Nintendo undecided on making Nintendo Land a Wii U pack-in

Although Nintendo Land appears to the spiritual successor to Wii Sports, Nintendo doesn't know if it will include the game as a pack-in with the Wii U.

4

At the conclusion of Nintendo's E3 press conference, many had concluded that Nintendo Land would be bundled with the Wii U, not unlike Wii Sports was included with Nintendo's last-gen console. As a collection of mini-games, it certainly seems analogous. Katsuya Eguchi, producer of the game, agrees that the comparison is fair, but admits that he doesn't know what the plan is.

"If you think of Wii U and Nintendo Land as having the same relationship as Wii Sports and Wii--the concept is sort of similar, so you may be able to imagine the scenario."

When quizzed if the game would be included as a pack-in, he admitted that he wasn't sure. "Honestly, I don't know," he said at a Nintendo press roundtable last night. He offered this cautionary tale for those that might be thinking Nintendo Land will be a freebie. "In North America, Wii Sports was a pack-in. But in Japan, it's not. So even though it's the same sort of concept, it doesn't necessarily mean the same result."

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

Filed Under
From The Chatty
  • reply
    June 6, 2012 7:00 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Nintendo undecided on making Nintendo Land a Wii U pack-in.

    Although Nintendo Land appears to the spiritual successor to Wii Sports, Nintendo doesn't know if it will include the game as a pack-in with the Wii U.

    • reply
      June 6, 2012 7:14 AM

      Pack in Mario, not that. Anything but that :(

    • reply
      June 6, 2012 7:29 AM

      Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!

    • reply
      June 6, 2012 8:02 AM

      they would be insane not to make it a pack in. Imagine buying Wii without WiiSports.

      • reply
        June 6, 2012 8:24 AM

        Here's the thing: Wii Sports was a game non-gamers could pick up, understand, and play instantly. The instructions for Wii Tennis are "hold this and swing it like a racquet." Meanwhile, one mini-game in Nintendoland took them a full FIVE MINUTES to explain on stage. (In contrast, when the Wii made its rounds on morning TV shows early in its release, they often gave it less than two minutes of total airtime, about ten seconds of which was spent on explanation.)

        Wii Sports was the clear winner for accessibility. While Nintendoland looks fun, I don't think it'd resonate with the non-gamer crowd the way Wii Sports did. I suspect that's what has Nintendo hesitant.

        • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
          reply
          June 6, 2012 8:28 AM

          That clearly isn't the angle Nintendo is pursuing with the Wii U though. They're trying to step back and win the gamer demographic again. I don't think the idea of using a tablet in conjunction with the TV will ever be truly accesible.

        • reply
          June 6, 2012 8:44 AM

          yeah but Nintendoland is basically a tech demo to show how the system works, somewhat like Wii Sports was. There isn't anything deep in those games, but it showed you what you could do with this new $300 system you just bought.

Hello, Meet Lola