Nintendo Post-E3-News: Reggie Talks Price, Lack of Retro, Third Parties

Still have answers about Nintendo’s Wii U? The unanswered questions have been answered by Nintendo’s president.

Nintendo’s E3 conference was underwhelming, we know, but it’s president has answer some of the remaining questions

Watching the Nintendo conference was probably the biggest letdown of E3, because the company has been mute for a year and didn’t expand on what they’d shown at E3 2011 or announce a first-party console title (e.g., Super Mario Galaxy 3). The company’s president, Reggie Fils-Aime, spoke in an interview with IGN on some of the remaining questions.

On price, Fils-Aime said the first thing the company focuses on is value — you get what you pay for. He added Nintendo also believes with the Wii U is a mass-market product, and will launch at a price that represents ongoing value and not a price that’s slashed multiple times like the PS3. There’s been speculation a price wasn’t announced during E3 because Nintendo was waiting to see the reaction, and price accordingly. Given the, well, less-than-positive reaction I’m going to say they’ll price lower than estimated.

Citing the Wii, Fils-Aimed said the Wii was fixed at $250 for a long time; that kind of thinking will transfer to the Wii U. The key element of that strategy is Nintendo has to get the pricing right, or they’ll be forced into a 3DS situation where consumer demand causes a price cut that may actually cause an initial loss.

Third Parties Wary

And there a parallels between the two systems, because they both have cool features that can add to gameplay but the launch lineup is bare. We have Pikmin, probably, and New Super Mario Bros. U. They’re good titles, but not killer apps in my opinion. A full Mario or Zelda title, or whatever Retro is working on, would have been.

On third parties, FIls-Aimed admitted the lack of commitment means titles aren’t happening (where’s GTA V or Tomb Raider?). He said most are probably waiting for the install base, so once the console have been bought hopefully third parties will adopt the console. That doesn’t sound very reassuring, does it?

On Retro, Fils-Aime remained coy and said he couldn’t announce what it was working on. He added there won’t be an imminent announcement, suggesting we won’t see the title until we’re closing in on late 2013.