PR representative says Nintendo has failed to create excitement or confidence in Wii U

Has Nintendo failed to get people excited for their new console?

Website gamesindustry.biz recently gathered a large group of public relations representatives and asked them to give their assessment of Nintendo's upcoming media event on Thursday, September 13th. One PR rep who has been around for some time gave their assessment of the big N's situation, and it's pretty grave:

"The biggest issue Nintendo has is the lack of anticipation or confidence. They have not created enough excitement and confidence among both consumers and developers, nor has their quiet given people the sense that a delightful surprise awaits. There seems to be a cloud hanging above them of ‘concern.’ They did not do a great job after E3 of bridging toward the fall. If they want this press conference to succeed, making people believe that there will be a surprise or proof of a big flagship title may help. Highlighting their focus on third party or any other innovations would also help.”

The sentiment that Nintendo has failed to build up enough hype for the console is one that we've heard before. There is also one other thing that could be reason for concern: competition with Apple. The computer giant is set to unveil the new iPhone in San Francisco the day before Nintendo's press event, and the PR veteran believes Apple could steal the spotlight:

"It seems that Nintendo does not think of Apple as a true competitor, and they seem to be relying on the fact that their intense focus and disregard of the rest of the market will prevail again. It's interesting Nintendo is doing their press event in New York; that feels like a statement of appealing to the mainstream press, the mass market (as opposed to Silicon Valley or the game developers). But Apple is already mainstream and doesn't really need that, of course. It's possible Nintendo believes reporters who cover interactive, games and tech will simply cover both events, and since they don't seem to really think they are in the same business as Apple, they may be surprised."

These views are not shared by everyone, of course. Meelad Sadat, PR director for thealistdaily.com, had this to say about the timing of Nintendo and Apple's conferences:

"This might be a case of different vibes for different tribes. The iPhone launch will surely get coverage on game sites, but at the end of the day it's a smartphone. It'll get launch coverage and a follow up piece or two to have its hardware dissected. With the Wii U, we're getting the first next gen console. I think with game press and for the people who religiously follow game news, they'll get their fill of Wii U coverage."

Steve Peterson, the author of the article, also pointed out that Nintendo has one thing the other companies don't: Shigeru Miyamoto. In addition to that, he also highlighted the fact that the big N "has well over $10 billion in the bank, with billions more in hard assets." According to his figures, they could afford to lose half a billion dollars a year for several consecutive years, giving them ample time to create a killer app. The 3DS wasn't a runaway success when it first launched, and that could be the case with the Wii U. In any case, Thursday will be an interesting day, as there is so much at stake for the industry giant. We'll be covering the event.

Nintendo's launch lineup is being referred to as "lackluster" and "too small," but historically speaking, it's one of the longer ones and has some very solid titles. To put things in perspective, check out our feature on Nintendo console launch prices. It features a brief overview of each system's launch lineups, some of which were incredibly short (the N64 had two launch games).

Source: gamesindustry.biz

Feature: A Comparison of Nintendo console launch prices