Nintendo Claims they've Learned from Wii U Failure

While there's still a lot we don't know about the NX, Nintendo is at least loosening its lips regarding details on the system, and what it's plans are. Specifically, Nintendo's own North American bro and President Reggie Fils-Aime spoke with Alist Daily, a marketing magazine about the upcoming launch and what he feels Nintendo has done both right -- and wrong -- with the Wii U... and how that might shape the launch of the NX.

First, some praise:

"We continue to believe that the innovation of the second screen was a worthwhile concept. Arguably, if you line up all of the single platform games for Wii U and the other two platforms, we have by far the most unique games that are highly rated by consumers and highly rated by the media."

And then the bitter medicine:

"One of the things that we have to do better when we launch the NX—we have to do a better job communicating the positioning for the product. We have to do a better job helping people to understand its uniqueness and what that means for the game playing experience. And we have to do a better job from a software planning standpoint to have that continuous beat of great new games that are motivating more and more people to pick up the hardware and more and more people to pick up the software."

The software is probably the best point on the list. Outside some... erratic support from third-party developers, the Wii U ultimately became console that hosted exclusively Nintendo titles, which simply isn't enough these days. What's more, the launch of the Wii U was questionable, wanting for any heavy hitters to really sell the hardware, and by the time worthwhile Wii U games came out, people had already moved on.

But still, Nintendo should have learned all this with the Nintendo Gamecube. The fact they can't seem to retain a lesson after the Wii exploded is troubling, and hopefully, not something they'll repeat. That said, if the rumors around the NX are true... well... it's questionable if a mobile console can really compete against smartphones, or even Nintendo's own 3DS.

The future will be interesting...