Nintendo not copying XBL or PSN

Nintendo isn't interested in replicating online gaming services such as Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, according to company boss Satoru Iwata.

Nintendo's new Wii U console comes with the MiiVerse, an online feature that allows users to communicate and share achievements with each other.

Iwata said they had to be innovative if they wanted to appeal to experienced gamers, while offering a service that wasn't found elsewhere.

"We have not thought that offering the same features that already exist within other online communities would be the best proposal for very experienced game players," he told IGN.

"Nintendo has paid a great deal of attention to the dynamic of people playing video games together in the same room.

"With Wii U, we thought about expanding this concept into separate rooms which are connected online. MiiVerse is a network community dedicated to video games that represents a very unique game-dedicated social graph that has never existed before."

Iwata also wanted to apologise for the 1GB firmware update that users will have to install when they buy a Wii U.

"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.

"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."

The Wii U goes on sale in Europe tomorrow.