Nintendo Chief Says Wii Third Party Support Will Grow

[Junaid Alam]

Nintendo Chief Says Wii Third Party Support Will Grow

The head of Nintendo said the company's imposing presence in the Wii software scene will lessen over time.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, the head of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, downplayed the company's dominance in the Wii console's software sales.

"I believe that third-party publishers ... don't want Nintendo to have more than one-third [market presence], otherwise, Nintendo will be too strong. They want to have two-thirds of what's being sold on the platform," Iwata said.

He continued by arguing a strong start with first-party support was required as a stepping stone for future growth.

"However, I believe that the job of first-party software is to drive hardware. If you don't have a quick impact and quick dissemination amongst the audience, you lose momentum," he said.

Iwata nevertheless called Nintendo's first-party presence on the system "unusual," but predicted it would dissipate next year.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=28348]

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[Bongo Bill]

"However, I believe that the job of first-party software is to drive hardware. If you don't have a quick impact and quick dissemination amongst the audience, you lose momentum," he said.

This, I think, is a part of the reason for the overall quality of Nintendo-developed games. They don't have to worry as much about budgets. The games are the loss leaders, and the consoles are the payload. If a good game doesn't make its initial investment back, that's fine, because it sells more consoles.