In an interview with The Independent, Nintendo (Worldwide) president Satoru Iwata spoke on the prospects of the Wii U - Nintendo's next-generation console launching by the end of 2012 -, the company's ailing fortunes and the Nintendo 3DS. The last 12 months have been difficult for Nintendo as Wii sales declined and the company recorded its first annual loss.

On the company's first recorded loss, Iwata said Nintendo was in a transition from the Wii. He admitted the Nintendo 3DS "lost momentum after launch," probably due to the lack of software available for the platform.

"[S]o we had to take measures and cut the price in order to avoid a failure toward the end of the year, which meant we were selling Nintendo 3DS units at a loss; these two problems we will solve this year," he said. Iwata also cited the strong Yen and the economic climate as problems which, while out of Nintendo's control, it needs "to find a set-up at our end that will still allow us to make profit under these circumstances."

On online multiplayer, which paled in comparison to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on the Wii, Iwata invited developers such as Activision/Treyarch - of Call of Duty - to "support them to offer this kind of entertainment on our platform." Iwata didn't talk about the systems specifically, but games that support online play on the aforementioned current-generation consoles will probably support matchmaking.

The Wii's success was described as a "boom," but building the product Nintendo was confident the Wii wouldn't be the last console from the company. "[W]e always try to create something unique and of value," Iwata added.

The Independent also asked if Iwata considered Wii U "next generation," hinting towards the demand for a significant jump in graphical capability.

"But that's not our approach or what we define as next generation. For next generation we look at the user experience, the gaming experience ... how we can allow people to connect from one living room to another, and this is what we focus on and what, for us, makes a new generation," he stated.

No specific answer was given into relation to Unreal Engine 4, the next-generation graphics engine from Epic Games, but Iwata was confident high-specification software will run on Wii U. However he revealed that the added cost of the GamePad controller means an "excessive CPU" isn't desired.

"[T]here are other games in the works that haven't been announced yet and in the autumn, when we announce price point and timing of the launch, we will also be able to announce some more third-party titles," Iwata added.