Iwata: Wii's 2009 lineup allowed the 'mood' to 'cool'

At a press conference about Nintendo's earnings, president Satoru Iwata blamed a weak first-party Wii lineup in part for the decline in Wii sales, and for the corresponding decline in profits. "Wii is stalled," he said. "We didn't release good software continually, and let the good mood cool."

Siliconera gathered up Nintendo's Wii lineup to illustrate Iwata's point. The first half of 2009, the period described by Nintendo's earnings report, was largely anchored by New Play Control GameCube ports. The second half of the year saw major sellers like Wii Fit Plus accompanied by somewhat niche titles like Endless Ocean 2 and Sin and Punishment 2 -- not that we're complaining about those games! But with New Super Mario Bros.and continued sales of Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort, it should look better than the first half.

It's likely that not even Nintendo wanted to get in the way of Monster Hunter 3, which did turn out to be a big success -- and one that helped Nintendo achieve the level of hardware sales it did, thanks to a bundle. However, with that out in August, it didn't factor into the first-half results.