I've focused on user demographics - teens and young adults versus kids and tweens and the need for different software, separate marketing programs and the opportunity that comes from capturing their changing gaming needs as they progress through the market. However, it is not always that clear cut. The fact of the matter is that innovation is ageless. That Animal Crossing game I referenced originally targeted an ages 8 - 12 market. We assumed kids would be most attracted to the premise that rather than accomplishing a specific goal, the fun comes in just living an alternative life: design your own village, your own relationships, even your own clothes. Well, we aimed too narrow.
The reaction from all ages, especially adults, is approaching cult proportions. At launch, Animal Crossing immediately rose to number 7 on the console charts. Almost three quarters of a million visitors have already clicked on to the dedicated Web site. Hundreds of custom game applications are offered for bid on e-bay. A college coed from Florida says, “I wake up in the morning and it’s the first thing I think about.” A housewife in Georgia says, “I have to set my kitchen timer so I know when it’s time to quit.” And the rock group Weezer has specific instructions on its own Web site on how to download their music into the game.
New innovative gaming experiences, indeed, are for everyone. At E3 this past May, we predicted a strong holiday season for Nintendo and nothing has transpired since to change our perspective. And let me assure you, the drumbeat continues right into the first quarter of next year.
Look for new software launches that include our exclusive snowboarder 1080: Avalanche for Nintendo GameCube, and dozens of titles from our third party partners, most notably, the Nintendo GameCube debut of The Legend of Zelda. Theater goers will begin seeing game trailers in the month of December, providing yet another reason to request the Nintendo GameCube system this holiday season.
For Nintendo, another trip to the Gerard Klauer Mattison Conference seems like yet another chance to answer doubters. For two decades we’ve responded to doomsayers who saw us about to be trampled by other technology, other publishers, other manufacturers. To be sure, today we remain the last pure play in the sector, challenged by two much larger, more diversified competitors for whom video games are but a single strategy within a larger mission. Well, let me be clear.
Nintendo is in the software business - to stay. Nintendo is in the handheld business - to stay. And Nintendo is most certainly in the home console business - to stay. Work is well underway on the successor technology to both Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube.
The industry future is bright and Nintendo’s future is equally bright. In the end, this business is all about a game player saying, “Man, that’s cool!” In generating that kind of response, we feel we hold a unique combination of assets: deep financial reserves, a history of both business flexibility and product innovation, unrivaled, world-renowned game franchises, powerful partnerships with second and third party developers, and an absolute dedication to one simple goal - the very best in video games.
And consequently, the very best of Nintendo is still to come.
