Pachter: Nintendo has "completely blown it" with Wii 2 strategy

Wedbush Morgan analyst boss Michael Pachter has laid the boot into Nintendo in the wake of this week's 3DS launch announcements, saying the Kyoto firm was missed its chance with a next-gen Wii.

“With as much respect for Nintendo management as I can muster, I think Nintendo's completely blown it with their second generation Wii strategy," he told IndustryGamers.

"I think they have the mentality that to launch a new [console] they have to retire the old, and I think that's wrong. I think the right strategy would have been to get a second generation Wii out and keep the old Wii at the same time, and have the second generation be the natural progression upgrade model."

He added: "You don't see Mercedes stopping production of the E-Class because they have a C-Class... So they should let people start with the Wii and graduate to the Wii 2, and have online functionality and Call of Duty multiplayer on there and compete with the 360.

"Instead, they're actually conceding that multiplayer market to Xbox 360 and PS3. They've always conceded it, but now with Kinect and Move, it's a lot easier for people to make 360 or PS3 their starter console."

Nintendo is widely expected to announce its next under-the-TV console this year, with many pegging E3 for the reveal.

Nintendo said this week that 3DS is to launch in the US on March 27 and Europe on March 25. It hits Japan on February 27.