GameStop CEO Paul Raines spoke with [a]listdaily yesterday to discuss some interesting topics, including the Wii U, the Nintendo NX, and mobile plans. Raines’ comments about the Wii U were particularly scathing, but he followed that up by stating that he’s optimistic about the Nintendo NX and Nintendo’s strong series of franchises.
Wii U was disappointing to everybody, including them. They made some bold bets, and maybe some of them didn’t work out. But they have a lot of creativity there. They’re a very innovative group of people, so we never count out Nintendo. Even now it’s incredible how strong some of their IP is—Pokémon, for example. We could have a Pokémon weekend this weekend at GameStop and we would break sales records just because every time they put out a new game they have a very loyal fan base. Super Mario, Zelda, all those IPs have a huge, loyal fan base.
In regards to the Nintendo NX, Raines stated that it seems exciting and he’s hoping the company can come out with something that’s exciting and innovative for consumers.
There is some excitement around NX. Lately here, we’ve been hearing a lot more buzz than we have in the past. Nintendo is interesting in that they really are able to keep things as quiet as they can for a while. And then they just lost their leader, so they’ve gone through a mourning period and so forth. NX sounds exciting. We’re looking forward to it. They’re very innovative in everything that they do. I hope that they come out with something exciting and innovative. I think we’ll be dominant distributor of that platform.
It’s interesting to see the CEO of the biggest distributor of games across North America come out and say that the Wii U is disappointing to everyone, including Nintendo. Do you agree with his statements? We expect once the Nintendo NX is revealed, plenty of people will be looking back at the Wii U with a less than favorable opinion.
