Wii U to do well despite stiff competition from Sony and Microsoft on Black Friday, says Nintendo

By: Muhammad Qasim Hassan

  |   November 21st, 2012   |  

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Irrespective of what the gaming industry gurus have been asserting over the past few months, Nintendo does not view PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as a hurdle in the success of its first high-definition console Wii U.

Speaking with GameSpot during the Wii U launch event at Rockefeller Center in New York City on November 17, Nintendo’s director of product marketing Bill Trinen stressed that the latest offering by the company will surely be able to hold its own despite a number of options available for the consumers in the market.

Responding to a question regarding the problems that the system is likely to face since the drop in the prices of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to $200 on Black Friday, the Nintendo executive pointed out that the next-generation consoles have managed to do well despite cheaper consoles available in the market in the past.

With Wii U being a next-generation console offering an all-new experience that is not just limited to gaming, its sales will not be significant affected.

“I don’t think so. Because Wii U is really the first new system in a new generation of consoles. When the Wii launched, you could still go out and buy a GameCube or a PS2 at a lower price point. So it’s always the case where the previous generation of consoles are on the market at a lower price and that’s never been a problem for consoles up until now. Particularly, when you look at everything the Wii U is doing, and the fact that with the GamePad, it’s really going to change the way that people play games, “he stated.

Trinen expects to find the people realising the true value of the console and what it has to offer very quickly and therefore give it preference over the current-generation consoles.

He noted that the games with which Wii U is launching are likely to make a massive contribution to its appeal and therefore convince people into buying it.

The launch titles include games coming from both Nintendo as well as third-parties, with the likes of Ubisoft and Electronic Arts (EA) bringing some of their most popular franchises to the console on its very first day.

Games such as Assassin’s Creed III, Call of Duty, Mass Effect 3: Special Edition, Super Mario Bros U, Pikmin, etc are all expected to make a huge impact on the market performance of Wii U during the coming weeks,

Available with a price tag of either $350 or $300 depending on whether the consumer is looking at a deluxe edition or a basic one, the system will surely have to deliver something special to justify what is being regarded as high price by some analysts, publishers and consumers.