In a recent interview with CNBC, Satoru Iwata got real and spoke candidly about the success–or lack thereof–of the Wii U.

What’s admirable about this interview is the responsibility that Iwata takes for what’s been happening.

“We are to blame. We relaxed our [marketing] efforts, so the consumers today still cannot understand what’s so good and unique about the Wii U. Because we’re always trying to be unique, it takes some energies on our side to [make] people understand the real attractions about whatever we are doing.”

He then goes on to say that people were able to get behind the Wii because of the initial success of Wii Sports and that the Wii U is lacking that type of game. I disagree. They have the game–NintendoLand.  NintendoLand is incredibly fun, great to play with friends, and showcases the Wii U very well. Their problem lies more in marketing and the lack of stronger titles. They already have their next-gen Wii Sports.  What they’re missing is their next-gen Zelda, Metroid, and Super Smash Bros.

Leading to the Wii U’s launch, Nintendo locked themselves into a scary spiral. They delayed development of games to push out the console. People didn’t buy it because of lack of software. Lack of sales led third party developers to rescind support. The only solution to breaking this cycle has to come from Nintendo itself. Fortunately for them, they have admitted their mistakes, and they had a good showing at E3, with a lot of fun games.

Regarding the question on everybody’s minds about a Wii U price cut, the answer is a little disheartening:

“Because from the very beginning we came up with a very aggressive price point. We do not think [a price cut] is a very easy option to take.”