Jon wonders if Operation Rainfall could mark a turn in Nintendo's fortunes.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/27090
Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point is a book that I've had sitting around for a while, and recently I've decided to finish it off (yes, even my Kindle has a backlog). It attempts to answer the question of what contributes to certain products or behaviors going "viral", and breaks down the elements that Gladwell believes are involved in that process. It contains a fascinating account of the rise and fall of Airwalk, the skateboarding shoe company that exploded in popularity in the mid-90's, that is especially relevant given recent events involving Nintendo and its relationship with its legions of fans.
Airwalk was born of the skateboarding culture of Southern California, developing a strong street following with its original shoe designs and strong connection with skate culture. Thanks to savvy advertising and a concerted grass-roots effort to get "cool" people (rock bands, high-profile skateboarders, etc.) to wear their gear, the mainstream eventually took notice and "Airwalks" soon populated every mall in the country to meet a suddenly explosive demand.
However, Airwalk made a fatal mistake just as it was hitting its peak. It had originally segmented its business such that boutique skate shops received high-end, exclusive shoes, while mall stores received more generic designs. The company decided that it made more sense to provide one line of shoes across the board, moving away from the extra effort required to cater to hardcore skateboarders. This made the Airwalk brand extremely uncool to the trendsetting kids that frequented the underground shops, because they soon realized that the shoes they were buying were no different than what MTV Brad could buy at the mall. Airwalk unwittingly abandoned the very people that made them cool by shifting their philosophy to cater to the mainstream. Former company president Lee Smith put it best: "Cool brands treat people well, and we didn't….we had this little jewel of a brand, and little by little we sold that off into the mainstream".
I found Gladwell's account of these events to be eerily reminiscent of Nintendo of America's apparent refusal to localize anticipated Wii games Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower for the North American market. This decision – alluded to at June's Electronic Entertainment Expo and recently confirmed by a terse response on Nintendo's Facebook page - has led to a very public outcry from Nintendo fans in North America. Operation Rainfall, a grass-roots letter-writing campaign intended to spur NTSC localization of these titles, has picked up steam on Facebook and become a rallying point for disgruntled Nintendo fans who simply want more "hardcore" games to play in the twilight of their favorite console's life cycle.
It's not difficult to see the parallels between the trials of Airwalk and Nintendo's current situation. Swap skate shoes with video games and skateboarders with gamers and the two tales become strikingly similar. Make no mistake: Nintendo has built its brand on its cachet with hardcore gaming enthusiasts. For the most part, these are not the people that have bought Mario and Zelda games, although there is some overlap; these are primarily the people playing Pikmin, F-Zero, StarFox, Kirby, and Smash Bros. With their 2006 introduction of the Wii console and its subsequent mainstream explosion (thanks to general-audience titles like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, and Mario Kart Wii), Nintendo caught serious flak for supposedly abandoning the hardcore and catering exclusively to "lapsed" gamers. However, those following Nintendo more closely knew that this wasn't the case, as there was still a steady stream of core titles like Metroid Prime 3, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Paper Mario, and Sin and Punishment 2.
For reasons unknown – but probably having a lot to do with a shift of development resources towards the 2012 rollout of their next console, Wii U – this steady stream of core content soon turned into a trickle, and then dried up entirely. As of this writing there isn't a whole lot for core Wii gamers to look forward to in 2011 outside of the next Zelda game and Rhythm Heaven, a quirky title that in itself resides in a grey area between hardcore and general audience. This fact alone makes purely "core" titles like Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower even more anticipated by North American Wii owners, and the sting of their absence in the region even more pronounced. What's worse (and more baffling) is that all three games are being released with an English translation in PAL territories, including Europe and Australia. There is even a special edition of Xenoblade being released that includes a red Classic Controller, exactly the kind of exclusive package that core gamers covet.
Meanwhile, Nintendo is trumpeting how its next console is aimed squarely at reclaiming the core gamers it has lost to Sony and Microsoft. Yet it seems to be snubbing the core gamers it already has on board, shaking the confidence of its faithful that Nintendo is looking out for them in addition to its newfound "casual" audience. At the same time, it is reinforcing the claims of its detractors – and with Nintendo's success, there are many – that Nintendo really only cares about the most mainstream of mainstream gamers, begrudgingly trotting out core games every once in a while to keep its hardcore fans quiet. Like Airwalk before it, Nintendo is failing to realize that its fanbase is far from homogeneous. It likes to say it makes games for everyone, but at the same time it must understand that not all gamers want games for everyone. Those most loyal to a brand want to feel special, they want to be catered to, and they want to feel like their favorite company is making something "just for them". If this doesn't happen, a brand's greatest supporters can become its greatest critics, and over time may abandon it entirely for what they perceive to be greener pastures.
This is not to say that Nintendo's refusal to bring these games to North America would doom them as a brand. The Nintendo brand remains one of the strongest and most recognizable on the planet, right up there with Coca-Cola and Nike. However, the potential damage of this fiasco cannot be understated. With the company already fighting an uphill battle to win back the hearts and minds of the hardcore who have migrated to other consoles, it needs to foster all the goodwill it can amongst its evangelists. In this context, the prudence of this decision is particularly questionable, and Nintendo's failure to extend an olive branch to its loyalists can't help but make one wonder what the future holds.
Cool brands treat people well. If Nintendo doesn't learn this lesson, they may soon face a tipping point markedly different from the one they experienced with Wii so many years ago.
And that's a game nobody wants to play.
Nintendo caught serious flak for supposedly abandoning the hardcore and catering exclusively to "lapsed" gamers
Reminds me, when was the last time they did anything serious for their "casual" audience?The don't discriminate. Yeah they haven't really been doing anything to any of their customers on Wii.
Reminds me, when was the last time they did anything serious for their "casual" audience?
It likes to say it makes games for everyone, but at the same time it must understand that not all gamers want games for everyone.
QuoteIt likes to say it makes games for everyone, but at the same time it must understand that not all gamers want games for everyone.
This sums up what Nintendo has done wrong since the N64. These days they're the casual company. Remember when they were the kiddy company? Same thing. The Playstation was the first console to really have a wide variety of games targetted squarely at adults and teenagers, where as before videogames were largely targetted at children. Nintendo made games for "everyone" but that meant that the content had to be family friendly. But the audience that ate up Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII were not interested in games that everyone COULD like. They wanted games specifically for THEM. Same thing with the Wii. I don't care if I COULD enjoy Wii Sports - to accomodate everyone is has have very broad gameplay. I'm not interested in that. I want something more specific to my tastes. To truly target "everyone" Nintendo has to have different games targetting different audiences, not a bunch of broad mainstream games that are supposed to be loved by everyone.
For Nintendo the problems all started with the N64. Losing the third party support removed much of the variety the NES and SNES had. But another thing to note is that was the first console without Gunpei Yokoi. It wasn't always the Miyamoto show. The two of them both contributed to Nintendo's success and they both had different styles. The Metroid series for example is not at all the sort of game Miyamoto would make. Nintendo themselves had variety but after essentially firing Yokoi they became more homogenus since almost everything is filtered through Miyamoto. Miyamoto is a legend but so is Paul McCartney and would you want McCartney being directly involved with all of your favourite bands? Probably not. Variety requires independent creators.
I don't think for a second Nintendo ever figured they would turn off core gamers so much with the Wii. It's because they don't get this variety thing. They saw how accessible Wii Sports was and figured EVERYONE would love it. And they don't get this Xenoblade stuff. They don't get that some people have been waiting specifically for a game like Xenoblade to come to the Wii. They don't get that those same people might not be content with Wii Sports and Wii Fit. Some might not even want Zelda. That's probably something Nintendo can't imagine because for so long with Nintendo consoles it has been feast or famine. But on consoles with actual variety, people will skip the big title in favour of some niche title they really want. On Nintendo systems you buy the big title because there is jack **** else. On other consoles you just buy whatever you want because there is always something available and it might be a huge mainstream hit or some obscure Atlus RPG. It's like Nintendo got so used to their userbase mulling around until the big first party game and then devouring it that they think that THAT is the model to go with. Like that's the way you please your fans.
I would like Nintendo to get their **** together so I want the Wii U to be successful with core gamers. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if it wasn't and this Xenoblade stuff is later pointed to as an important turning point. If they really wanted to get the core gamers back and knew HOW to do that, they would never for a second consider not localizing these games. This very action demonstrates a completely lack of understanding the core market. Next year they're going to beg us to buy their new system but THIS year they're telling us to screw off. It is so counter-intuitive that I can't for a second believe that they know what they're doing. In the clutch when they need to prove their detractors wrong, Nintendo has an astonishing track record of proving them right.
What is the point of having a separate branch but to cater to the local audience?To market to the local audience.
The game code belongs to nintendo. Its their property. They can do whatever they want with it. If they feel that they want to release it and sell it they might do so and if they feel that they want to keep it unreleased thats their freedom to do so.
QuoteThe game code belongs to nintendo. Its their property. They can do whatever they want with it. If they feel that they want to release it and sell it they might do so and if they feel that they want to keep it unreleased thats their freedom to do so.
Well, yeah, of course they can do what they want with their own games. But they also have to risk pissing off the audience they're trying to win back with the Wii U and the potential lost customers that could result from that.
And we're also allowed to express our opinion if we would like to buy a product that the parent company is not selling in our region, but is selling in others.im not saying you are not allowed to say your opinion. im saying that you are not having any having any financial responsibility. you are not the one who has to fire employees if the business goes wrong.
@farnham Certainly Nintendo owns the game code and can do whatever they want with it. But who do they (or their contractors) write that game code for? They aren't writing it for themselves.of course they are. do you think nintendo is a altruistic organization ? they are a business. they invest in software in order to make a product that makes money for them.
Their job is to provide fans of their systems with the consistent entertainment they want; they put themselves in that position. Nobody forced them to do it. To say that they don't owe their paying customers anything is completely backwards, especially when thousands of those customers are literally asking for content that Nintendo is willfully withholding from them.no their job is to make money off of the hardware and software they manufacture. and fans are no stockholders. they are consumers that pay a fixed price for a certain product and have no financial responsibility. its not like they loose huge chunks of money due to nintendos release policy. if the games nintendo provides does not confirm with the tastes of each consumers they are entitled to sell their console or not buy the next one.
im not saying you are not allowed to say your opinion. im saying that you are not having any having any financial responsibility. you are not the one who has to fire employees if the business goes wrong.
So if I don't work for Nintendo in some way I can't say squat about how they run their business? I actually think this IS bad for business. I feel they're prioritizing short term profit over long term customer goodwill. Leaving the Wii to rot with like two games in the pipeline when there is product RIGHT THERE to fill the release schedule will risk turning disgruntled customers to the competition which could cost them Wii U sales.
If you are a Nintendo consumer, you have every right to complain when the company doesn't make something you and gamers like you want to buy, and in fact withholds it because it doesn't fit the company's agenda. We are the people who make it possible for companies like Nintendo to exist. They answer to us by providing products we want to buy, or they find themselves filing Bankruptcy. That's the symbiotic nature of business: we provide companies with our cash, and they provide us with things we want to own. When companies don't provide us with things we want to own, we complain and stop buying their products.i dont see any contractual or legal right of any nintendo consumer to demand specific games from nintendo.
stop buying their products.agreed. stop buying nintendo games if you dont like em. its simple.
I have no earthly idea why you are arguing about legal rights to these games. No one is arguing that Nintendo doesn't have a right to withhold these games from us. Nintendo's just making an extremely bad and short-sighted business decision, and one that will cost them in the long run with the Wii U as the very audience they have said they want to court ignores their products.im saying that if they have the legal rights to these games nobody can stop them from whatever they are doing. in the end they will pay for the consequences. if its a short sided business decision they will suffer losses not you.
And companies can't exist if an insufficient number of customers buy their products. I don't care how much capital they've invested in the company. They lose enough money putting out products no one wants to buy, they will eventually go bankrupt and cease to exist.i hardly doubt that they will go bankrupt because they did not release xenoblade. also nintendo has done very fine financially the last couple years. they hardly lost any money.
so basically its legal and ethically neutral what they do. i dont see any grounds to criticize them.
Its a crappy situation, sure, but the means to play these games in a tongue you understand will exist. And as has been said, its unlikely these games not releasing in America will affect Wii U significantly. Who's going to pass on the next Zelda because Xenoblade didn't come to US shores?
Let's hope they actually do have at least some of these games up their sleeves for North America, and are just choosing not to announce them at the present time (and making a huge PR blunder in the process).
This is the best article Lindy has ever written.
People should be proud to say they use your product.
Its a testament to the brand that after all those problems people still like brandishing being a PS3 player or more so an XBox 360 player as a badge.People should be proud to say they use your product.
So... gamers are proud that they purchased Microsoft's broken system, a situation that they didn't even try to fix until the EU started looking into bringing legal action against them? They're proud that they purchase Sony's overpriced system, and even got that second job just to do it, because Sony said they would be? They're proud to have trusted Sony with their sensitive data, which they practically gave away to hackers?
Somehow not localizing 3 games is on the same level... No, no, apparently it's WORSE than what Sony and MS have done in the past. Or is it just that Sony and MS have so much more gamer goodwill, what with how well they've treated them over the years.
Or could it simply be that gamers have almost 0 (zero) long term memory and will forget all about this by the time the Wii U comes out. There isn't even any current or even historic outrage at Sony and MS that matches what gamers are throwing at Nintendo today.
There really is a double standard in the video games industry.
Nothing is going to directly correlate to this because of the nature of the business is so new comparatively speaking and also so limitted in the players. Conceptuelly the Airwalks still work.This is the best article Lindy has ever written.
I don't mean to demean anything previous that the dude's written, but I echo that sentiment. This is a great article. Bravo, my predecessor.
Anyway, the Airwalk thing doesn't hold up directly to this, because I'm pretty sure I could just get Karlie to buy me a pair of Airwalks from Europe and send them to me, and then hack my feet so I can play them. I know we have some long-standing rule of not supporting this kind of practice, but **** it. Until NoA announces these games, my plan is to import these games from Europe. If I don't, I might burn my Wii out of boredom.
People should be proud to say they use your product.
So... gamers are proud that they purchased Microsoft's broken system, a situation that they didn't even try to fix until the EU started looking into bringing legal action against them? They're proud that they purchase Sony's overpriced system, and even got that second job just to do it, because Sony said they would be? They're proud to have trusted Sony with their sensitive data, which they practically gave away to hackers?
Somehow not localizing 3 games is on the same level... No, no, apparently it's WORSE than what Sony and MS have done in the past. Or is it just that Sony and MS have so much more gamer goodwill, what with how well they've treated them over the years.
Or could it simply be that gamers have almost 0 (zero) long term memory and will forget all about this by the time the Wii U comes out. There isn't even any current or even historic outrage at Sony and MS that matches what gamers are throwing at Nintendo today.
There really is a double standard in the video games industry.
Microsoft and Sony have made plenty of mistakes this generation. No one can or will deny that. The difference is that they have acknowledged their mistakes and have made attempts to repair their relationship with their customers, and they know how to spin these situations in ways that their customers will appreciate (the massive warranty extension and the Welcome Back gifts). Nintendo talked a good game at E3 about wanting to bring the core back, and look at how that's shaped out with this incident. As alluded to recently on NWR, these companies also have very public faces and places with Major Nelson and the Playstation Blog, where their fans can have the impression that their concerns reach those who can do something about it (even if the reality is not the case).
Nintendo has essentially shown its fans on more than one instance that they don't care what they think or what they want, if the demographics don't point to them being a source of big sales. If you own a Nintendo system, you'll take what Nintendo gives you and be thankful for it. And as the Almighty God of Gaming, they don't need to communicate with the little people and hear their needs. Imagine how much better this scenario might have panned out for Nintendo if they had simply come forward and explained their reasoning, rather than essentially a blanket "thanks, but **** you!" comment after several days of build-up. I know I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have appreciated not just being brushed-off like I didn't matter.
you can criticize other m as a product that you spend your money onQuoteso basically its legal and ethically neutral what they do. i dont see any grounds to criticize them.
So are you like a recently self aware robot or something? Like... HUH?!
I didn't think Other M was any good. Better not criticize it though since Nintendo didn't break the law or do anything evil in making it. ;D
i dont see any ethical issues in nintendos behavior. and if its a purely financial critique, as i said they are taking the damage if they are wrong not you.
you can criticize other m as a product that you spend your money onQuoteso basically its legal and ethically neutral what they do. i dont see any grounds to criticize them.
So are you like a recently self aware robot or something? Like... HUH?!
I didn't think Other M was any good. Better not criticize it though since Nintendo didn't break the law or do anything evil in making it. ;D
but you cant criticize the act of development and release of other m itself.
There's absolutely grounds for criticism here, that is, if Nintendo is indeed in the business of providing what their fans want as they certainly claim to be. You're absolutely right...no company is obliged to do anything, ever. For example, Sony wasn't obliged to do anything to "make it up" to their customers for allowing their user information to get leaked on a massive scale. But they did.of course they were obliged. they have concluded a contract with every psn user out there and even if this contract does not specifically say anything about the event of a hacker attack sony has an implied obligation to protect personal data of its users (im pretty sure they do say that they will not give user data to third parties or something. im not sure though). so the so called make up was a measure to stop potential trials.
You know why?
Because ultimately, the strength of your brand cannot be measured in dollars and cents. It can only be measured in the degree of goodwill afforded you by your customers. Even the perception of being a strictly dollars-and-cents operation ultimately weakens Nintendo in the eyes of their biggest fans, which is exactly the opposite of what a business wants. It's a double-edged sword...the more popular your business becomes, the more people you need to please, and the more people you risk pissing off. It's the price of success.
Nintendo should know better.
I still am curious just how much of a blunder it is, I am still not convinced the market as a whole on the Wii really care, including the "core" gamers or if it is just an outspoken minority doing this. Let's face it we've seen this before in the past with Wii, people clamoring for a specific game, and it comes out, but guess what? It doesn't sell, indicating there was either just a vocal minority and/or the "core" gamers were not serious about purchasing it in the first place.I was browsing the forums on my phone and I want you to know that I literally got out of bed, walked to my computer, and signed in just to I could quote this and give you an internet high five.
Does that mean it is a good thing NIntendo isn't releasing them here? No, not in the least but the thing is that there is a possibility people are exagerrating the impact it really has, even for the more the so called "core' gamers. People have short memories, it has been proven time and time again, a year from now or whenever the Wii U comes out, these 3 games will likely be distant memories except for a few.
1. you will pay 600 $ max for wii u and 60$ max for a game. nintendo willbhave to spend millions of dollars to develop manufacture and distribute. so no you have no say in their business just because you bought a product unless its faulty or it infringes your rightsi dont see any ethical issues in nintendos behavior. and if its a purely financial critique, as i said they are taking the damage if they are wrong not you.
Nope. If the Wii U is released, and I invest my money in purchasing one, I do so with the expectation that there will be entertaining software to play on it. As a company, Nintendo has set that precedent. If that system is unsuccessful for whatever reason and support disappears, then I DO incur some financial damage, as I will have to turn to another video game system for entertainment. It's happened before to all those who bought Virtual Boys and Dreamcasts.
A big difference this generation is that many people bought the Wii solely for the game included with it. Whether or not Nintendo has recognized this and is now making release decisions based on this information, they are not providing product for their video game entertainment system, and for many of us who bought the system, that is a problem. Many have incurred the financial penalty of having to invest in a second gaming system just to have something to play.
1. you will pay 600 $ max for wii u and 60$ max for a game. nintendo willbhave to spend millions of dollars to develop manufacture and distribute. so no you have no say in their business just because you bought a product unless its faulty or it infringes your rights
2. dont buy ninrendo consoles if you dont like what they are doi g
I think a lot of people who are upset about this are upset on principle because they can't buy these games, not because they actually wanted to. It's understandable, if a little childish. I wouldn't be surprised if NOA is thinking the same thing. Many of these people would not have bought a single one of these games, let alone all 3. Had these games been on the release schedule all along, I'm convinced that many of the same people who are sending letters to NOA and trolling their Facebook page would be complaining that The Last Story, Xenoblade, and Pandora's Tower were the ONLY games coming out before Skyward Sword and not something else like Pikmin 3.
Reminds me, when was the last time they did anything serious for their "casual" audience?
Wii Play Motion.
Reminds me, when was the last time they did anything serious for their "casual" audience?
Wii Play Motion.
I don't really think that counts, after all it's just a small pack-in with a controller and not a major game.
More like they enjoyed the controller AMIRITE???