It’s no secret that Wii U hasn’t been a spectacular success for Nintendo, especially compared to the massive sales of the original Wii. Speaking to NPR about the system’s sales struggle, Shigeru Miyamoto cited a combination of the console’s price being higher than ideal and how, by the time it released, tablets were already capable of offering the gameplay ideas that the GamePad was designed to revolutionize.

Miyamoto explains:

“Unfortunately with our latest system, the Wii U, the price point was one that ended up getting a little higher than we wanted. I don’t think it’s just price, because if the system is appealing enough, people will buy it even if the price is a little bit high. I think with Wii U, our challenge was that perhaps people didn’t understand the system. I think unfortunately what ended up happening was that tablets themselves appeared in the marketplace and evolved very, very rapidly, and unfortunately the Wii [U] system launched at a time where the uniqueness of those features were perhaps not as strong as they were when we had first begun developing them. So what I think is unique about Nintendo is we’re constantly trying to do unique and different things. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they’re not as big of a hit as we would like to hope.”

— Shigeru Miyamoto

While the Wii U no longer seems to have a chance at being a big success, Miyamoto remains hopeful regarding Nintendo’s next system:

“After Wii U, we’re hoping that next time it will be a very big hit. But really what’s most important to us is, how do we create a system that is both unique and affordable so that everyone can afford it and everyone can enjoy it.”

— Shigeru Miyamoto

Source: NPR

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