GDC11: Iwata disappointed by WiiWare

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.