Seventy-five percent of “current gamers” are not interested in purchasing Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U console, according to a poll at online discount aggregator Dealnews.
The survey, which collected the opinions of 1,551 people, also found that 64 percent of current Wii owners are not interested in the new hardware. These results do not bode well for the system’s launch this fall, and Nintendo is counting on the Wii U to help it recover from a disappointing financial year in which the weakened value of the yen, a costly price cut for its portable 3DS system, and dwindling Wii sales resulted in the console maker’s first annual operating loss in company history.
Nintendo revealed the Wii U at 2011’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, and public reactions were mixed. News that the console will only support one of its tablet-style controllers at a time (the company has since claimed it is working on that) and rely on flash memory for data storage rather than an industry-standard internal hard drive overshadowed assurances that the Wii U will have broad third-party developer support and greater appeal to core gamers than the “family-friendly” Wii.
Whether Nintendo can get fans back on its side depends heavily on its Wii U announcements at E3 in a few weeks, which will include the hardware’s final specifications but not its retail price point.
Do you plan on picking up a Wii U this fall? Make your opinion known in our poll, below.
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