The perception with Nintendo’s recent hardware offerings, especially the Wii, were designed for a casual audience. According to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, that was never the intention.
“There was a misunderstanding that Nintendo was dedicated to such games at some stage of the lifespans of the Wii and the Nintendo DS,” said Iwata in a recent Q&A session with investors. “We have made efforts to develop video games that are in tune with various consumer tastes; however, we have not been able to gain adequate consumer understanding regarding our intentions, while in the common perception there are no or few core users playing Nintendo platforms, which is not the case.”
“Every avid game player was once a beginner, or in other words, there are no born advanced players,” insisted Iwata. “Unless we create a flow from beginner to expert by offering an entrance for beginners and the processes for a beginner to become an intermediate user and from an intermediate to an advanced player, the video game industry will gradually shrink.”
