Nintendo copied Apple's Playbook

[Erik Aston]

reverie said:
One marked difference would be the price though. Nintendo has been the low-price guy at least since 2001, while Apple is always a premium brand.

Well, Apple is all over the spectrum. They are largely high-end, but work from that position to capture a huge market.

iPod attacked the low-end with the shuffle and nano as well as the high end. They captured the whole market. Having high-end and low-end MP3 players that work with the same software and same interface was a great move... People who love their 2G Nanos will upgrade to the 30G... People who use their 80G iPod as a USB harddrive buy a shuffle for jogging...

iPhone is obviously high-end, but don't be surprised if they work from that spot to a more low-end phone too. The cell phone market is so huge, though, and its the low end which has been tapped. iPhone can create the high-end cell phone market and own it right away, and given cell phone sales, thats going to be a pretty significant market.

Apple TV acts as a replacement for a stereo and a DVD player for an iPod owner or any iTunes user, and its starting just outside of the mainstream at (I believe this is correct) $250. That price will come down too, and make Apple TV a legitimate mainstream device. (Edit: It also would be an interesting entry point to the videogame market... All ready for digital distribution and cross-platform gaming.)

Mac computers are only going to gain ground as prices keep plunging. Developing great consumer-level media management and creation tools was a great move for Apple, as it puts them in position to get into more and more homes as prices fall. Microsoft has a stranglehold because schools and businesses can buy thousands of cheap PCs basically only used as word processors and maybe internet browsers. But people might be willing to shell out 3 times as much for the superior design and media center aspects of Macs for home use when PC prices are low enough.

The common thread between all these examples with DS and Wii is that they all aim to carve out a market which didn't previously exist. Nintendo figured these markets existed at or around traditionally established price points, while their competitors were raising prices due to expensive features and specs aimed to wow the existing audience. Apple has carved out mostly high-end markets, but still are clearly an influence on Iwata-era Nintendo.