Nintendo will need better casual games to continue their console war

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 1:25pm by Robert

mariohooray_580

As most of you have no doubt read, Nintendo President Satoru Iawta is concerned that the Wii is in an unhealthy state, and that it is urgent for Nintendo to recover sales momentum. This statement, coupled with recent numbers confirming this sales drop, has left many to point the finger at Nintendo’s Blue Ocean Strategy, which disrupted the video game market by bringing a wider audience into gaming with casual titles, as the cause of this drop. They suggest that Nintendo needs to move away from this strategy and focus more on games for the core gamer to regain sales momentum.

I think that a shift away from the Blue Ocean Strategy of developing games for new audiences would be a mistake on Nintendo’s part. The decline in Wii’s sales does not prove that Nintendo’s Blue Ocean Strategy has failed. Rather, it illustrates how Blue Ocean requires constant innovation following the initial market disruption.

If Nintendo wants to see the return of explosive sales for the Wii, it needs to refocus the platform so that it is once again the home of innovative fresh titles that draw in the broader audience.

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The era of HD Gaming is a myth. Or, why there is definitely no Wii HD coming soon

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 at 2:21pm by Jack

wiihdHD gaming, at least as it has been applied to this current generation of consoles by feverish marketing departments who overshot their markets by a mile, is a myth. Always has been. As such, there is almost certainly no Wii HD console coming out anytime soon. Can I be an analyst now?

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New color, new game contribute to Wii resurgence

Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 10:59am by Jack

blast_offSorry, kids, the bubble hasn’t burst just yet.

Earlier this week, we brought you word that Nintendo would probably never, ever give the Wii a price drop, even though the Xbox 360 has a basic model that’s currently $50 cheaper than the Wii and sales have slumped slightly in recent months.

To better understand why Nintendo will never entertain the idea of a price drop anytime soon, consider this: In Japan this week, all it took to once again decimate the competition was a new console color and Monster Hunter 3.

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