Didn't want to post the entire editorial so i'll post the opening paragraph:
For a company whose stated goal is to win over the hearts and minds - and, crucially, wallets - of people who are currently not consumers of videogames, Nintendo is rather good at playing up to a hardcore audience of gamers.
Basically the editorial states that although Nintendo's E3 showing was good, it failed to draw in the casual/non-gamers that they are targeting(it also points out how Red Steel was given too much exposure considering its still has flaws, especially when Mario galaxy could have been show instead)
Title: RE:Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: EasyCure on May 18, 2006, 07:42:20 AM
"This essential dichotomy has done Nintendo some damage already. What the firm needed from E3 was not a select few hardcore nerds who queued up over and over to play games on the Wii; it needed an absolute horde of ambassadors who had walked up to a stand, picked up a controller and enjoyed a game, and who then went home to their jobs, families and friends and talked positively about the new gaming experiences they had tried out. Short-term headlines about queuing for five hours leave Nintendo's new console already sounding hardcore and offputting to casual gamers, which is exactly what the company didn't want to do at this point in time."
...but how many of those people were at e3? better question, how many of those people even know what e3 is?
nintendo knew e3 was about the hardcore, the fans that DO own a t-shirt with mario on it. i was online for two hours waiting to get into the nintendo world store on the 9th to see the live coverage of their conference and every two minutes someone on the busy streets of nyc would stop to ask "whats this line for" and all you had to say was "video games" or "its a nintendo thing". hell we even got away with saying "the nintendo world store" and they just shrugged and went about their lives. those are the casual-nongamers. if i mentioned e3 they would of given me a puzzled look and dismissed me as a geek or fanboy. e3 was about the games and the people they were meant for, its that simple.
good editorial though.
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: UncleBob on May 18, 2006, 07:53:06 AM
The bad thing is that E3 technically isn't even for the hardcore gamers - it's for press and retail... Such a statement hardly makes sense.
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: mantidor on May 18, 2006, 07:57:45 AM
Kaplan said something about this. When asked why Smash wasnt there for the press conference, she said that smash being a game that the hardcore loves so much, Iwata decided to save that piece for them (us), that means that the briefing wasnt just gaming magazines and sites like PGC and IGN, there were real mainstream media doing coverage as well. E3 isnt just all hardcore.
Title: RE:Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: EasyCure on May 18, 2006, 07:58:19 AM
more press is for game related media though, and unless you're coocoo for gaming, why be in that feild? ign, game informer, egm, things like that are the places who dedicate issues to e3. the ny times, readers digest, and publication like that give it a page at most, and summarize everything. plus nintendo usually isn't even mentioned. as for retailers, would you send the person that knows nothing about video games and wouldnt make judgment on what would be hot to sell, or the guy that knows video games inside and out?
-edit: i was speaking of the event as a whole, my bad. the conference could of been more appealing to the 'nongamer' or casual gamer, but i misinterpreted the editorial i guess. i still stand by what i said, because if the press confrence showed nothing but nongames or things like wiisports only, the internet would of exploded on the 9th.
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: Smash_Brother on May 18, 2006, 11:15:32 AM
They said what I've been saying all along: the people at E3 are sure sells.
It's marketing Wii to the non-gamer is going to be the real challenge.
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on May 18, 2006, 12:34:06 PM
Is Spielberg one of the hardcore?
Title: RE:Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: The Omen on May 18, 2006, 02:08:51 PM
Quote Basically the editorial states that although Nintendo's E3 showing was good, it failed to draw in the casual/non-gamers that they are targeting(it also points out how Red Steel was given too much exposure considering its still has flaws, especially when Mario galaxy could have been show instead)
I think it was a great move. Red Steel has some real cool uses with the Wiimote, and it's pretty badass. Sure there were some problems, but most everyone agrees there's plenty of time to round the edges. And lets be honest, showing Mario does nothing because everyone already loves Mario.
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: Avinash_Tyagi on May 18, 2006, 08:34:06 PM
Too a degree i'm glad Nintendo showed off so many games aimed at more "hardcore" gamers at E3 because it shows that while they may be trying to draw in non-gamers/lapsed gamers they aren't forgetting their normal fanbase, but on the other hand I see what the author of the editorial is getting at, they haven't yet found the way to arget the non-gamer that they so badly want.
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: wandering on May 18, 2006, 09:26:35 PM
Quote From Reggie's fanboy cheerleading through to the exclusive, hardcore nature of the firm's booth, it's clear that Nintendo of America, at least, is still struggling to work out how on earth to appeal to anyone who doesn't own a T-shirt with Mario on it. They don't have very many months left to work out the answers.
Well, they're wrong about Nintendo's E3 presenation...E3 is for gamers, (non-gamer marketing won't start until mcuh later). And, say what you will about Reggie, he's done a good job of making gamers feel like Nitnendo is a contender again, which is important. And, I'm not sure how you could possibly spin long lines to play Wii to be a bad thing for Nitnendo.
BUT, I think they may have a point here. We still don't know if Nintendo has what it takes to appeal to the non-gamer crowd. They're (Nintendo) like journalists trying to get a scoop on a story on a subject outside their area of expertise...stranded with no inside connections and no clue how to proceed. Or something. I mean, I know people who hadn't heard of Brain Age until I showed it to them. Marketing through word of mouth is nice, but actual, you know, marketing is better.
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: TrueNerd on May 18, 2006, 10:04:24 PM
Yeah... Nintendo should have advertised the f*ck out of Brain Age, as anyone I let play the game is instantly addicted. I feel like Wii Sports could be a similar thing. Perrin Kaplan should go on Oprah and play the Big O in a game of tennis. That's, what, 30 million systems sold right there?
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: SixthAngel on May 18, 2006, 10:51:32 PM
While I like a big a chunk of the article I can't tell how the author sees enormous lines as a negative. Part of it sounds like the author believes it was a badly designed booth instead of just way too many people being interested. At a hardcore convention (or anywhere) there is not a way to walk up to someone and let them skip the line because they usually don't play games. I bet the line actually brought as many people in as it turned away because people regardless of who they were knew that this was the thing to see. When a line was that big even non-gamers had to be curious instead of just walking by the video-game booths.
Title: RE:Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: Avinash_Tyagi on May 18, 2006, 10:59:57 PM
True, but I think the concern was that the long lines might seem off-putting to someone who isn't a gamer, it might make them think that this is just another gamer thing that they wouldn't be intereseted in.
Title: RE:Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: thejeek on May 18, 2006, 11:34:23 PM
"Wow! I sure don't want one of those things - look how popular they are..."
Do anyone but goths really think that way?!
Title: RE: Gamesindustry Editorial
Post by: trip1eX on May 19, 2006, 03:22:26 AM
BS article. Fault a product for being popular enough that it has a long waiting line at a closed to the public convention that is meant to show off products to buyers and to the press. I thought the goal was to attract alot of interest in your product!?!??! That's why they have all these elaborate booths and everything. Right?
And these conventions aren't for people to stop by for 5 minutes after a day's work. Mostly hardcore gamers attend E3 along with the press. And actually E3 is for the buyers. YOu know the people that are responsible for buying the product that goes onto the shelves of your Best Buys, Circuit Cities, Wal-marts, Targets, Gamestops, .... etc.
And dam if that's a negative then Ian is a positive person. If this is a mistep then Nintendo should take more misteps.
The article hints that the booth was poorly designed, but offers up no evidence to support that. I guess they want invidual lines at each station? Now that would have been chaotic and I'm sure the author of that article would have found fault in that too.
I saw a couple mainstream television news reports. They showed the people having fun with the product. Exactly what Nintendo wanted. And they declared it their favorite of the show. These folks are the non-gamer types. To me the long line there only made the product look in demand.
The only folks complaining about the long lines are those that wanted to try Wii at E3 and didn't want to wait. I'm sure there many of these folks, but that's what happens when something is popular. Look it at the other way. More people tried the Wii than any other product at E3.
