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Forums - Nintendo - Why did Nintendo turnaround ?

HappySqurriel on 05 April 2008
Legend11 said:
As others have mentioned the turnaround was due to offering a new kind of gaming experience. Had the Wii not had motion controls and instead simply been a next gen machine with hardware specs similar to the 360 and PS3 is likely would have been slaughtered and done Gamecube numbers (possibly even worse).

I think the breakdown for the new the Wii installed base will be something like:

20 million Nintendo hardcore
10 million Hardcore attracted to it because of JRPGs and other hardcore titles
70 million Casuals only attracted to it because of motion controls and the very casual games and products being produced around them (Wii Sports, Wii Play, Carnival Games, Wii Fit, etc).

You can really see it already in the games being sold for the system. For example early adopters tend to be the system's hardcore but with the Wii we already know that many early adopters of it are in fact casuals (check Wii Fit's sales in Japan compared to Brawl's). So if there is already a high percentage of casuals this early in the system's lifecycle the percentage of them later on as prices come down will only increase.

I'm not too sure that had Nintendo build a console following the "Gamecube Strategy" (powerful yet cost-effective system) that they would have been "slaughtered" by the XBox 360 and PS3; you have to remember that most third party games would be ported due to the high risk of next generation development, and that would have resulted in a market where you had a $200 system that offered practically the same experience to its $400 and $600 competition. Certainly, it wouldn't have been as popular as the Wii but it would also be more popular than the Gamecube was ...

Beyond that I think it is practically impossible to create a decent breakdown for the Wii. About all I can say is that (practically) everyone I know who owns a PS3 or XBox 360 also owns a Wii, and the people who only own one system tend to own a Wii; personally, I suspect that the demographics that were likely to own all systems in previous generations will buy a Wii and the people who were likely to only own one system will probably buy a Wii ...



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Alpheus on 05 April 2008

Simply because they are now using their good ol strategy.Innovation.



kylohk on 05 April 2008
Legend11 said:
I think the breakdown for the new the Wii installed base will be something like:

20 million Nintendo hardcore
10 million Hardcore attracted to it because of JRPGs and other hardcore titles
70 million Casuals only attracted to it because of motion controls and the very casual games and products being produced around them (Wii Sports, Wii Play, Carnival Games, Wii Fit, etc).

You can really see it already in the games being sold for the system. For example early adopters tend to be the system's hardcore but with the Wii we already know that many early adopters of it are in fact casuals (check Wii Fit's sales in Japan compared to Brawl's). So if there is already a high percentage of casuals this early in the system's lifecycle the percentage of them later on as prices come down will only increase.

Wow, that's a very harsh prediction. I know new people are drawn to the system, but they can't take a whopping 70% of the market. Otherwise, the same cold be said of the first PS1 when they expanded the market. Do you have any sources to back up your claim? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary sources, as they say.



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Legend11 on 05 April 2008
HappySqurriel said:
Legend11 said:
As others have mentioned the turnaround was due to offering a new kind of gaming experience. Had the Wii not had motion controls and instead simply been a next gen machine with hardware specs similar to the 360 and PS3 is likely would have been slaughtered and done Gamecube numbers (possibly even worse).

I think the breakdown for the new the Wii installed base will be something like:

20 million Nintendo hardcore
10 million Hardcore attracted to it because of JRPGs and other hardcore titles
70 million Casuals only attracted to it because of motion controls and the very casual games and products being produced around them (Wii Sports, Wii Play, Carnival Games, Wii Fit, etc).

You can really see it already in the games being sold for the system. For example early adopters tend to be the system's hardcore but with the Wii we already know that many early adopters of it are in fact casuals (check Wii Fit's sales in Japan compared to Brawl's). So if there is already a high percentage of casuals this early in the system's lifecycle the percentage of them later on as prices come down will only increase.

I'm not too sure that had Nintendo build a console following the "Gamecube Strategy" (powerful yet cost-effective system) that they would have been "slaughtered" by the XBox 360 and PS3; you have to remember that most third party games would be ported due to the high risk of next generation development, and that would have resulted in a market where you had a $200 system that offered practically the same experience to its $400 and $600 competition. Certainly, it wouldn't have been as popular as the Wii but it would also be more popular than the Gamecube was ...

Beyond that I think it is practically impossible to create a decent breakdown for the Wii. About all I can say is that (practically) everyone I know who owns a PS3 or XBox 360 also owns a Wii, and the people who only own one system tend to own a Wii; personally, I suspect that the demographics that were likely to own all systems in previous generations will buy a Wii and the people who were likely to only own one system will probably buy a Wii ...


No I mean the system would have been priced similarly to the 360 and PS3 as well...  Likely in the $400 dollar range at launch.  At that price it would have had a harder time appealing to it's core base and because of it's online the non-Nintendo hardcore would have still flocked to other systems.  The casuals that are responsible for the Wii's current success because of it's unique motion controls and games wouldn't have bought one without those controls. 



NYANKS on 05 April 2008

The controls are perceived to be fun and it's the cheapest of the three.



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sc94597 on 05 April 2008
Legend11 said:
HappySqurriel said:
Legend11 said:
As others have mentioned the turnaround was due to offering a new kind of gaming experience. Had the Wii not had motion controls and instead simply been a next gen machine with hardware specs similar to the 360 and PS3 is likely would have been slaughtered and done Gamecube numbers (possibly even worse).

I think the breakdown for the new the Wii installed base will be something like:

20 million Nintendo hardcore
10 million Hardcore attracted to it because of JRPGs and other hardcore titles
70 million Casuals only attracted to it because of motion controls and the very casual games and products being produced around them (Wii Sports, Wii Play, Carnival Games, Wii Fit, etc).

You can really see it already in the games being sold for the system. For example early adopters tend to be the system's hardcore but with the Wii we already know that many early adopters of it are in fact casuals (check Wii Fit's sales in Japan compared to Brawl's). So if there is already a high percentage of casuals this early in the system's lifecycle the percentage of them later on as prices come down will only increase.

I'm not too sure that had Nintendo build a console following the "Gamecube Strategy" (powerful yet cost-effective system) that they would have been "slaughtered" by the XBox 360 and PS3; you have to remember that most third party games would be ported due to the high risk of next generation development, and that would have resulted in a market where you had a $200 system that offered practically the same experience to its $400 and $600 competition. Certainly, it wouldn't have been as popular as the Wii but it would also be more popular than the Gamecube was ...

Beyond that I think it is practically impossible to create a decent breakdown for the Wii. About all I can say is that (practically) everyone I know who owns a PS3 or XBox 360 also owns a Wii, and the people who only own one system tend to own a Wii; personally, I suspect that the demographics that were likely to own all systems in previous generations will buy a Wii and the people who were likely to only own one system will probably buy a Wii ...


No I mean the system would have been priced similarly to the 360 and PS3 as well... Likely in the $400 dollar range at launch. At that price it would have had a harder time appealing to it's core base and because of it's online the non-Nintendo hardcore would have still flocked to other systems. The casuals that are responsible for the Wii's current success because of it's unique motion controls and games wouldn't have bought one without those controls.

But nintendo wouldn't price it that high. Nintendo made the gamecube, which was more powerful than the ps2 , but priced it lower. Nintendo always know how to keep things cheaper.

 



ookaze on 05 April 2008

Why did Nintendo turnaround ?
It's simple really : to make all fanboys cry rivers of bitter tears, and reveal their stupidity.
And it works!



http://www.backloggery.com/main.php?user=ookaze

Renar on 05 April 2008

The advertisements of Nintendo ('We would like to play') helped to win Advertising Age magizine "Marketer of the Year". But the real genius was the other marketing efforts, the alpha mom and Wii parties, selling it like it was tupperware. Very friendly, not intimidating. Going on to the other non-orthodox places, with just tons of free free press. Academy awards ring a bell?

Yes. Nintendo could have screwed it up. Priced it out of its market target range, like Sony did. But as a lower price console, the Wii is going to get a number of casuals that the PS3 and X360 don't have a chance of getting. PS3 will get some casuals that bought a PS2 for the DVD and now buy the PS3 for the Bluray. But consider. Video consoles have always been a young male 'toy'. PS2 brought in others due to it combining a decent DVD with a ton of games at not too bad of a price.

This time casual buyers will be able to buy other Bluray machines cheaper than PS3, and Wiis for the huge selection of casual games. PS3 will still do will with those that want Bluray with great hardcore games, but at a cheaper price, as Sony keeps lowering the price.



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