6 things for Sony and MS to take from Nintendo

[boffo]

Take Notes Sony and Microsoft, Here are the Six Reasons Nintendo Has the Edge | Second Story Gamer

1. Great Marketing Strategy

Without a doubt, Nintendo’s marketing team has done the best work of the three companies. Unlike the darker Xbox 360 or PS3 commercials, Nintendo’s advertisements are light-hearted, happy things that are instantly recognizable and very memorable. After all, who doesn’t remember smiling at the Japanese man saying “We would like to play”?
2. Control of the Supply and Demand

This hasn’t been a great strategy for consumers, but since it was a brilliant business move by Nintendo, it deserves to be on this list. Although it has never been confirmed, there have been many, many reports that Nintendo has been restricting the supply of Wii’s in order to keep demand for the consoles up. Knowing that these things are a hot commodity, you’re much more likely to grab the first Wii you see on a shelf than you would if they were available everywhere.

3. Appeal to a Wide Userbase (AKA Focus on Casuals)

Another controversial move by Nintendo this generation was their decision to pretty much shun the hardcore and focus instead on the casual market. This may have turned many of the hardcore away from the Wii but their place (and ten places behind them) was filled with casual, first-time gamers who were looking for a way to jump into the gaming market. And Nintendo provided it to them.
4. Pricing Structure

Nintendo may not have the cheapest console at the moment, but for over two years it did. This, along with its casual focus, made it the most wanted console for the average consumer. Normal people don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on video game consoles, which is why, historically, most console sales take place after the console has dropped to $199 or less. Nintendo really capitalized on a lot of sales by starting off their console very close to that price.
5. Loyal Fanbase

Nintendo is one of the strongest brands in the world. In fact has become the “Kleenex” of gaming. Let me explain: you have probably heard non-gamers refer to their video game console as “a Nintendo” even when you clearly see that it’s a PS2. They call it a Nintendo because that’s what they or their parents grew up with and that type of childhood memory is hard to reverse. Because of situations like these, Nintendo has the biggest, most loyal, and oldest fanbase of any of the three consoles. That kind of root support almost gives Nintendo the Midas touch: anything they touch turns to gold.
6. Mascot Characters

There’s no question: Mario is not only an icon for Nintendo, but he is also an icon for gaming in general. The character is associated with video games by millions around the globe and since he only appears on one console, which console do you think those people will choose? Microsoft has attempted to make a mascot out of Master Chief and has somewhat succeeded, but Master Chief is nowhere near the level of Mario and pals.

1. Great Marketing Strategy
well duh

2. Control of the Supply and Demand
fuck outta here with that bullshit

wii sold out, period

3. Appeal to a Wide Userbase (AKA Focus on Casuals)
as apposed to a rapidly narrowing group of hardcorez 12 year olds?

good idea

4. Pricing Structure
$599

5. Loyal Fanbase
you have to start by being loyal to your fanbase

6. Mascot Characters

[Ark]

this list is actually the better of the 3...see no problems, 'cept maybe the mascots...but it works

[E6600]

I don't think Nintendo was controlling the supply, if anything all last year they were increasing production to meet up with demand. None of us expected the Wii to be a huge hit, and Nintendo probably didn't either!

[boffo]

1. Great Marketing Strategy
They have barely had to market it at all. I very rarely see any sort of Wii related commercial on TV. The mass media has taken a shine to it and it's pretty much selling on that alone. That kind of publicity and marketing really isn't something that any company can control. It just happens.
2. Control of the Supply and Demand
Unlike the writer I don't see this deserving to be on the list since there's no actual proof that this is true. Being in short supply has definately kept the demand up but until someone posts a picture of the Nintendo warehouse with rows upon rows of Wii's sitting on the shelves it's all just speculation.

3. Appeal to a Wide Userbase (AKA Focus on Casuals)
It's looking like this is a good way for the company to make money, but at the same time it may not be the best overall strategy. Nintendo has been raking in the dough with the casual focus, but it has been turning both gamers and developers away from them. The 'core' gamers dislike of the Wii seems to be growing with each new release and developers have been becoming more critical of it as well, either because it's not powerful enough to do whatthey want from their game, or because game sales aren't as good as they expected. Regardless of what those two groups think at the moment, there's no denying that this strategy has benefitted Nintendo thus far.
4. Pricing Structure
Still more expensive than consoles were back in the day, but being the least expensive always has it's benefits. Sure you usually get what you pay for but most consumers don't look past the price tag when buying something. And now with the afore mention media buzz about the Wii, the price tag no longer really matters. Oprah told them to get one, so it no longer matters that it costs $50 more than the 360 that she never mentioned.
5. Loyal Fanbase
Not as true as it was 10 years ago. Yes they still have a loyal fanbase, but saying that people call all video games Nintendo because they grew up with them is no longer true. The newest generation of lifetime gamers has been more likely to have played on Playstation's growing up then they were on Nintendo consoles.
6. Mascot Characters
As long as Sonic games still sell then there is no way I can dispute this fact.Now if only Nintendo tried to use some of their many other mascots to sell games instead of making poor Mario do all the work.

[Spindel]

1. True, not that hard to figure out either

2. What the hell is the writer all about, most probably if Nintendo could they would never be sold out because guess what, they would make more money. Demand has been greater for the Wii than anyone could foresee and in the real world it very rarely is "just turning the knob" when you want to increase production of a mass produced product. Also Nintendo have been increasing their production constantly since release.

3. Why not? Companies are out there to make money and more potential costumers increase the chance of success.

4. A video game is a toy, most people don't want to spend too much money on a toy so yes I agree that this is something that VG companies should have learned by now (Neo Geo was superior HW wise to it competitors some 15-20 years ago and still didn't "win" largley due to the price)

5. Still this loyal fan base "only" bought some 20 million gamecubes, so while this helps it's not the final solution to anything like this. I would argue that the Playstation brand had a bigger "loyal" fanbase at the beginning of this generation.

6. Big brands in all different kinds of branches have mascots, it's a proven and fairly cheap concept to create recognition for your brand. Some examples: Marlboro had Marlboro Man, Linux has Tux, McDonalds has Ronald McDonald, Walt Disney have Mickey Mouse, Warner Bros have Bugs Bunny, Camel has well a Camel (don't know the name but everyone knows how the camel mascot looks like), Marvel Comics has Spider Man, Many (if not most) sports teams have mascots and the list goes on.