Wii U "launch window" games could release four months later

Wii U games shown in Nintendo's E3 "launch window" line-up could arrive anywhere up to four months after the console hits shop shelves.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime clarified the Wii U "launch window" timescale when pressed as to how soon the console's software would appear.

"Everything that we've shown from a first-party perspective is definitely launch window," Fils Aime told IGN.

And that means longer than just the first couple of months post-launch, he explained.

"Eh... More than that. It's launch plus the following three to four months."

Nintendo also has no imminent plans to unveil the next project from Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns developer Retro Studios.

"If I disclosed what Retro is doing, I would have the president of Retro literally calling me right now saying, 'Reggie, what are you doing?'", Fils-Aime protested. "We love that people are interested. We love surprising people. I remember getting the questions before we announced Donkey Kong Country Returns. And I loved unveiling that.

"Rest assured, the team is hard at work. But I'm not gonna tell you what they're working on," Fils-Aime concluded, adding it was "likely not" something the company would reveal any time soon.

Now-deleted Twitter messages from a Retro employee previously implied the developer was in "crunch" period on a new game due out this year.

Retro's last project was Donkey Kong Country Returns, released in 2010, although the studio also helped Nintendo on last year's Mario Kart 7.