BKK2 on 25 July 2008
Video games ride out the Nintendo wave; Nintendo's home system ebbs while Game Boy and 16-bit flow. (includes related article on hand-held video games)
Saturation. That's the buzz word on the lips of toy retailers who have experienced a lull in the sales of the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Having sold over 28 million systems from 1986 - 1990, Nintendo has penetrated a third of U.S. households and 70 percent of households with children 8 to 15. During this period, Nintendo has altered the focus of their marketing strategies. What once was a children's toy became entertainment for the entire family, and adults became a substantial portion of the video market (39 percent of players are over 18). Everything that Nintendo did to market their product seemed to work, but there are only so many potential customers with the disposable income necessary to buy into the system. Flattening sales of the system does not, in itself, signal a decline for Nintendo
Saturation. That's the buzz word on the lips of toy retailers who have experienced a lull in the sales of the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Having sold over 28 million systems from 1986 - 1990, Nintendo has penetrated a third of U.S. households and 70 percent of households with children 8 to 15. During this period, Nintendo has altered the focus of their marketing strategies. What once was a children's toy became entertainment for the entire family, and adults became a substantial portion of the video market (39 percent of players are over 18). Everything that Nintendo did to market their product seemed to work, but there are only so many potential customers with the disposable income necessary to buy into the system. Flattening sales of the system does not, in itself, signal a decline for Nintendo
There are several different articles that give the 28m figure.
With that it's possible to fill in the gaps:
NES (NA):
1992: 3m (33m)
1991: 2m (30m)
1990: 7.2m (28m)
1989: 9.2m (20.8m)
1988: 6.4m (11.6m)
1987: 4.1m (5.2m)
1986: 1m (1.1m)
1985: 0.09m (0.09m)
Some of these are rounded off to 1m, so it's not necessarily exact, but should be reasonably accurate.
