The Nintendo Wii redefined what gaming meant when it originally released. It was easily accessible to the masses, and even our grannies had a go at some indoor bowling. Then the Wii U came along and people sort of shrugged and said: “What is it?”
That’s been the problem for the Wii U since its announcement, really. Casual players didn’t understand why they should throw their Wii in the attic and go out and buy a Wii U. It’s something that we’ve suggested needs to be taken into consideration with Nintendo’s next console. We’re not the only ones either, as Nintendo’s new president, Tatsumi Kimishima, has recently stated a similar sentiment in an interview with Time.
“As far as NX goes, I’ve said it’s different and obviously a new experience,” Tatsumi Kimishima said. “If you look back to the beginning of our conversation today, we talked about the transition from Wii hardware to the Wii U hardware and how difficult it is to explain to the consumer base what is different and new about the new hardware. It’s difficult to convince them to switch from their current platform to the next platform.”
Kimishima goes on to explain further:
“That being said, I can assure you we’re not building the next version of Wii or Wii U. It’s something unique and different. It’s something where we have to move away from those platforms in order to make it something that will appeal to our consumer base.”
It sounds as if the NX will forego any sort of ‘Wii’ in the name, something we’d be happy to see. There’s still not a great deal known about the next Nintendo console, but rumour has it that we’ll be seeing a new handheld from the Japanese giant, too.