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Sony - Sony's Mascot - View Post

pokoko on 03 September 2018
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Shiken said:
pokoko said:

Hold on a second.  If you're not going to get what I said right then don't paraphrase me at all.  

The argument is pretty simple.  Playstation does not lean as heavily on past IP as Xbox and Nintendo.  This is an observable pattern of behavior and they've proven to be successful at it.  Nintendo, on the other hand, builds and maintains their oldest IP indefinitely.  That is also an observable pattern of behavior.

Now, you're seriously telling me that if Nintendo dropped Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Kirby, and Pokemon, it wouldn't have an impact on their brand?  That it wouldn't affect sales?

I think the one trying to fool themselves into believing what they want to believe is you.

Okay, but the reason Sony has done it is because quality games sell...period.  Just because Nintendo has not NEEDED to do what Sony does, that DOES NOT mean they CAN'T.

 

The entire point has gone over your head.

Nothing has gone over my head.  Rather, you're being defensive for no real reason.  The point is that IP like Mario and Zelda are much stronger brands than anything Sony has.  You do not get IP like that in a generation or two.  Sony uses a different strategy--which is actually necessary with narrative-driven content, something Microsoft hasn't realized--but Nintendo builds on what they've got.

It's like saying if Disney decided to ax Star Wars, they could just whip up something as popular overnight.  No, probably not.  Eventually, maybe, but it's not like they can just throw anything out there and it would be instantly be on the same level as Star Wars.  It would require years of marketing and, mostly likely, several failures first.

When you make something that big, though, if you ever lose it, it would be a double-edge sword and would affect your entire bottom line.  Also, if you change your established strategy as a business, you risk alienating or confusing customers who were fans of what you did before.  

Nintendo is built around Mario, especially, it's intrinsic to the Nintendo brand at this point.  If Nintendo decided to release a platform without the inclusion of anything Mario at all, the consequences would be tangible.  Never mind that it's highly unlikely they'd be able to replace those sales with a new IP, it might even impact sales of the platform itself, which would make it that much harder to establish new IP.

It's fine if you disagree.  Perhaps you think Nintendo could replicate the sales and draw of Mario or Zelda anytime they like. Perhaps you think the adventures of "Chuck the Handyman" could move 15 million copies with its initial release and that "Chuck Golf" or "Chuck Tennis" would produce the same level of brand recognition.  I don't.  I believe IP on that scale are the work of decades.

Last edited by pokoko - on 03 September 2018