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GameStop CEO: Wii U 'disappointing to everybody,' including Nintendo

A new interview with GameStop GameStop CEO Paul Raines may shed some light on Nintendo's reaction to its own Wii U.

Christian Nutt, Contributor

May 5, 2016

1 Min Read

"Wii U was disappointing to everybody, including them."

- GameStop CEO Paul Raines on Nintendo's reaction to the Wii U

A new interview with GameStop GameStop CEO Paul Raines may shed some light on Nintendo's reaction to its own Wii U.

While it's obvious that the company had higher hopes for the console than it achieved, with its new NX platofrm on the horizon, there's a lot of excitement about Nintendo's next move.

The company recently announced that it is slashing shipments of the Wii U for its current fiscal year, as it plans to transition to new hardware. 

[a]listdaily's new interview shares the views of one of its biggest retail partners about its immediate past -- and immediate future.

Calling the software maker "very innovative" and praising it for having "a lot of creativity," Raines says that its games are still blockbusters, even if its hardware is not.

And he thinks that Nintendo's strategy of using mobile games to push players toward console releases is sound:

"A lot of the kids today have grown up only playing small games on their phones. As you introduce that exciting Nintendo IP and those characters, they’re going to want more of that. We think that will push them into our stores to see the big games," Raines said.

Of course, that would play directly into his hands: "I think we’ll be dominant distributor of that platform," he said, regarding the Nintendo NX. 

There's more than Nintendo in the interview, and you can read the whole thing here.

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