Nintendo president Satoru Iwata apologized for the Wii U requiring a patch that needs to be downloaded before the console's online functionality can be accessed, but said that the console will offer a unique experience that has never existed before, according to an interview with IGN.
Speaking with IGN over email, Iwata said he regrets that Nintendo's Wii U didn't ship with online functionality and that online support had to be delivered via a 5 GB patch that took US Wii U users more than an hour to download.
"Personally I think that users should be able to use all the functions of a console video game machine as soon as they open the box," Iwata said. "So I feel very sorry for the fact that purchasers of Wii U have to experience a network update which takes such a long time, and that there are the services which were not available at the hardware's launch."
Hefty patch aside, Iwata told IGN that he believes that the Wii U offers something that competing consoles don't, even if these features have been difficult to explain.
"It is challenging to communicate attractions which are hard to understand unless you actually touch and experience them yourself," he said. "This is especially so with Wii U because it has unprecedented entertainment potential."
Iwata added that through features like the Miiverse network and allowing players to play in separate rooms from the console, Nintendo will be able to cater to a dynamic audience.
The Wii U released in North America on Nov. 18. It will release in Europe and Australia Nov. 30 and Japan in Dec. 8.