On Wednesday Nintendo investors met in the company's Kyoto office for the 71st annual shareholders meeting (.pdf). The agenda covered myriad business reports and financial statements, but also turned up some information on the upcoming Wii U console by way of global president Satoru Iwata.
Japanese gaming news blog Andriasang originally reported on some translated sections from the meeting's requisite investor Q&A.
Iwata, under some scrutiny for a Wii U debut that at best received a mixed reception, touted an "extremely good" response from those who actually attended the event and seemed to chalk up the bulk of criticism to online-only coverage of the unveiling.
Critics at E3, however, passed over Nintendo's novel tablet-controller for another big reveal. The Wii U lost to Sony's upcoming new handheld the PS Vita in the "New Hardware" category of the yearly E3 Game Critics Awards. The other nominees were Ubisoft's "Rocksmith," Sony's 3D display and Zoom for Kinect. In 2006, Nintendo's current dominant console Wii won both "Best Hardware" and "Best of Show" nods. This year's awards tallied votes from 35 publications, including mainstream outlets such as Entertainment Weekly and USA Today.
Following the Wii U's announcement, stock prices for the company promptly dropped - an event Nintendo of America president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime told the Wall Street Journal was caused by a confluence of things - particularly a noticeable lack of more details on the console. Nintendo has yet to announce either the Wii U's release date or price.
Iwata also reportedly admitted to shareholders that Nintendo's "software output" for its new 3DS handheld within the launch window was "low" and promised that the company wouldn't let history repeat itself with the Wii U. (via Andriasang)
