Iwata: Wii U being first next-gen release "not important"

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has told Gamasutra that the timing of Wii U's release compared to new consoles from Microsoft and Sony makes no difference to the firm.

"Being first in the next generation race is not important at all," he said.

"One of the reasons we believe this is the time for Nintendo to launch the Wii U is it's going to be important for the world."

What will matter, the exec added, will be price.

"The pricing of Wii U is going to be one of the most important elements when it is going to be launched," he said.

"The environment is different. Wii U is going to be launching in a different environment than when the Wii was launched. Also, the involvement surrounding [mobile and social] businesses is different than several years ago."

Iwata also shrugged off recent analyst assertions that Wii U is dead in the water.

"Even when we were going to launch the Wii system, there were a lot of voice saying 'Nintendo should stop making hardware'," he added. "The reasoning behind that was Nintendo would not have any chance against Microsoft and Sony. The fact of the matter was: I did not think Nintendo should compete against these companies with the same message and same entertainment options for people.

"We have not changed our strategy. In other words, we just do not care what kind of 'more beef' console Microsoft and Sony might produce in 2013. Our focus is on how we can make our new console different than [others]."

Wii U releases globally later this year.