E3: "Nintendo is not a fad," says Fils-Aime

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has dismissed suggestions that the novelty of the Wii and DS will wear off, telling the audience at the company's E3 conference, "Nintendo is not a fad."

Fils-Aime was first on stage at this morning's event, which he opened with the statement, "My name is Reggie and I am happy."

He went on to echo comments Xbox boss Peter Moore made last night about the growth of gaming, and about what's driving that growth - declaring, "So far this year, exactly 69 per cent of all games industry growth comes directly from the sales of Nintendo products."

There are three factors which are helping Nintendo to drive growth, according to Fils-Aime - the increased popularity of portable gaming, the expansion of appeal to older players, and the greater numbers of women playing games.

"I don't live in a cave. I know what some people are saying - sure, that's all happening now, but it's just a fad. If I were in their shoes I'd been saying the same," Fils-Aime said.

"But here's the reality - the DS flew by the 40 million worldwide sales mark worldwide months ago, and unquestionably remains the best selling console." The Wii, Fils-Aime continued, has sold out around the globe - and is "poised to become the number one worldwide in this generation very soon".

Fils-Aime concluded the first part of Nintendo's conference by confirming that 140 DS titles and 100 games for Wii will be out by the end of the year.

"The reality is this," he told the audience. "Nintendo is not a fad. Nintendo is the future."