Nintendo: Wii U not successful due to price and rise of tablets

Nintendo celebrity Shigeru Miyamoto believes that the Wii U is not as successful because the price turned out higher than Nintendo itself wanted. In addition, the rise of the tablet was so rapid that the unique properties of the Wii U were negated. The Wii U came out in late 2012.

Shigeru Miyamoto, designer of Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda, among others, says in an interview with NPR that the Wii U became more expensive than Nintendo initially envisioned. When asked if that’s why the Wii U isn’t selling well, he replied: “It’s not just the price, because if the system is attractive enough, people will buy it when the price is a bit higher.”

The challenge, according to the well-known designer, was that users did not understand the ‘unique’ system. “And what happened, unfortunately, was that tablets came out and they developed very, very quickly. So the Wii U console came on the market at a time when its unique features weren’t as strong as when we started with the development.”

Miyamoto also says he hopes that the successor to the Wii U will be a big hit again. Nintendo has announced a console called NX, but it is unclear whether this will be the successor to the Wii U. Details about the system are not forthcoming, but Miyamoto emphasizes that Nintendo is always trying to come up with something unique and not joining the race to offer the highest tech specs. According to him, the company also strives for systems to remain affordable.