Nintendo happy to target "the Halo audience"

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime has stated his belief that the Wii console can win over a bigger proportion of the core gamer audience this year with the release of The Conduit and Dead Space Extraction.

Talking in an interview with CNET, Fils-Aime outlined what he sees as the console's opportunities over time, and why "the Halo audience" is an achievable target.

"We have near-term, mid-term and long-term opportunities," he said. "The near-term opportunity is the consumer who owns a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360 and has been bad-mouthing Wii to their friends. We can reach that consumer with games like The Conduit or Tiger Woods with Wii Motion Plus.

"The mid-term opportunity is the more mainstream consumer who saw Wii at a friend's house but just needs a little extra incentive to get into our game. That's what Wii Motion Plus and Wii Fit Plus and new Super Mario Bros. Wii will hopefully achieve. And the long-term opportunity is that person who currently says, 'I don't play videogames and I have no interest in playing videogames.'

"We think we win over the Halo audience with something like The Conduit, a multi-player, online, shooting experience, or Dead Space Extraction. And you know what? Once those people buy into Wii, they'll go buy Mario Kart or Wii Fit Plus.

"We're not going to be satisfied just picking up that existing gamer. We have to reach beyond and get that consumer who doesn't game. That's the only way we'll be able to continue growing as a company and as an industry."

Full details of the Nintendo press conference can be found on the GamesIndustry.biz highlights page.