It’s significantly slower than competing system. It has less graphic capabilities. Its controller is reminiscent of game play circa 1985. Yet, it has outsold all next-generation video game systems.
Nintendo has dominated the video game world because it isn’t exclusively for gamers; it’s exclusively for anyone that wants to have fun. Showing the Rule of Openness, Nintendo’s aim has always been to make gaming fun, for people age 0 to 100.
Even prior to the 2005 launch of the Wii, Nintendo was no new comer to the field of gaming. Since the emergence of Nintendo’s first video game counsel, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), they have kept a clear focus on making clean, simple, and fun games anyone can play. With perennial classics like Super Mario Bros and Duck hunt, anyone in the family can play video games. By 1995, over 62 million NES systems and 500 million games had been sold.
Nintendo released many different gaming systems over the last two decades. Through its metamorphosis, Nintendo has always kept their brand strong and relevant to the consumer by focusing on fun and lovable characters. Game characters such as Link, Donkey Kong, and of course, Mario have always been a key ingredient of Nintendo’s success. These friendly characters have been featured in every Nintendo system and have become a part of celebrated gaming history.
As of September 2006, Nintendo had sold 275 million Mario games worldwide, easily making the little Italian plumber the best-selling game character of all time. This level of commitment to the brand and its characters has kept Nintendo as one of the top choices and must-have video game systems. With raving fans the world over, it is hard not to believe Nintendo has created a community in love with them.
As Nintendo continues developing new video games and systems, two things are always at the forefront of their efforts: fun and easy to use.
Nintendo’s release of the Wii seemed like a profoundly risky move, but all Cult Brands show courage. With a slower processor and simplistic graphics, many critics and market analysts didn’t see how the Wii could effectively compete with the more powerful gaming platforms offered by Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Playstation3. With over 10 million units sold, however, Nintendo is reigning supreme over its more expensive competitors.
By making the Wii a gaming system for everyone, Nintendo has created a new video game frenzy with its motion detecting controller. “While game consoles typically attract young males, the Wii is bringing people across all demographics together: in nursing homes, for Wii bowling leagues, on cruise ships, Wii-themed parties and, of course, in lines – as hordes of consumers clamor to buy the impossible-to-find $250 machine. Nintendo is churning out over a million units a month and still can’t meet demand.” (money.cnn) Nintendo did not only create a video game system, like all cult brands they have created a lifestyle.
Nintendo’s constant strives to make video games easy, fun, and accessible to all have really paid off. While others video game systems have focused all their energy on graphics and fast processors, Nintendo has focused on what is important: making sure their customers have fun. By following the Golden Rules embraced by all Cult Brands, they have cultivated relationships that can last a lifetime.