Reggie on Online Nintendo Wii U Play, Digital Downloads and Gaming

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime recently discussed the company's commitment to online play for Wii U and 3DS.

Whilst the company have been making strides in the online space, ever the since the dire first attempts with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there are still various Nintendo games like Nintendo Land and the forthcoming Super Mario 3D World that lack the ability to play with others online.

For most players, Nintendo consoles are considered a haven for local multiplayer, but the same four player experience is still relatively sparse when compared to efforts from other studios. Fils-Aime said that "maybe people read into it, when a Nintendo first-party game doesn't have connected play, that somehow we're not interested in connected play", and contests this by highlighting how it's down to the developers and "the type of experience that they want to see happen."

With Super Mario 3D World, which unfortunately lacks online play, "the development team wanted people to be in the same space, having that fun enjoyment, that's the vision that they had in their head," Fils-Aime said. "Online play is always important".

As for digital gaming and downloads, Fils-Aime again highlights the increased volume of digital consumers with games like Animal Crossing: New Leaf for Nintendo 3DS. With just 32GB of storage on the Wii U console, however, will Nintendo consider a newer model with higher internal capacity?

The short answer is that the Wii U "has enough memory to get you going, and then if you love digital downloads and you want to keep downloading content, buy a separate external hard drive", with Nintendo wanting to "provide a value" to the consumer.

Do you think Nintendo should invest in more online support for traditionally offline titles like Super Mario Bros?