Fils-Aime: Wii can win over Halo audience

Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo America's President, has argued that the Nintendo Wii can win over the Halo audience.

In conversation with CNET after E3 2009, Nintendo America's president and chief operating officer, Reggie Fils-Aime has explained how the company will help move the Nintendo Wii from the mainstream casual gamer to the core gamer:

"We have near-term, mid-term and long-term opportunities. The near-term opportunity is the consumer who owns a PS3 or an Xbox 360 and has been bad-mouthing Wii to their friends. We can reach that consumer with games like The Conduit or Tiger Woods with Wii Motion Plus.

"The mid-term opportunity is the more mainstream consumer who saw Wii at a friend's house but just needs a little extra incentive to get into our game. That's what Wii Motion Plus and Wii Fit Plus and the new Super Mario Bros. Wii will hopefully achieve.

"And the long-term opportunity is that person who currently says, 'I don't play video games and I have no interest in playing video games.'"

High Voltage's The Conduit appears to be central to the company targeting the core gamer, despite hardcore games like MadWorld failing to excite the consumer before now. Fils-Aime even thinks these games can attract the 'Halo audience:'

"We think we'll win over the Halo audience with something like The Conduit, a multi-player, online, shooting experience, or Dead Space Extraction. And you know what? Once those people buy into Wii, they'll go buy Mario Kart or Wii Fit Plus."

But, once again, it's not just about the core gamer with Nintendo, it's about the untapped market:

"We're not going to be satisfied just picking up that existing gamer," Fils-Aime adds. "We have to reach beyond and get that consumer who doesn't game. That's the only way we'll be able to continue growing as a company and as an industry."