Iwata: Being first with next-gen "not important"

Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's global president, has addressed some of the biggest issues, pricing, power and release window, surrounding the company's new console the Wii U.

"Being first in the next generation race is not important at all," he told Gamasutra.

"One of the reasons we believe this is the time for Nintendo to launch the Wii U is it's going to be important for the world."

He believes the Wii U can offer the dual screen experience without the high cost associated with owning an Apple iPad. What matters more than the release date, he said, was the price tag.

"The pricing of Wii U is going to be one of the most important elements when it is going to be launched. The environment is different. Wii U is going to be launching in a different environment than when the Wii was launched. Also, the involvement surrounding [mobile and social] businesses is different than several years ago."

He also refused to see Microsoft and Sony and their consoles as competition, arguing that Nintendo wanted to offer something innovative rather than just something powerful.

"We have not changed our strategy. In other words, we just do not care what kind of 'more beef' console Microsoft and Sony might produce in 2013. Our focus is on how we can make our new console different than [others]."

And while he admitted that the 3DS handheld is actually still losing money, despite impressive sales, he added that the company expected to return to profitability "in the near future."

"Our intention is to return to profitability after just one year of losing money. I just cannot say that it's a good thing for Nintendo at all to record an annual loss for two or more years in a row.

The Wii U is due for release by the end of this year.