EA sees Wii as PS2: a "legacy" console
Nintendo will return "with a second act".
EA believes the Wii has "faded away" and become a "legacy platform" like PS2. To EA, the Wii prospect is "not very competitive" when compared to PS3, Xbox 360.
Not, that is, until Nintendo unveils "a second act".
"When you look at Nintendo, for a while there it was all about the Wii being the biggest entertainment platform ever and capturing the mass market," EA Games' head honcho Frank Gibeau told IndustryGamers.
"And it faded away.
"Now, they're coming back with a second act. I think they know that. They're very self-aware as an organization and a very powerful brand.
"They understand the dynamics and the fact that HD consoles is a booming part of business right now," he added.
"Legacy platforms like PS2 and the Wii have dropped off significantly. They're not stupid. They're going to figure something out. They're going to come back at it."
Gibeau acknowledged that Wii represents "a tough market for third-party", although EA broke some ground here through EA Sports Active.
"When I look at a development dollar in terms of which teams do I invest in, and what platforms to go at, they're not very competitive when you look at HD consoles, or free-to-play bets, or things like tablets and handsets," said Gibeau.
That third-party prospect is something Nintendo should "think seriously about with their next gen", Gibeau believes. If it isn't "frankly easy to make money on the platform", third-parties will go elsewhere.
"They need to take note of that," Gibeau said.