Square Enix: Wii U’s launch line-up needs to be strong

Since the Wii U’s reveal at E3 there has been both optimism and cynicism about whether Nintendo’s next console will be successful. According to Julien Merceron, Square Enix’s worlwide technology director the Wii U’s launch line-up and price will be crucial to the system’s success or failure.

“I’d say, don’t write off the console,” Merceron told VideoGamer.com. “For every console it’s the same thing: one of the most important things is going to be the launch line-up. We see that every time there’s a great title shipping on PSP, the PSP sales go up, and every time there’s a great title shipping on 3DS, the 3DS sales go up. If the audience and players can see that there are products for them, there’s definitely going to be wide adoption of Wii U. The things of utmost importance are going to be the pricing at launch, and the line-up.”

This makes a lot of sense seeing as one of the main criticisms of the 3DS was it’s launch titles which even Iwata noted was not up to scratch. It also can’t be a coincidence that not only does the Wii have lots of worldwide sales but it also the cheapest of the three consoles on the market. A tempting price will only do good things for creating sales.

Square Enix’s Merceron also went on to say that even though Nintendo don’t necessarily push to have the most powerful hardware on the market, what they do decide to focus on they pay close attention to.

“They’re trying to do their own thing. Generally they don’t seem to look for breadth, in terms of the things [features] they are supporting with their console. They seem to be focusing a lot, and trying to make sure the things they are focusing on are going to be at the top. I’d always be careful making judgements on their hardware. They have an approach to it that is very different from others, but they have a lot of inner control of what they are doing. And there’s a lot of knowledge and skill behind it.”