Topic: How will the Wii reach out to the non-gamers?

[Fierce_LiNk]

Hey guys, this is my first post here. I intend to make a good impression....well..i'll try.:p

My name is Fierce_LiNk and i've been playing games for years. My first games console was a commodore64, but i believe that i truely became a gamer during the SNES days.
It was titles like mario allstars, killer instinct, Fifa96 and street fighter 2 which got me into gaming. Since then, i've never looked back.

Over the past few years, i've joined other gaming sites. In particular, i joined an awesome site that used to be called Cube-europe. Now, it has evolved into Revo-europe and is one of the biggest fansites out there at the moment. I've worked through the ranks of user to become moderator, and then admin. So, i must be doing something right. :p
I've also been watching this site evolve since the gamecube's early days. I was weary about joining another message board as i felt that i didn't have time to commit to two places. However, it is 01:40 am and i have nothing better to do, so i thought i'd break the ice. :p

Basically, i wanted to try and make a good first impression, while also making an interesting topic.

Today, i received my copy of brain training through the post. After hearing about this 'non-game', i didn't know what to expect.
However, i opened up the package, and booted up the game with my Mum at my side. I wanted to see if this game could REALLY appeal to people of all ages.
And it sure did.
The first thing we tried was sudoku. My mum was impressed with the handwriting recognition, and so was i.
Next up, was voice recognition. I made an error here as i was saying the name of the word and NOT the name of the colour. This meant i was saying the wrong word, and it left me puzzeled for a while. Until i came to my senses, that is. :p

The thing is, my Mum is now thinking about getting me a DS lite...so that she can keep my old DS. I was shocked at this. I really didn't expect this 'game' to have such an impact on my mum.

My question to you guys is..how will Wii reach out to the non-gamers in the same way that the DS did? At the moment, i can't see it equalling the success of the DS, let alone surpassing it. The DS and Wii are two different breeds, and i can't see a game like brain training coming out on Wii and attempting to get non-gamers playing games.
Saying that though, i have learnt that we should never assume anything. Anything can happen.

So, post away. I hope i made a good impression.

[please let me in, please]

The only thing i really know is that they hope the tv remote like style will help nongamers into picking up and trying it. Another thing that might help is that it will make people comfortable playing certain games, such as Excite Truck. How? It may remind them of a steering wheel. There will be more games reaching out of course, since they are going for this range; but right now i dont know how they will reach to the masses. A few of these games may be the following: cooking game, sports games, music games.

oh, and im back. I bet everyones real happy too,( yeah right).  

[IceCold]

First off, welcome! You should post in the "General Chat" board under the Newbie Check In.

It will be tough to attract the nongamers, there's no doubt about that. The key is the advertising; it has to be top notch for the Wii to succeed. You need to see Wii stalls and commercials everywhere, and they can't be traditional videogame ads - they need to be something that doesn't turn nongamers off.

Also, the new Miyamoto IP. If they want this strategy to succeed, that game needs to attract the newcomers. I expect it to be brilliant, but we haven't heard much about it, so it probably won't launch until some time into the Wii's lifetime. Which is fine, because the early adopters will take care of the beginning of the life cycle.

[please let me in, please]

Only one thing wrong with that: Nintendo rarely advertises any of their products. Usually it is Microsoft and Sony.  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Wii will have to rely totally on buzz and comparative value.  Wii would have to repeat what the NES did and act like a toy -- something to get the attention of the entire family.  It might not be that difficult, cuz standing in front of a TV (THE FAMILY TV; unless we've only got terrible parents left in this world who put a telly in every room) waving your wand around to your Harry-Potter-heart's content will definitely grab attention, especially if you're taking time away from their 24 or American Idiot Phone Vote.

~~~~~

A sig pic is a quick way to get laughs and warnings and administrative trouble from mods here.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Hey, thanks for the welcome. I'll check out that board in just a sec.

About advertising: The DS has been a phenominal success in pretty much all territories. I think Nintendo advertised the DS extremely well. If you watch channel 4 (especially on a friday night), you'll see adverts for the DS. You will also see the DS sponsoring shows and programmes. There were also a ton of cinema adverts. It's been astounding. Compared to the advertising that the gamecube received, Nintendo are like a company possessed!

[Deguello]

Hey, you.  Get rid of that Sig image, Pronto.

[Arbok]

Quote
Originally posted by: please let me in, please
oh, and im back. I bet everyones real happy too,( yeah right).

Why did you tease us... why?

[Fierce_LiNk]

Sorry, i thought sig images were aloud? Anyway, it's removed now, sorry about that.

[Magik]

For the Wii to really succeed in attracting the 'non-gamer', Nintendo needs to get the Wii on as many TV shows and newsites that are frequented by 'non-gamers'.  Example being CNN, BBC, CBC etc.  You get the point.

Another key is to put A LOT of resources into advertising and marketing the Wii.  This sounds like an easy task, but Nintendo's advertising and marketing for the GC was simply atrocious.

Nintendo has a lot of work ahead of them if they are going to attract the 'non-gamers.'

[please let me in, please]

i didnt tease you. I really left. I was mad as h***. I went to gamefaqs, and it was boring and not as open as here. Also, some people here i like. SOME.

[Ceric]

You guys always say the Nintendo rarely advertise products and I always seem to be in the minority.  I don't have any magazine subscriptions.  Just TV, Internet, and the paper sometimes.  Axing out Internet (I'm here that be bias) I still see at least 2 Nintendo adds for every 1 that I see for Xbox or PlayStation (Any version).  I mean were do you guys live?  I know gaming magazines are different and so is the like of Playboy but "non-gamers" aren't really the intended audience of those.

On the topic of this forum.
Yeah.  If you don't roll with the punches this place can really get to you at times.  Most of the time it's a fun board.  Good enough size for some opinons but not so large you get lost and a night can turn a thread into monster.  (even though that still happens.)

[JonLeung]

I think the Wii needs to be demonstrated.  It's easy enough in a household where you have at least one gamer, but what about families that don't have any?  It's hard for me to comprehend such a thing but maybe there are.

It was once mentioned by someone that Nintendogs might sell in a pet store.  I guess the thing is, it'd be too easy to compare a Nintendog to a real dog and if the Nintendog isn't good enough, it won't sell.  Or if the Nintendog is good enough, then what about the poor puppy that could have been bought in place of it?  Or maybe not, I'm looking at it too deeply.  For the person who might like animals who goes into a pet store just to look, now that might sell.  And if they can have DDR in schools as part of a Phys. Ed. routine, I'm sure they can fit in Brain Age (or more likely Big Brain Academy, IMO) into the curriculum.

As for the Wii and Wii games, they need to have it really out there.  Sure, you can have the Wii advertised in game stores or in the games section of a store, but if you weren't interested in games you wouldn't go there (and if you were interested, you'd probably already know about it).

They need to have big demoes in the open parts of the mall.  They need to demonstrate what it can do.  A bunch of people making fools of themselves playing WarioWare: Smooth Moves is going to get more attention than if they just had a couple Wii banners hiding in the corner of the little games store.

[Berto2K]

I have 2 coworkers who rarely play games.  I had told them about it and they kinda scoffed it at first.  But now they have watched the E3 trailers from the press conferences over and over because they now want a Wii.  But its all about seeing it in action, and playing it.  It should spread really quickly like the DS did after a short while.  Yes it will be slow to take off because the first batches will be bought up by all the big fans like us.  Then as more supply rolls in, more people get to play it, and word spreads it will pick up speed.

Incidentily, they both are really interested in Wii Sports.  One of the most basic games.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on the game.  It was one of my favorites just from the few minutes I got to play at E3.  

If what Perrin (I think) says is true, there are going to be promo/demo tours the next few months for the public to get a chance to play Wii for themselves.  That is the only way Nintendo will win people over.  Get it out there early and let people get their hands on it.  I know I will be logging many hours at the in-store demo kiosks when they arrive with tennis .

[Magik]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ceric
You guys always say the Nintendo rarely advertise products and I always seem to be in the minority.  I don't have any magazine subscriptions.  Just TV, Internet, and the paper sometimes.  Axing out Internet (I'm here that be bias) I still see at least 2 Nintendo adds for every 1 that I see for Xbox or PlayStation (Any version).  I mean were do you guys live?  I know gaming magazines are different and so is the like of Playboy but "non-gamers" aren't really the intended audience of those.

On the topic of this forum.
Yeah.  If you don't roll with the punches this place can really get to you at times.  Most of the time it's a fun board.  Good enough size for some opinons but not so large you get lost and a night can turn a thread into monster.  (even though that still happens.)

I live in Toronto, Canada and I watch a lot of TV and I rarely see any advertisement from Nintendo.  For every single commercial I see from Nintendo, I see 5 more for the PSP and 7-8 for the 360.  And on public transit, Nintendo has ZERO ads while the PSP is everywhere.

[Spak-Spang]

It is really all about marketing.  Changing public perception of gaming.

Most people think that marketing starts with the commercials, and the imaging of the product.  But it actually starts with the product itself.  Nintendo needs to make a product that CAN reach nongamers.  This means creating hardware and software that nongamers can play and enjoy.

1)The WiiPointer:  Functionality is as simple as you need it to be...or as complicated.  It is non intimidating, and much easier to explain and grasp than the average controller.  

User Friendly, Non Intimidating controller check.

2)The Price:  Non Gamers are not dedicated to spending vast amounts of money on gaming.  They will play games when exposed to them and they "Get It." But may dedicate a huge amount of cash for the games.  

The Wii is set to be the cheapest console, and have vastly competitive prices for Software

3)Now we get to the imaging of the Wii, and the marketing of games and the console itself.
Look how Nintendo has marketed the DS.  Each game presents not just game, but the console in a different light.  Metroid Prime: Hunters was edgy and cool.  New Super Mario Brothers was Retro and youthful.  While Brain Training and Big Brain Academy literally presented the system as a learning tool.

Nintendo takes this approach with the Wii and each new game is a chance to present that game and the system to the market you are reaching.  Brain Training Wii will open the door for adults.  Wario Ware can be introduced as a social party game.  Ect.  You can't just advertise the system anymore.  You must advertise the system with a software function to reach people.

Finally, the grass roots campaigns will bring in the biggest support from nongamers.  First, gamers and Nintendo fans will buy the Wii.  However, once we expose our friends and family to the system.  If they have fun and they "Get It."  Then they will buy.  The grass roots campaigns will be the most important aspects to Nintendo spreading towards the masses.  Look how many nongamers are looking to play the DS because we introduce them to a game.

All of these will help Nintendo.  But if Nintendo stops delivering nongamer games, then the market will dry up.  Nintendo is going to have to commit for years to this new market of gamers.  Brain Training games, simple puzzle games, and other non-gamer games are going to have to be part of the yearly release schedule for Nintendo software for the market to maintain itself.

[Ian Sane]

I think a key part of the non-gamer strategy to make it work longterm is for Nintendo to convert non-gamers into gamers.  The guy buying Brain Age today should be buying Zelda tomorrow.  Otherwise it won't make the desired impact.  I know people who have a Gameboy and Tetris and that's it.  They've never bought another game.  Who needs a customer like that?  Nintendo won't make money from someone who just buys Brain Age and then never buys another game.  And they can't support two seperate audiences with a "non-games" line and a "gamer games" line.  The non-gamers need to become gamers.

So I think the ideal games for the Wii are titles like Excite Truck.  It's a racing game so it's something that wouldn't be classified as a non-game.  But the remote works like a steering wheel and that catches people's attention.  It could kind of "trick" them into trying out a videogame because of the controls.

For marketing they really need to get people trying these things out.  I honestly don't know exactly how they can accomplish this at the scale they want.  In the old days a good strategy would be to have arcade machines and then advertise that the Wii can perfectly recreate that same experience at home.  But today arcades are kaput.  One thing they need to do with the ads is demonstrate how the game plays.  None of the Cube ads ever gave any indication of what a game was about.  They always had some stupid skit and then to like two seconds of footage.  It was horrible.  These ads can't be all skits and jokes.  They need to show people playing the game.

One commercial idea could be to film the people attending a demo.  So you get the reaction of real people playing the games in a mall.  This not only advertises the game but also advertises the demo tour itself.

[JonLeung]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
One commercial idea could be to film the people attending a demo.  So you get the reaction of real people playing the games in a mall.  This not only advertises the game but also advertises the demo tour itself.

Maybe, but personally, I don't like commercials like those.  Those would be less flashy than the likely path Sony will go for the PS3 this holiday season.

What's wrong with the videos on Nintendo's official Wii web site?  If those were condensed into 30 second TV spots, I bet they could be successful.

I saw a Nintendo commercial (the famous School's Out commercial from the start of the "Who Are You?" campaign) in one of the cheap movie theaters a couple years back.  I also remember a Donkey Kong 64 commercial...it was either with Sleepy Hollow or Die Another Day way back in November 1999.  I think Nintendo should go back to doing movie theater, "pre-feature presentation" commercials.  Despite the drop in attendance in theaters that Hollywood whines about, I think it's still an effective mass medium for advertising.  I think they can get away with longer commercials in theaters as well, I remember a long commercial about the PS2 that was surely over a minute long.  The extra time would be good to show both how you play and what you play.

[Kairon]

Just to be clear, the "conversion" we're talking about with non-gamers is to get them converting to buying more games, period, not converting them into "real" gamers right?

Because I thought the whole reason that they we "lost" these people back in the day was that they outright refused to become "real" gamers, that it is impossible to convince someone to buy something that they don't actually want?

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Requiem]

Quote
Originally posted by: please let me in, please
i didnt tease you. I really left. I was mad as h***. I went to gamefaqs, and it was boring and not as open as here. Also, some people here i like. SOME.

Do you like me? *puppy eye's the sh!t out of Pleasy*

Anyway, What up Fierce_Link. I've seen you at Revo-Europe. I rarely post their, but I'm sure you've heard of me. I'm Edjamakated.

About your question though, it really depends on WORD OF MOUTH. Some people think straight advertisement can do it, but if you look at the 360 and you'll find the perfect example of why it doesn't work. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that WOM is the most important factor for any consumer product.

If the Wii is fun, and it has some killer games, Nintendo could rely on the battalions of Nintendo fans just waiting to share their new purchase with everyone.

Strictly speaking about non-gamers though, they need to discredit the steriotype that Videogames = nerd hobby or Videogames = uncool. Either way, they need to get in people's faces and tell that videogames are fun now and videogames are exciting and challenging.

[Spak-Spang]

Ian Sane:  I think you are right that eventually you need to convert Nongamers into gamers.  But that isn't an immediate process.  The reason being is that non gamers have a different taste in entertainment.  Hence why they are nongamers.

The games that nongamers ARE playing tend to be simple, easily approachable and enjoyable games.  They are games that you can grasp immediately.  Brain Age, Big Brain Academy and such appeal to those people.

I don't believe it is completely unreasonable for Nintendo to approach the coming generations making two types of games.  In fact, I think it is wise, because the gaming market is split, and Nintendo can bridge the gap by making a console that appeals to both gamers.

Is the DS showing signs of Nintendo not focusing on its core base?  No.

At the same time, I do think several games will appeal to nontraditional gamers, that are generally considered games for normal gamers.

Ware Wario Wii
Excite Truck
Mario Kart
and even the new
Super Mario Galaxy

have a chance to bring nongamers into the fold, because the simple control.

[couchmonkey]

I actually think the "marketing" for DS tends to be word of mouth, just like Nintendo predicted it would be.  It seems like there are tons of stories about people picking up DS because a gamer friend showed them Brain Age, but how many people just bought a DS out of nowhere, without playing any other videogames in the past 10 years?  I don't think it's very many, but then again I'm biased, because all the stories I hear about non-gamers buying DS come from gamers.  Even so, I'm guessing that word-of-mouth from gamer to non-gamer has been Nintendo's best marketing tool for non-gamers.

I think Wii might be even better in this respect because it hooks up to the TV, a naturally social medium (well, until people have TVs in every room, like someone said earlier).  I can totally see Wii Sports as a huge marketing tool for Wii.  It's fun and simple and people will see it being played in their household and want to try it.

Ian brings up a good point about turning non-gamers into gamers, but I don't know if non-gamers will ever be the same type of player as hardcore gamers.  Is it possible to sell non-gamers on more non-games?  I think so.  They can also be sold on simple "real" games like Excite Truck, I believe, but I'm not sure how many are going to be playing the Legend of Zelda any time soon.  My dad is thinking about Wii, but he'll never be interested in Zelda until it only takes a couple of buttons and one control stick to control.  Either way, I agree Nintendo will need to find a way to keep these people buying games after the first one or two.  Perhaps WiiConnect will be able to help in this respect: if Nintendo can get people to leave the system on, it might push samples of new games to the system.  Though that's something Nintendo has been hesitant to do in the past, I think it could work well, especially on non-gamers who don't have the time/interest to evaluate new products like we do.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Quote
Originally posted by: Requiem

Quote




Anyway, What up Fierce_Link. I've seen you at Revo-Europe. I rarely post their, but I'm sure you've heard of me. I'm Edjamakated.

Ahhh, yeah. I remember your name.

Anyway, good discussion guys. I think a lot of you are pointing at the significance of marketing.
I would have to agree. I think Nintendo have go out on all-out offensive marketing strategy. Tv, cinema, magazines, newspapers, the lot.

[please let me in, please]

Requiem: Do you like me? *puppy eye's the sh!t out of Pleasy*

Pleasy: " well i do like puppys."

Puppy smiles, tail wags, then licks Pleasy.

Pleasy: " First though, we need to get you fixed."

Puppys tail stops wagging.

[please let me in, please]

It would be cool to see nintendo advertising the wii on billboards. ( u know, the ones u drive by?) Many people would see it, and might think it is interesting and try it out.