"Still millions" of potential Wii customers, says NoA boss

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime expects the Wii to continue selling even as the company prepares to launch its successor.

"The broad marketing for the Wii is not going to change. The Wii is focused against today the late adopter, the consumer who is spending $149 or less to have a gaming experience," the executive told Forbes.

"And we believe – not only in the US but through all of the Americas – there’s still millions of these types of consumers available. So it’s a sizable opportunity. But that’s a different consumer than who is going to look at the Wii U and get excited by the latest graphical capabilities, all of the services that are included, and new types of games. We see these as two different market opportunities."

Fils-Aiume acknowledged Sony's use of a similar tactic, in maintaining interest in the PS2 for years along side the PlayStation 3.

"They’ve done a phenomenal job, and they have been able to address different marketing over time, to build an incredibly large install base," he said.

"We believe that the Wii system, similarly, will keep selling for quite some time. They’re going to be different addressable markets, not only from a US perspective but from a global perspective… [but we'll] hopefully continue to drive sales at a historic rate."

The Wii U launches in November.

Thanks, GoNintendo.