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Nintendo’s Fils-Aime: ‘What’s The Difference’ Between Sony And Microsoft?
Reggie Fils-Aime isn’t just happy about Nintendo’s current position. He thinks that the Wii U is in an enviable position in the console market.
Speaking with Recode, the president of Nintendo America says that he’d rather be where Nintendo is than bickering over Call of Duty’s resolution. When asked about third-party support, and specifically Activision’s annual blockbuster, Fils-Aime suggests he both wants other publishers on Wii U but that shared content is a problem for Sony and Microsoft.
“If you look at the other two competitive platforms, fundamentally, what’s the difference?” he says. “They have a lot of shared content. Look at it from the standpoint of, what don’t they have? They don’t have our games. They don’t have Mario and Zelda. I’d much rather be where Nintendo is, with a differentiated platform, differentiated set-up experiences that we can provide uniquely to the consumer.”
Third-party support for the Wii U has waned since the console launched. This marks the first year in three that Call of Duty hasn’t appeared on the console. Ubisoft has also decided not to publish either of this year’s Assassin’s Creed games on it, going to far as to suggest that the late release of Watch Dogs is its last mature title for the platform.
Nintendo has improved its position following the release of Mario Kart 8. However, Xbox One sales are close behind, and Sony has nearly doubled the Wii U’s performance, both of which happened in half the time.
[Source: Recode]
Our Take
What caught my eye about this isn’t Fils-Aime’s pride over Nintendo’s first-party lineup. That makes complete sense.
It’s that in one breath he talks about wanting third-party support and, in the next, says that shared content hurts differentiation. And while he is correct that Xbox and PlayStation platforms don’t have Mario or Zelda, the Wii U doesn’t have Halo, Uncharted, God of War, Sunset Overdrive, Gears of War, Infamous, and countless others. That’s why they are called “platform exclusives.”
And to knock companies discussing visual fidelity when that’s been a focus for Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Wii U? It doesn’t make sense or look good. Nintendo has a lot going for it on the first-party front, but taking a swing at its competitors doesn’t seem wise.
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