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Kai_Mao on 27 December 2015
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Soundwave said:
wombat123 said:
I'd change NOA's brand approach from over-emphasizing a kid friendly/childish image and try to paint Nintendo as a brand for everyone; kids, teens, adults and families by emphasizing gameplay and fun rather than trying to appeal specifically to younger age demographics by talking down to the audience. I'd take the NST branch from out of the doghouse and try to rehabilitate it into an actual studio making actual games again instead of its current image as the 'Mario vs. Donkey Kong' studio. I'd sign Platinum into an exclusive 2nd party contract and have them work on new IPs, 2nd tier Nintendo franchises and other franchises that have been long dormant. I'd continue rehabilitating Nintendo's relationships with Japanese 3rd parties and salvage what I can with western 3rd parties without having them walk all over Nintendo. And lastly, I'd try to buy Capcom and rebrand it as the company's branch that emphasizes titles for teens and adults (kind of like what DC Comics does with its Vertigo imprint). If that can't happen, I'd start a new large development branch within Nintendo that served that same purpose.

 

Yeah I think it's time for rebrand especially in the US. 

I would stop marketing specifically towards kids. It's not working and it poisons the well for being taken seriously as a wider brand. 

What I would embrace would be two things.

1.) Retro appeal. 80s/90s retro is hot right now. Chicago Bulls gear, old school sneakers, Jurassic Park (World), Star Wars, etc. are all cashing in on retro culture .... Nintendo should too. Splatoon could tap into this too. I'd have a lot of call backs to the NES and SNES eras in particular not only with software but even the look of the hardware. 

2.) I'd embrace Nintendo's Japanese roots and make wacky/crazy Japanese style ads, but with a wink to the audience that this is just in good fun. I'd paint MS/Sony as the "serious" brands and try to move Nintendo as being known more for not being so damn serious. 

I might look into buying some retro IP from other companies too. Bomberman, Super C, Castlevania, Double Dragon, maybe stuff like that too. 

You have a point. NoA, in general, has not been as great as it used to be. Marketing towards everyone besides children would be better. NoA needs to find a way to reach out to broader audiences while maintaining their fun and family-friendly appeal. Maybe spend a little more income on things besides advertising specific games like Splatoon or Mario Kart. Even use their ownership of the Seattle Mariners to their advantage (even though the team is not that good right now to really warrant making them must watch TV beyond the typical fanbase).

As for what I would do:

-I would try to ask all of the development teams to create new ideas for old and new IPs. Also, continue doing collaborations with third parties.

-I would also be a little less firm on my control of the IPs, though strong enough to ensure that whatever is being done will maintain the integrity of the IPs that are being represented. We all know Nintendo has done certain things because they want to ensure control of their IPs. I don't blame them because their IPs are some of the most well-known IPs in existence. Mario and Pikachu are as well-known as Mickey Mouse at this point. Nintendo wouldn't be where they are right now if it weren't for their IPs. However, being a little less firm would at least decrease the tension between those who are little frustrated with Nintendo's control of their IPs.

-Build relationships with not only third-parties and indies, but also content creators. They've already started with YouTube content creators such as Jwittz, The Completionist, iJustine, Andre the Black Nerd, Game Theorists, etc. They even made certain content creators Nintendo ambassadors (I know that because I've been following a few YouTube content creators who can request review copies of games they're interested in).

-Do more live events outside of E3 Digital Events and Nintendo Directs. This year, there was the Nintendo World Championships, a live demonstration of Xenoblade Chronicles X, and a Splatournament along with Treehouse Live at E3. Heck, there was even an event that invited a variety of personalities in promotion of Splatoon's upcoming release. In a way, this does involve my previous point of content creator relationships. 

-Take a little more risk in terms of hardware. Not just in innovation (like the Wii, DS, 3Ds, or Wii U), but also in other areas. Find a way to create hardware that shows innovation and modernization. Hopefully, NX will be able to do something like that.