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New trends in video gaming
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime isn't worried. Yes, sales of the Wii have tapered off. Yes, analysts doubt that its successor, the game machine/tablet Wii U, will sell as well as the original. Yes, Facebook, mobile, and Xbox Kinect have poached Nintendo's audience of fitness-minded moms and kids.
But Fils-Aime has faith. "To buy into a console, consumers need a very clear, understandable, and persuasive reason," he explains. "We believe that's games."
If he's wrong, Nintendo could be in trouble. If he's right, well, Nintendo may still be in trouble. Building a game console that only plays games is becoming a risky proposition. Wii U will include a controller with a touch-enabled screen, camera, and NFC.
The Wii U's release won't just determine the fate of one of the most successful gaming companies ever. It will also shed light on whether traditional consoles have a future in an era of multifunction devices.
From a cultural standpoint, games have never been bigger. Nielsen found that half of all American households have a console, and the amount of time spent playing games has increased 7% since last year.
Blockbusters like Call of Duty still have billion-dollar releases. But games of that scale require years and cost millions to produce. Alex Seropian, a cofounder of Bungie, the studio that created the Xbox mega-franchise Halo, sold his company to Microsoft in 2000.
"The $60 console game is going to disappear," he says. Poised to replace it is an ecosystem teeming with games of all sizes and prices.
The future of gaming hardware may well come to look like the mobile phone industry: one or two market leaders and a host of smaller competitors.
That's what makes the Wii U a good barometer of the future of the console. We're about to learn just how much pull Mario still has.
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