In a recent post-earnings Q&A (via GamesIndustry), Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has outlined thoughts on the current lineup of the upcoming Wii U console, stating that Nintendo "is trying to avoid a post-launch release slump by rationing out its first-party Wii U titles."

In the past, Nintendo has been known to flood the market of a new handheld or console with first-party titles, in hopes that gamers will pick up the new tech with comfortable knowledge of what the games offer. However Iwata outlined that doing so usually resulted in a drop of new titles after launch, and that with the upcoming Wii U the attitude has changed more to relying on third-party titles to sell the console.

"I think that the ratio between first-party titles and third-party titles this time will be drastically different from then," Iwata said. "The first-party ratio was very high at first for both the Nintendo DS and Wii systems, and this trend has continued until now for Wii in Japan. For Nintendo DS worldwide and Wii overseas, the third-party ratio gradually increased as time went by. I expect that it will be high at a relatively early stage for Wii U."

Whether the choice to push back their own first-party titles in favour of third-party will pay off, its definitely an interesting venture into ensuring a new console has as much life as possible in the first few months of release.

The president of Nintendo also addressed concerns about the recent ventures into the DLC market, with new levels for New Super Mario Bros. 2 being the first paid-for DLC for a Nintendo title. Iwata stated that being selective of what to offer as paid-for content will help build long-term relationships between customers and ensure games are balanced not on enjoying the game purely by paying money for extras but for what the game offers at its core.

The Nintendo Wii U is due to launch in Australia on November 30th 2012, with an 8GB storage Basic Pack selling for AU$349.95, and a 32GB storage Premium Pack (with the Nintendo Land game, console stand, and charging cradle) asking AU$429.95.