Nintendo has shared their belief that the Wii U GamePad has been “the only real innovation this console cycle,” although conceded that it has taken time to fully demonstrate the controller’s potential.
That’s according to Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, who reasoned that games such as Star Fox Zero and Super Mario Maker are now showing how the GamePad can deliver differentiated experiences.
Comparatively, Microsoft and Sony sought refinement in Xbox One and PlayStation 4, although have explored virtual reality technology with Project Morpheus and HoloLens.
“We’ve proven time and time again, we make great games, they get great users scores as well as critical scores,” Moffitt explained to Examiner.
“With games like Star Fox [Zero] and [Super] Mario Maker, we are continuing to show the promise of the [Wii U] GamePad and, candidly, early on we probably didn’t showcase the promise of the GamePad as well as we could have. As developers have gotten more comfortable with the technology, now you’re seeing games that really leverage the power of the GamePad. I think that will invite people to take a second look at Wii U.”
He continued, “That’s our real secret sauce is [the GamePad], it is the only real innovation in this console cycle, it’s the only real new idea or game experience and with Super Mario Maker it shows you how magical it is to create levels with that GamePad. It’s so easy and intuitive. Then with Star Fox Zero it’s showing how the GamePad can give you a different view into your game world. You are piloting the Arwing and you’re getting a cockpit view on the GamePad. I think those types of experiences may help us propel the system to new heights.”
Super Mario Maker will launch exclusively for Wii U in Europe and North America on September 11th, with Star Fox Zero releasing later in the year.
