Iwata: "I think the public view of Nintendo will be changed"

If Nintendo can move enough Wii U units going forward, the public view of the company will be changed, according to president Satoru Iwata. Speaking with the Guardian, the industry executive admitted that communicating the novelty of the Wii U--relative to the original Wii--has been challenging thus far, but noted that new software will help things turn around.

"So, what we really need to do now is to launch software titles for the Wii U that can take advantage of its unique aspects, one after the other," Iwata said. "So much so that a great number of people are able to touch the Wii U and feel how unique it is. We need to expand the number of such people. And once the number of people has reached critical mass, I think the public view of Nintendo will be changed."

High-profile first-party Wii U games due out this year include Pikmin 3 (August), The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD (October), Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (November), and Super Mario 3D World (December). Next year's lineup includes Mario Kart 8 and an all-new Super Smash Bros. title, among others.

Another major Wii U product in the pipeline is the brand-new Legend of Zelda title. Iwata did not provide any firm details about this project, but said Nintendo will make a "relevant announcement" about the game in the not-too-distant future.

The Wii U has officially sold 3.45 million units to date as of March 31. Nintendo has not provided a sales update for the platform since April. The company will announce first-quarter sales results on July 31.