Nintendo of America COO says the console needs to push more than the graphics...

The focus of Wii U will need to go beyond high definition graphics, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

Speaking to the LA Times, he reassured graphically-minded fans that Wii U would provide visual fidelity, but added that Nintendo's focus would be the wider experience of the system.

"The big innovation with the Wii U is the controller and the ability to have an interactive experience that leverages all of your traditional input buttons as well as a screen built right into the controller. Yes, the system is HD capable; it'll generate the most gorgeous pictures. But for us that's not enough. We need to continue pushing the overall experience forward. We need to bring new types of entertainment. New types of gaming and the combination of a big first screen -- your home TV -- coupled with a second screen in your hands, in our view, is going to bring gaming to a whole new experience and to continue driving the industry."

On the subject of Wii, Fils-Aime said that 2012 was the perfect time to release a successor to the little while box, given that the console was beginning to "top out" after shifting 40 million units in North America.

It's a change of tune from the end of 2010, when Reggie suggested that Nintendo wouldn't discuss a Wii successor until the console had passed 45 million units in North America.