Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime has said that both Wii and Wii U can “survive side by side? as long as the content is there, and as long as the way to differentiate the two is there”.
“When we launched the original Wii,” said Reggie speaking with Forbes, “there was an overlap with Gamecube. When we launched the original DS there was an overlap with the Gameboy Advance.
“I actually think maybe that one is more applicable, because Gameboy Advance was a tremendous, tremendous platform in its own right, and yet it sold side by side to the original DS, at least here in the US, for almost two full years.
“So as long as the content is there, and as long as the way to differentiate the two is there, I think they can survive side by side for a period of time.”
But Reggie acknowledges that support for the Wii won’t last forever.
“Certainly we’re going to get to a point where (The Wii U) is the one standalone system, especially given all the backward compatibility.”
The shelf life of a console once its successor has launched has ranged considerably between products in previous generations.
Support for GameCube and Xbox was cut by the relevant platform holders relatively quickly following the launch of Wii and Xbox 360. PlayStation 2, however, continues to sell today.
But having both Wii and Wii U exist together may only further the confusion surrounding Nintendo’s next console.
Many consumers were baffled by Nintendo’s E3 presentation, with some assuming that the Wii U controller was an accessory for Nintendo’s Wii console.
Similar complaints are true of Nintendo’s 3DS system, which many incorrectly believe to be a 3D-compatible version of the existing DS.
Wii U launches in 2012.
Tags: Wii U
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