Nintendo must convey usefulness of Wii U and second screen to players, Miyamoto says

Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto says there's still work to be done to convince players of the usefulness of the Wii U and its second screen, telling CNN Tech he believes players will come to a point where a second screen feels essential.

Miyamoto likens hesitation about the Wii U and its touchscreen controller, the GamePad, to similar feelings about the Nintendo DS and its two screens.

"I almost feel like, as people get more familiar with Wii U and these touchscreen interfaces," Miyamoto says, "that there is going to come a point where they feel like 'I can't do everything I want to do if I don't have a second screen'."

Miyamoto said Nintendo's "immediate objective" is to improve the stability of the Wii U — a system software update is due sometime in April — and to make it "a little bit more convenient to use from a system standpoint." Some of that could be accomplished through the system's Miiverse functions, he says, which he calls an "ongoing project."

"We're obviously still early on in it and just trying things out, but so far, it does feel like the community itself is doing a very good job of being a warm and welcoming place for people," Miyamoto said.

"The other thing I think about is how do we begin getting people to understand that and convey the usefulness of Wii U to them," he added. "For me as a game developer, obviously I look at Wii U from the perspective of what games I can bring to Wii U."

In 2013, Nintendo plans to release Pikmin 3, Wii Fit U, The Wonderful 101, Game & Wario and a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.