Miyamoto discusses Wii U with Iwata
Latest Iwata asks shows Nintendo attempting to heal casual/core divide with new console
Shigeru Miyamoto features in the latest episode of Nintendo's Iwata Asks video diary, as the legendary developer and his boss discuss the various implications of the company's new console.
Of key note in the conversation is the admission that the Wii created something of a disconnect between the casual market which Nintendo so successfully targeted and the core audience which has been its mainstay for so many years.
The division, Miyamoto argues, stemmed largely from the lack of HD output from the motion-controlled console, something which the Wii U will rectify, reuniting both sides of the Nintendo audience.
"One of the key reasons that such things as the core and the casual exist today is that we decided not to adopt HD on the Wii console," says Miyamoto.
"I'm sure everyone would agree that we tried really hard to go wider," Iwata added. "But even though we worked aggressively to go deeper in certain areas, the general public's impression that Nintendo was casual grew as time went by."
That process of reunion, the pair posit, will involve a further blurring of the already muddy boundaries between the markets, with core products adopting several aspects which have so far been seen to be exclusive to casual gaming.
"I think this is an opportunity for those games that were considered to be core up to now, to evolve into something [with an] even more interesting structure," he said.
"That core vs. casual debate seems like something that can never see a resolution, but with Wii U, I have a feeling that it all may change.
"If we are able to break those psychological barriers with Wii U, I feel like we will be able to take our goal of expanding the gaming population even further to the next step."
Watch the full video below for a deeper insight into the strategies Nintendo has in store.