Nintendo Essay

A critical analysis of the launch of Nintendo Wii will be undertaken in order to determine the overall positioning of the brand in the year 2006; with a detailed analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the company has foreseen.

In 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi birthed the concept of Nintendo, and began to revolutionize electronic gaming worldwide. Initially the notion of the brand was to produce handmade playing cards, however, that soon developed into a more technological and interactive form of gaming. The Japanese brand was known for entertaining children and teens through the theory of gaming, and was successful in doing so. However, when it’s direct competitors, Sony and Microsoft became more globalized, Nintendo’s

It is not focused on the core gamer, it allows everybody to pick up and play” (President of Nintendo US and Chief Operating Officer, 2006).

This statement by Reggie Fils-Aim, President of Nintendo US, demonstrates that the brand chose to use differentiation positioning as their strategy to succeed in the gaming industry. This tactic helped the business to become distinctive against competitors in the gaming industry such as Sony PlayStation5 and Microsoft Xbox, as the target market for the Wii became much broader, aiming the product at families and women as well as children. “Differentiation is everyone’s goal, but few are able to achieve it” (David Parker, 2010). Thus, implying that Nintendo Wii differentiated them by having a lower retail price in comparison to Microsoft Xbox 360 (RRP $399) and Sony PlayStation 3 (RRP $300). The implications of lowering their pricing barrier for the Wii meant that the product became more accessible to a wider demographic type (A-D). Nintendo’s main positioning tactic post 2006 was to position themselves higher than competitors in the gaming field, and although they set a lower retail price (See Appendix

The Nintendo Wii campaign, ‘Wii would like to play’, was a great success. “The most effective marketing effort at the 40th Annual Effie Awards in 2008. Leo Burnett's marketing strategy for the Wii will forever change the gaming industry and its dialogue with consumers" states Deborah Meyer, Chair of the Grand Effie Jury and Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Chrysler. The campaign united people from all over the world and reinforces the notion of a multicultural society, giving a positive image on their brand identity.

One may believe that the Nintendo narrative is based upon gaining “a new way to play a game that combines fun into the business, allowing everyone to pick up and play” states the President of Nintendo US. Consequently, the Nintendo story is not just about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, its aim is to also encourage users to identify themselves whilst interacting with the gaming device. Audience engagement has been successful not just from the ‘Wii would like to play’ campaign but due to the brands ability to trigger memories and accessibility to a multi-cultural