Author Topic: Is Nintendo Really Smarter Than They Let On? (Read 11000 times)

BadBreathBear · « **on:** April 04, 2003, 07:57:54 AM »

"At what is traditionally a slow time of the year for video games, Nintendo has seized the sales initiative," says Richard Simone, video game buyer, Toys "R" Us. "With their blockbuster products Game Boy Advance SP, The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon, they're a big part of why video games are one of the truly bright spots at retail."

With that alone, my view of Nintendo turning into an idiot of gigantic proportions has changed. I understand now why these games and The SP came out in March, and not way back when during the Christmas season. Simply put, if they had let loose all these games, they would have gotten lost in the Christmas shuffle. All these companies are trying to peddle out their games to anyone who has some money and what may stand out at another time of the year, may seem lackluster then.

And this is what really shows Nintendo's brains. Now in March, where competition is fairly low, these games shine brighter than they would have had the market been filled with other games. People are finally refilling their wallets from the Christmas spending season, and just as that happens, here's all this new stuff for people to dig out. Think about it. Would Zelda, Pokemon, and the SP really have done as well if they had been going against Grand Theft Auto Vice City and Splinter Cell? The hype for those titles has finally died down, and right then and there comes the roar of Nintendo to take the limelight.

I honestly believe this could very well be the shift that Nintendo was looking for if they're willing to capitalize on it. They don't have to show a billion comercials for Zelda, Pokemon, or the SP. They just have to show a few really cool ones. The SP commerical is amazing, but the Zelda one could be a little more dramatic. And has there even been a Pokemon commerical at all?

I think that if they keep delivering quality material from now on, and not that I say Metroid and Eternal Darkness weren't quality (They just weren't as innovative and fun as these new games), they could easily take X-Box at this point. Overtaking the PS2 is just not going to happen, but by the end of next Christmas, Nintendo can definitely be smoking Microsoft.

Honestly, other companies should jump on this hype for Nintendo, and start to put bits more advertising of their old games out for the public. Resident Evil 0, Eternal Darkess, and Metroid Prime as well as a couple of other games can assuredly be sold more if they're marketed again. They could even use manipulation tactics of saying that they're the top selling console maker in the industry for March and then something along the lines of saying that people should get one if they wanna be cool

PIAC · « **Reply #1 on:** April 04, 2003, 10:02:45 AM »

yeah there have been some pokemon comercials, even ive seen them and i rarely watch tv, and i live in australia, so my chance for veiwing nintendo comercials is minimal.

starve the public, then give them a feast, pretty much what nintendo has done (in australia atleast) and hey, its seems to be working great, no copies of metroid left on the shelf at and only 2 copies of ruby (no saphire) left at EB when mum went to pick them up for me, which is pretty cool (thank dickens i pre ordered metroid! pokemon i was just lucky hehe)

Mingesium · « **Reply #2 on:** April 04, 2003, 11:34:21 AM »

Your kidding yourself if you think that Zelda, Pokemon, and GBA SP would not be doing a lot better if they were release during the holiday season. It is a slow time of the year and you can see the affect on sales. In Feb, the GCN had a huge jump because of the pack in deal, but it was only a couple of ten thousand units. A huge jump in Nov or Dec is a couple of hundred thousand units. Zelda will probable sell 1 million in a month. Vice City sold like 1.3 million in 4 days. The GBA sold 1 million over thanksgiving weekend. I can't fathom how much the GBASP would sell.

I think that it is important for Nintendo to release games every month. Nintendo should have its 1st tier games like Zelda and Pokemon out during the holidays. They should release 2nd tier games like 1080 during this time.

A big reason why Nintendo release everything this month is because the fiscal year ends March 31. Nintendo has been lowering their forcasts so hopefully Zelda and Pokemon help them meet or exceed their forcast.

The Omen · « **Reply #3 on:** April 04, 2003, 12:30:40 PM »

Quote
Zelda will probable sell 1 million in a month

I think it'll sell a million faster than that, considering the pre-orders alone were over 600,000.

And also, GTA:VC is not a fair comparison, as the PS2 user base is simply huge. Theres about 3.8 million GC'S in the U.S., so over a million sales in, let's say, 2 week's is a major accomplishment.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #4 on:** April 04, 2003, 12:31:55 PM »

A million in 2 weeks is an accomplishment for ANY system, much more so when that million represents almost a third of that console's regional user base.

codyy · « **Reply #5 on:** April 04, 2003, 12:55:37 PM »

didn't sega pull the same tactic when they realesed Sonic: Adventure 2 Battle? I was one of the many people who bought that game because there were no good games that I already didn't own.

StRaNgE · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:01:41 PM »

march, a great time of year for many business owners. Why is that you ask?
Well in the U.S. that is due to tax returns. People get a chuck of extra money then blow it on something pricey, a gamecube, a stereo, a dvd, or even a tattoo. Lots and lots of people getting back that refund check just looking for something to go spend it on.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:04:42 PM »

"Lots and lots of people getting back that refund check just looking for something to go spend it on."

When what they should probably be doing is saving it.

I don't know if it's just me, but does anyone else get *really* stingey with buying things when they get a lot of money? I've got like $300 in cash right now and the only thing I've bought is Zelda- I hesitate even to buy some McDonald's.

StRaNgE · « **Reply #8 on:** April 04, 2003, 01:15:18 PM »

yeah when I get a load of cash which to me is a larger amount to sum might not be. I tend to sit on it. IfI t a smaller amount extra, a couple hundred, I normally put a tiny but into that larger sum and blow the rest even though I should save more.

BadBreathBear · « **Reply #9 on:** April 04, 2003, 02:58:29 PM »

Mingesium, trust me what I say that it's very smart of Nintendo to jump on everyone like this, especially since no other system really much to hype itself around at this time.

RahXephon · « **Reply #10 on:** April 04, 2003, 05:02:17 PM »

he is correst. It is sales strategy, kick em when there down. MAybe it would have sold better during Xmas, but heres the thing, nintendo is now ahead in sales and will keep a steady income instead of it fluctuating from way up to way down. The goal in buisness is to keep making alot of money for a long time, not make one big some and then squander it forever.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #11 on:** April 04, 2003, 05:10:00 PM »

"and not that I say Metroid and Eternal Darkness weren't quality (They just weren't as innovative and fun as these new games)"

I completely and utterly agree with what you said, Breather, except for this quote- I think ED and MP were plenty innovative, especially MP, and both are among my favorite games of all time. I doubt I'll see game quite like them, except for WW, for a very long time.

Otherwise, I think you've hit the nail on the head- people are so deep in the hole as they were around Christmas and are looking to pick up maybe a few new games, and Nintendo is there for them. I guess developers have always just focused their games on the Christmas season which burns people out, not only from all the money they're spending, but from the incredible amount of choices they have to choose from. Since their big projects are always released around Christmas time, they don't have anything lined up for early to mid Spring. Nintendo could really buck this trend- they could start a habit of releasing less games right around Christmas, giving people an easier time during the holiday season, and then having another round in Spring. Game sales could go way up.

RahXephon · « **Reply #12 on:** April 04, 2003, 06:21:25 PM »

well said

ThePerm · « **Reply #13 on:** April 04, 2003, 07:17:50 PM »

mouse_clicker...during inflation and a bad economy its not really a good idea to keep your money. You keep it and it loses value...however games really odnt have this problem due to price fixing.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #14 on:** April 04, 2003, 07:22:38 PM »

Ah, well I guess that's a good point, Perm, but by the same merit it's probably not a good idea to just go out and blow it all immediatly.

JoeFalco · « **Reply #15 on:** April 04, 2003, 07:44:15 PM »

If Nintendo continues to release quality games every month, I'm sure they would have better sales (Unlike the N64 days with the cartridge based system when you might get something good twice a year).

BadBreathBear · « **Reply #16 on:** April 04, 2003, 08:19:15 PM »

Movie companies do it all the time though. Two years ago Hannibal was released in Febuary because that was the month film companies typically unloaded their bombs. The videogame industry is the same. X-Box and PS2 unloaded the big guns during Christmas. The only thing is that Nintendo has a bigger tank of ammunition than its rivals. As a matter of fact I'm SURE this isn't the first time Nintendo has used March as a stomping ground. Can someone look up release dates from Nintendo during the last few years during March?

And the major issue with Eternal Darkness and Metroid Prime is that the games can tend to become stale, especially in my opinion. I'm at the final boss, and I just don't care enough to try and beat it. Eternal Darkness is the same in a different way. While I enjoy playing it, the graphics on a whole are very stale. Even my brother is even begging to me to return it.

With the right backing though, P.N. 03 could be the standout in the coming weeks. The main character has to be pushed as the answer to Lara Croft, except only on Nintendo. It has to be smart, sexy, and cool.

SilverBack1138 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 04, 2003, 09:25:18 PM »

I agree that releasing such big products during such a slow period in the season was a brillant idea. While I do think that they still would have sold well regardless of when they were released, having them come out during the slow period added so much more to their success. While people are playing Halo for the upteenth time and arguing about when their XBox Live is going to expire, we Nintendo guys are in gaming nirvana. While I could careless about the Pokemons, GBA SP and WW are just amazing. GBA SP is selling like hotcakes and while I do see copies of Zelda, the stock usually disappears in 2 days. The last week, I've seen grown men, like college to adult, buying Gamecubes to get the free game and Zelda. Actually, I usually adults as the ones buying Nintendo stuff, which is contractory to the statement that fanboys make that Nintendo is a kiddie system. Dang, I guess "kiddie" means original and innovative.

Hostile Creation · « **Reply #18 on:** April 05, 2003, 06:09:44 AM »

I've played Metroid Prime over and over, but that's just me.

My opinion? Nintendo is smart. Their advertising, while limited (so as not to waste money) is good, their business tactics work, and they make really really good games. You doubted them? I'm ashamed

VideoGamerX · « **Reply #19 on:** April 05, 2003, 06:49:10 AM »

This works well, but it works much much better if it carries into the Holiday Season of 2003.

Now that Nintendo has ruled February and March, it needs to release another big title in May or June, another title in July, August, or September. And Christmas needs a lot of hype. I think Final Fantasy may provide some of that, but there needs to be another killer application along with it.

Hostile Creation · « **Reply #20 on:** April 05, 2003, 06:53:06 AM »

Nintendo has a load of stuff coming out this year. F-zero in June; that'll be big. Multiple sequels and some other racing games are coming out later this year and stuff. Nintendo has a great line-up for this year.

VideoGamerX · « **Reply #21 on:** April 05, 2003, 07:15:57 AM »

Wasn't F-Zero moved back to August? I know one of the major titles was pushed back. Also, when is Mario Kart scheduled for release?

I have no doubt that Nintendo's bag is full of games this year. F-Zero is something I really want and Mario Kart is a console mover. I'm also looking to see what Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong have in store. I hope to see something of Donkey Kong at E3. Since DKC, I've always had a craving for another experience that was a fresh as that one.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #22 on:** April 05, 2003, 07:17:22 AM »

F-Zero was thought to be moved back to August, but it was a mistake. It's still set for June.

Mingesium · « **Reply #23 on:** April 05, 2003, 09:17:09 AM »

F- Zero was delayed to August.

thecubedcanuck · « **Reply #24 on:** April 05, 2003, 09:34:08 AM »

Mario Kart will be the falls killer release, and Mario 128 if it follows more of a traditional Mario theme (anything but another sunshine), as for F-zero, I dont see it selling worth a hoot. Personally I cant stand the f-zero series, buts thats just me.
I think a great game a month isnt much to ask.

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Author Topic: Is Nintendo Really Smarter Than They Let On? (Read 11000 times)