Topic: Never have I seen the sea turtle so quickly become the shark

[Smash_Brother]

I just pulled that title out of nowhere, but it perfectly describes my current feelings on Nintendo.

Most people seem to base their predictions for the Wii on the past performance of the GC, so readily ignoring the immense success that the DS has brought to the table (and piles of $$$ to boot). However, somewhere along the lines, Nintendo figured out the mainstream.

This is only an example of how they've recently reached out to broader audiences. They've also been running DS "Touch Generations" ads which show adults in common situations: waiting to pick up your kid at school, waiting for your spouse to finish shopping. Then, these people pull out a DS running one of the TG games, and the slogan "Do something with your nothing." is proudly shown as people pet their Nintendogs or improve their brains.

Seriously, Nintendo was like a lost child last gen, but I firmly believe they've evolved into something big and scary, something with teeth and claws, something Sony and MS should be afraid of.

I don't know if they hired a new ad agency or what, but it's like something suddenly clicked in them. It's like they get it now. It's like, out of the blue, they figured out how to understand their audience and capture them.

And I think the DS was only the beginning. It was their training, their test of competence, and they passed with flying colors. They now know what it takes to reach out to people, people beyond the standard gaming audience, and capture their hearts and minds with virtual puppies and improved brain function.

Now the Wii looms on the horizon. Same game plan as the DS: nail down the hardcores with the tried and tested franchises, then introduce the non-gamer franchises guaranteed to bring in the casual or non-game: Brain Age, Wii Dogs and I guarantee it, Wii Aerobics.

Nintendo went from being a bumbling idiot to a renaissance man. To this day, I wonder what inspired the change.

Regardless, one thing is quite clear: the once laughing stock of the gaming industry, the sea turtle, now cruises these waters as the shark.

Thoughts?

[Kairon]

Dude, Sea Turtles are vicious. Didn't you know?

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[decoyman]

Fight to the death. Who would win? Sea turtle or shark?

Edit: Forgot my point Nice analogy and points SB. But I'm waiting for this theory to be proved/disproved in retail.  

[zakkiel]

Kind of the point of a sea turtle is that they don't have to fight to the death.

[bustin98]

Maybe a whale shark. Certainly not a Great White.

I really want to believe that Nintendo is turning around and making strides where they've stumbled in the past, but I'm not seeing it. Prelaunch parties have been done before, launch games getting pushed back has happened before, media getting hyped on a Nintendo system, its all like 2001 again.

Granted, the DS is making money for them, but how well was the Game Boy doing 5 years ago? All it took was a pokemon game to push sales through the roof.

Look, I think the pudding with the proof in it will arrive next summer and whether it shows up with a glut or a drought of games on the Wii. There needs to be at least one AAA title anounced each month, with releases staggered to appear like there is always something new to play. And popular titles need to have at least one follow up title that improves on the last. Sure, we had two Metroid titles, but what about Smash Bros? Mario? Zelda? How about an actual Pokemon RPG on a home console and not a lame stadium game? And pull in top tier 3rd party franchises. No rehashes. What if RE4 would have been created instead of REmake? Or a new Metal Gear instead of Twin Snakes?

Now we get Gamecube ports with slapped on controls. We all know the Wii can do better, and any publisher that tries to pull the wool should suffer for it. I hope that its just a stunt to pad the launch titles and it won't continue to happen, but I seriously doubt it. And thus begins my (our) love/hate relationship with Ubisoft. I'll support innovation, but I'll never support crap.

[Nick DiMola]

I think the huge change in Nintendo's public image can be directly attributed to Iwata. Though Yamauchi really got the ball rolling for Nintendo years ago, since Iwata has been put in charge Nintendo has made a bunch of great business decisions. The whole Wii strike seems to have been totally preempted. Nintendo had a plan for the Wii from day one and started the execution of that plan months before they revealed the big secret of the Wii. They have had us on the edge of our seats for years at this point, and once the Wii gets here, I fully expect Nintendo to keep on it, unlike many of their past system launches. The third party support Yamauchi lost is back to work with Nintendo because of Iwata's efforts. Stay tuned, because I'm sure Nintendo has a few more tricks up their sleeve.

[Kairon]

Yeah, I credit Iwata's leadership, vision, and willingness to stay the course as well. No matter what happens, it certainly feels like he's completely reinvigorated Nintendo right now.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: bustin98
Maybe a whale shark. Certainly not a Great White.

White sharks merely swim through the blue ocean nabbing the occasional fish.

Whale sharks filter huge volumes of that BLUE OCEAN for food. Whale sharks also have LONGer TAILs.

Hence, Nintendo == Whale Shark.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com  

[Arbok]

Quote
Originally posted by: bustin98
Granted, the DS is making money for them, but how well was the Game Boy doing 5 years ago? All it took was a pokemon game to push sales through the roof.

I agree. It's far too early to start patting Nintendo on the back for the hypothetical performance of the Wii due to the DS' success. The system could break out, could be a huge hit, and then it could also make marginal gains over the Gamecube's total hardware numbers when all is said and done. Considering we are before launch, it's still too early to say.

One thing I do know is that the mindshare is still not great for them. It's less than one month away, and my local radio station, even during the week of promoting the local Nintendo Fusion concert, still off the cuff this morning asked the question of "PS3 or Xbox360?" as if the Wii didn't exist. Time will tell though.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Arbok

Quote
Originally posted by: bustin98
Granted, the DS is making money for them, but how well was the Game Boy doing 5 years ago? All it took was a pokemon game to push sales through the roof.

I agree. It's far too early to start patting Nintendo on the back for the hypothetical performance of the Wii due to the DS' success. The system could break out, could be a huge hit, and then it could also make marginal gains over the Gamecube's total hardware numbers when all is said and done. Considering we are before launch, it's still too early to say.

One thing I do know is that the mindshare is still not great for them. It's less than one month away, and my local radio station, even during the week of promoting the local Nintendo Fusion concert, still off the cuff this morning asked the question of "PS3 or Xbox360?" as if the Wii didn't exist. Time will tell though.

I think it is fair to use DS since it had STIFF competition from the leading hardware developer in the world with lots of brand recognition. In regards to the PS3 and Xbox 360 being mentioned with Wii being left out, I think that will all change at launch. Nintendo is taking a different approach this time around and that is playing is believing instead of watching ad after ad.

[Strell]

1.  Manta rays would kick both their asses.

2. Is the sea turtle and/or shark equipped with anything.  Frickin lazers, perhaps?

[bustin98]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon

Quote
Originally posted by: bustin98
Maybe a whale shark. Certainly not a Great White.

White sharks merely swim through the blue ocean nabbing the occasional fish.

Whale sharks filter huge volumes of that BLUE OCEAN for food. Whale sharks also have LONGer TAILs.

Hence, Nintendo == Whale Shark.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Say, thats pretty interesting. At least its in line with Nintendo's goals. While I was thinking about the White shark's ability to smell blood in the water from miles away and how Nintendo totally has a lack of taste for blood, they certainly want to gooble up any little thing that happens to get in the way. Nothing very aggresive, but still grows to be a monster.

Geesh, I'm a genius. Good job Kairon for making the connection for me. I'm in agreement.

[Kairon]

Glad to be of service!

/bow

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[WuTangTurtle]

whoa that it my local news station!  How'd i miss that show, oh well.

You know i remeber hearing Yamauchi saying "if the DS fails we will be in big trouble"  I wonder at that point if Nintendo Wii was already in concept stage?

I think Nintendo has been changing little by little if not by alot.  I think what they have done best so far is loose the SNES and N64 attitude towards 3rd parties, and in some cases Sony has unfortunately reinvented the role...

[Ceric]

Reggie's Sea-Turtle right?

(You can't see it but the antennas shoot electricity.)

[couchmonkey]

I think the shift in Nintendo all comes from focusing on a new audience.  For the past 15 years, it's basically been a contest to be "coolest" as everyone tried to attract teens and young adults.

Now Nintendo has a new audience, and real features that it can advertise to that audience.  How do you advertise Blu-ray?  It's hardly more than a bullet point.  Graphics?  It's the same old thing.  Controlling games by moving your body? Now THERE'S an angle.

Yes, it's amazing how Nintendo is pulling this off.  If the company follows through with the right games and strong third party support (14 games from Ubisoft?) I feel Wii will win the generation.

[lastexit]

what part of Reggie don't ya'll understand?

[Smash_Brother]

It was Iwata's decision to make Reggie prez of NoA and I completely agree with it.

Reggie was always Nintendo's biggest PR gun, and having him on staff as "vice _____" automatically diminished what he could be doing for Nintendo.

When the PRESIDENT of Nintendo goes to talk about Nintendo and their plans on a show, news, etc., you can tell he and Nintendo mean business because they sent the f*cking president.

[Strell]

Reggie is the only man who is a bad enough dude to save the president, even when he's the president that was kidnapped.

Which would never happen.  His laser eyes would have taken care of bidness.

[couchmonkey]

With all due respect to Reggie, he's been in charge of marketing for almost three years but the big shift in marketing didn't occur until the DS launch at the earliest and GameCube marketing hasn't really changed at all.  As far as I'm concerned the company's new focus has come straight from the top - without a focus on a creating new types of systems with DS and Wii, the fundamental shift from culturally "cool" marketing to unique feature-driven marketing couldn't have occurred.

Not to diminish the amazing contributions Reggie's made to Nintendo PR and marketing.  Heck, maybe he even introduced the idea of disruptive business.  But my point is, Wii's marketing benefits most from the fact that the product is unique and fresh.  If the system was just another boring console, Reggie could run naked through the streets shouting "Wii!!" and it wouldn't make any diference.

[Smash_Brother]

With the GC, I get the feeling that Reggie didn't exactly have much to work with in terms of marketing, hence why the DS and Wii are such a different story when it comes not only to marketing but also to his approach.

[Ceric]

I'm sorry but I haven't been impressed with Reggie since he received the Presidency of NOA.  In fact I feel like we are starting to be the last Nintendo area.  Europe is getting some sense.  Japan is strong.  Canada is making smart decisions.  Then here we are in the States and all the other Nintendo branches are making improvement and there just giving us slop from a cafeteria and we are suppose to be thankful when chicken strip day comes early.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ceric
I'm sorry but I haven't been impressed with Reggie since he received the Presidency of NOA.  In fact I feel like we are starting to be the last Nintendo area.  Europe is getting some sense.  Japan is strong.  Canada is making smart decisions.  Then here we are in the States and all the other Nintendo branches are making improvement and there just giving us slop from a cafeteria and we are suppose to be thankful when chicken strip day comes early.

Uuuuuuhhh...what exactly are you talking about?

What made you think this way about Nintendo of america? Frankly, I don't see that much of a difference between America, Japan, Canada and Europe. The one thing I see being wrong in the US is the price of the Wii (which applies to both Europe and Canada) and some of the launch games. Other than that, I don't see what you are talking about...

As for the Reggie issue, deny or agree all you want, but we can ALL agree that things have been different at Nintendo ever since Reggie and Iwata entered Nintendo.

Seriously, in the Hamauchi days the DS and the Wii would've been considered too crazy to work. Hell, Yamauchi himself said that if the DS failed Nintendo would take severe damage.

Both Iwata and Reggie are taking Nintendo in a whole different route and its been working.

[Smash_Brother]

I think a lot of what we're seeing is Nintendo apologizing to these regions which were previously ignored.

Australia was formerly ignored terribly by Nintendo. Now they're endorsing free games.

The US will still get the Wii weeks in advance and will have a solid million Wiis just for US and Canada at launch so I don't think we're going to do all that badly, as far as respect goes.

But yeah, Reggie is intrinsic to Nintendo's success. Nintendo needed a big American who clearly didn't take sh*t from anyone to be their front man, and now that he truly has something to boast, as far as Nintendo's success goes, the man has done wonders for the Nintendo image.

Just look at his CBS interview...

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
Reggie could run naked through the streets shouting "Wii!!" and it wouldn't make any diference.

What makes you think that Reggie running naked through the streets wouldn't make a BIG difference for the WII?

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com