love, that he will be taking a step back from this new hardware development. Miyamoto stated “I’ve pulled myself back out of some of the hardware section and I’m really focused on some of the software that I’m involved in”, allowing us to ponder a hardware console without the direct influence of the legendary Miyamoto.
While the NX isn’t slated to even be previewed until 2016, Nintendo will slowly start to switch gears in this console cycle. Nintendo fans shouldn’t give up hope on the Wii U or the promise of some truly unique gaming that can still come of it.
As Miyamoto said about the Wii U, “I still feel it was a very novel approach—and a very interesting idea”.
What do you think about Nintendo’s future? Can they remain relevant after the Wii U? Let us know in the comments below.
