Interesting read. Iwata talks about the two most important failures on Wii: couldn't keep hardcore gamers meeting their needs and not able to offer a experience in HD. Also, hints about shooters on Wii U from third-partys.

Summary:

• Wii intent was to extend the gaming population, with experiences like Wii Sports/Wii Fit and the Wii itself desing.
• In the case of Nintendo products, approximately 50 percent of their users are a female audience.
• Wii has already achieved very impressive things, but there were two things they were not able to realize: could not keep up with the hardcore gamers and the Wii original was not compatible with HDTVs.
• Wii U is compatible with HDTV, so now Nintendo expect the Wii console to be as powerful as any other console and all the necessary buttons are there.
• When Nintendo approached the third-party publishers to tell them about the Wii U, all the publishers volunteered to make advancements in the field of shooting games that they are very good at.
• By having another screen, Nintendo believe it will attract the non-gamers today not interesed (enough) in Wii.

Also, he talks about PC and TV:

• Many attempts to link TV with PC, but not popular.
• PC still the stongest device for Internet.
• Controller with a screen for future TV's linked with Internet (like Wii U controller)

Full response:

In the case of the original Wii, our intent was to extend the gaming population, but of course we needed to think about how we were going to motivate non-gamers to play with video games, so we came up with Wii Sports and Wii Fit, as well as how the Wii system was designed.

For example, in the case of our products, approximately 50 percent of our users are a female audience, the other platforms are around 30 percent.

 So, the Wii has already achieved very impressive things, but there were two things we were not able to realize: We could not keep up with the hardcore gamers and the Wii original was not compatible with HDTVs.

This time around, Wii U is compatible with HDTV, so we now expect the Wii console to be as powerful as any other console and all the necessary buttons are there [Iwata holds the new controller and demonstrates its use].

When we approached the third-party publishers to tell them about the Wii U, all the publishers volunteered to make advancements in the field of shooting games that they are very good at. For example, ordinarily when you are playing a shooter type of game, your main TV screen is the battlefield; however, oftentimes you have to open a new window to select items or weapons or to see the entire map.

But you don’t have to do that anymore with Wii U because you’ll have a screen that will show you that information.

But this is just one of the roles. It will also have another mission, as well. By having another screen, we believe it will pave a new way in the opposite direction to attract the non-gamers today. It’s no denying that we’ve expanded the so-called gaming population, but there’s still a number of people that have yet to be interested in the Wii at all, even after we introduced them to such applications as Wii Sports and Wii Fit.

Even those people, we want them to utilize Wii U one way or another.

For example, there’s video chat or they may want to do Web browsing while watching the screen on the big TV and managing operations with the screen in your hands.

For the past decade or so, many attempts have been made to link the TV and the Internet, but so far, nothing has been popular. So, the PC is still the strongest device to take advantage of the Internet, and now increasingly smartphones and tablets.

The ordinary TV sets in the household are located 10 feet away from yourself, and so it’s not the optimal solution to see the small letters of the Internet. You may also have problems with inputing and browsing.

On the other hand, when you look at this controller, it’s one foot away from your eyes — it has almost the same distance of the PC and other smartphones. In other words, this device is capable of handling such activities for you to input the letters in the palm of your hands.

In the future, if the TV and Internet can be used together, the TV will have a remote with a screen — and it will look very similar to how the Wii U controller is today.

 

Source

"We could not keep up with the hardcore gamers and the Wii original was not compatible with HDTVs."

Both totally wrong. First of all, what is with that compatibility line? Was that a mistranslation?

As for "keep up with the hardcore", that was the fault of not making really kickass games. If he meant the crowd that played the games on the other systems, well aside from that being red ocean, Nintendo could have tried games that weren't taking the worst parts of those games (I'm looking at Other M), and instead games that took the best of those games.

Imagine a first or third person shooter that played more like Contra. Well the multiplayer in a lot of FPS is like that, but if the single player was like that (just not deaths that cheap, since you can't see behind you), it really would be something that the other systems didn't have (and it didn't matter if they did it later, since Nintendo would secure the larger audience by doing it first).

Or with RPGs. Hopefully Dragon Quest X continues the same pattern of keeping what made the series great, and it should show that JRPGs on the Wii, 360, and PS3 have been going downhill.

I must say we have cause to be worried if Nintendo is speaking of an absence of features as what hurt the platform. Now in a roundabout way the lack of HD did hurt, but that's because of third party obstinance (which in turn lead to a dearth of multiplat titles), and not because of the lack of HD as a thing in itself

I can't wait to use my Wii U controller as a keyboard!

He forgot to mention the absolute crappy and half assed handling of WiiWare and pretty much anything having to do with online. As for 3rd parties, they made a system with cheap hardware that was not compatible with what most dev engines were using and people wonder why they dont get certain games or why the muliplats for Wii suck most of the time. Did they think that devs were just going to drop what they were doing and start from scratch on Wii?? No they didnt and im glad they didnt. I like the direction of Wii U and 3DS they are actually listening to the people they want to develop games for their systems, not just doing what the hell they want and expecting people to fall in line, did they not learn from N64???

"When we approached the third-party publishers to tell them about the Wii U, all the publishers volunteered to make advancements in the field of shooting games that they are very good at."

Great to hear!


"couldn't keep hardcore gamers meeting their needs and not able to offer a experience in HD"
That`s true. The lack of HD did hurt Wii - from a core gamer perspective - and the lack of big games in several genres did demotivate core gamers from buying a Wii.

"Did they think that devs were just going to drop what they were doing and start from scratch on Wii??"

Considering that it would lower budgets, get a larger audience years ago, and still have superior graphics on multiplatform versions on the other systems? Yes.

It is BS to insist developers get to call the shots, ignoring the will of the customers, and the realities of economics. You insisted before that it was the customers' fault for expecting Wii support, not developers for refusing to give it. That shows you have fallen for the myth of the artist being superior to the patron.

Not that HD is important internally at Nintendo, but in retrospect given how the Wiimote was recieved by the masses I'm sure Ninty wishes they would have put enough under the hood to atleast get multiplat HD titles.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Yes, he told in an interview that they wish Wii could have another end, but is not posible (or something like that).

I doubt they register only for fun:

- kirbywii.com
- mariobrosu.com
- newsupermariobrosmii.com
- newsupermariobrosu.com
- rhythmheavenwii.com
- rhythmparadisewii.com
- supermariobrosmii.com
- supermariobrosu.com
- wii-u.com
- wii-u.net
- wiibalanceboardu.com
- wiifitu.com
- wiimusicu.com
- wiipartyu.com
- wiiplayu.com
- wiispeaku.com
- wiisportsu.com
- wiiubalanceboard.com
- wiiufit.com
- wiiumusic.com
- wiiuni.com
- wiiuniverse.net
- wiiuparty.com
- wiiuplay.com
- wiiuremote.com
- wiiuremote.net
- wiiuspeak.com
- wiiusports.com
- wiiuware.com
- wiiuwheel.com
- wiiuzapper.com
- wiiwareu.com
- wiiwheelu.com