Iwata: WiiWare/DSiWare have been disappointing

Satoru Iwata has admitted that Nintendo has been disappointed in the performance of its downloadable games services.

During his keynote speech at GDC 2011 in San Francisco, the Nintendo president said: To date, our WiiWare and DSiWare services have not operated as well as they should have.”

The Wii’s games download service was first launched in May 2008, while its handheld equivalent debuted with the Nintendo DSi in 2009. Both have had criticial successes, but no titles have taken off commercially in the same way that some XBLA and PSN titles.

Iwata claimed the 3DS would change Nintendo’s digital fortunes, and then introduced Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to explain how.

Fils-Aime highlighted three 3DS features that would help drive the use of Nintendo’s download services and other digital functions: the Spot Pass function, the wide range of eShop content and wi-fi access.

About MCV Staff

Check Also

ab67656300005f1fb3f482612032d45481fa32fd [Industry news] Games for Change and Tencent call for more informed conversation on children and video games in Good Game Club podcast

[Industry news] Games for Change and Tencent call for more informed conversation on children and video games in Good Game Club podcast

Games for Change and Tencent have joined forces to back Raising Good Gamers, a global initiative designed to help parents and caregivers better understand video games and support healthier play. In a new episode of the Good Game Club podcast, Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change and Danny Marti, Head of Public Affairs at Tencent explore how the public conversation around games, children and wellbeing can move beyond fear and towards understanding.