Nintendo UK boss: "We have never neglected core gamers"

Nintendo UK head David Yarnton has denied that Nintendo ever turned its back on the hardcore, and has reiterated that new versions of "popular core gaming franchises" are on the way for Wii.

“It’s simply not true, Nintendo has never lost its passion for core gamers," he told MCV.

"Nintendo would like to bring smiles to as many different faces as possible and produce games which appeal to mainstream and gaming audiences worldwide."

He added: “We have never neglected core gamers. We still have developers working on popular core gaming franchises but we need longer to complete these games, approximately two to three years.

“These games aren’t ready to launch – but are being worked on by all development teams.

“Recently launched popular Nintendo gaming franchises have included Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Wario Land: Shake Dimension. There is also a vast array of third party core gaming titles available for the Wii console.”

You heard it here first: Wii is the home of the hardcore. There's a full interview with Yarnton in this week's MCV.