Nintendo: Wii U appeals to different type of consumer than Wii does
DS now appeals to parents with 5 or 6-year-olds.
The Wii U will appeal to a very different consumer than the Wii does today, Nintendo has said.
Nintendo expects the Wii to sell well this Christmas, buoyed by The Legend of Zelda and a cheaper price point, US boss Reggie Fils-Aime told Time.
The Wii U, however, will launch with a different price and games.
"The consumer buying Wii hardware today is going to be a different consumer than the one who will be buying Wii U in the future," Fils-Aime said.
"This is the first holiday that the Wii is available at $149.99 or below, so it's an expanded demographic we're reaching. These are consumers who have heard about Wii for the past couple years, but at $199 or $249 it was economically out of their reach.
"We haven't announced pricing for Wii U, but you can definitely expect that pricing is going to be different and that the games are going to be different."
Despite this the Nintendo of America boss expects the Wii U, due out next year, to overlap with the Wii - and hopes Wii gamers will migrate to Wii U, which is backwards compatible.
"We do believe that Wii and Wii U will coexist for some time. As we drive the install base of Wii, we're really setting people up to take their gaming library and be able to transfer it over to Wii U."
Meanwhile, Fils-Aime said Nintendo remains committed to the DS family of consoles, despite the strong push on 3DS.
The DS, he said, now appeals to parents who wish to buy their young children their first console.
"We think the DS is going to sell well this holiday season," he said. "It's going to appeal to a different consumer. You can buy a DS Lite for $99. For a parent with a five or six year-old, maybe that's the first handheld you buy them. It's got a fantastic library of games - Super Mario Bros DS, Mario Kart DS - I think over 1400 games. I think it's a different kind of consumer than those who really want to experience the 3D of the 3DS.