Nintendo chief: we'll rely less on ourselves to sell systems
updated 08:35 am EDT, Tue April 26, 2011
Nintendo to emphasise 3rd parties with 3DS and Wii
Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata at an investor summit on Tuesday admitted that the company was leaning too heavily on its own games and marketing to drive console sales. Following a 66 percent slump in profit blamed on sagging Wii sales, the CEO wished Nintendo had joined up with "someone outside the company" to persuade gamers. The system might have had better sales if the company asked for help from others, he said, vowing that it wouldn't repeat the mistake with the 3DS, ongoing sales of the Wii, and the now confirmed Wii sequel.
"Now I am aware that we should not rely too much on ourselves," Iwata explained. "You will see what I mean by this when we market the 3DS and the Wii in the future."
The Japanese console pioneer has often been criticized for its trouble getting support beyond its own games. Although it regularly gets major third-party games and has insisted several times that it would give more attention to others, its marketing almost always revolves solely around its own games. The dependence on Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, and other in-house games to drive sales has been a problem since sales of at least the DS and Wii have risen or fallen directly relative to whether or not a new Nintendo game was on store shelves.
Microsoft and Sony usually haven't had that problem with the Xbox 360 and PS3, and the Xbox 360 has lately been outselling the Wii despite its higher price and focus on less child-friendly gaming. [image via Jgg1992]
