Nintendo President: Wii U still has room for growth

Oh, and there's a smartphone app coming

Nintendo's Wii U is one of their slowest selling consoles of all time, although it has been picking up in sales every year. The increase in sales is likely to do with the release of fan favorites like Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Mario Kart 8, but the console isn't done growing yet.

Nintendo's President and CEO Satoru Iwata recently stated during an interview with The Nikkei that the Wii U still has room for growth.

The Nikkei questioned Iwata on why Wii U sales have been relatively flat throughout its shelf life. Iwata's response was filled with hope for the Wii U, stating, "I believe the Wii U business still has considerable room for growth". The Nintendo President is conscious the shift towards mobile gaming in Japan, but understands that globally the video game market is dominated by consoles:

A majority of gamers in Europe and the U.S. still connect their consoles to TVs and play them on a bigger screen. In the global video game market, game titles for consoles are still dominant, and that market is much larger.

Later on in the interview, and somewhat off of the topic of the Wii U, Iwata stated that there is a smartphone app in production that "allows users to use Mii characters as icons on social media." The app and its features will be announced soon.

[Nikkei]