Nintendo Developing Wii Community Features, Updates Holiday Hardware Outlook

Nintendo, whose online presence is subdued compared to those of rivals Sony and Microsoft, will unveil community software for the Wii in the future.

"Nintendo has always had a vision on community," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to Forbes' Chris Morris for his weekly column.

"The issue is that we define community differently than our competitors. ... Our consumers do want a sense of community, and we're going to deliver that--but in a way that is unique to Nintendo," he added.

Fils-Aime offered no further details on the community features, including a release date, but Morris projected that more will be known at E3 2009.

The executive also commented on the state of the Wii, which was previously expected to have a third straight sold-out holiday season. "With Wii hardware, I think we've got a good shot at meeting demand during the holidays," he commented.

The Wii had its production ramped up following the 2007 holiday. This year, a 50% increase in Wii supply is anticipated, and Nintendo already met its promise of a 33% bump earlier this year.

Wii Fit, on the other hand, may be the sellout phenomenon this year. "With Wii Fit, I know we'll fall short. That's a product we have consumers lining up for each morning outside of our Nintendo World store [in New York City]."

In fact, the Balance Board-bearing fitness game is one of the year's best-sellers, in the same league as Wii Play and Grand Theft Auto 4 by sales figures.

Fils-Aime concluded by once again laying plain that the Wii--the cheapest of the three major home consoles--won't receive a price cut. "At some point, it will be time to adjust the [price]... but we're nowhere near that point now."