Quote:The Asahi Japanese newspaper reports that Nintendo is drawing up a game plan to gain ground on archrival Sony. Part of the plan includes selling game consoles in China to make up for disappointing sales globally. They expect to push into China by the end of the year. Right now they are still formulating which products they intend to sell there. Satoru Iwata says Nintendo will take a new approach in China instead of marketing its current lineup as is. They say this is necessary due to the difference in income standards between Japan and China, as well as the rampant piracy.

Some new details on the Club Nintendo are purchasers must first register on the Internet. They will use the information supplied to analyze its customer base and consumer preferences. (Wow, marketing techniques.) "We want to make use of the data as a new marketing tool," Iwata said. Consumers can amass a certain amount of points that entitle them to Nintendo goods such as new game demos.

"Investors became so overly pessimistic about our future growth potential that Nintendo's share price plummeted,'' Iwata said. In the past, Nintendo was able to maintain its decisive lead in the video game industry just by promoting new game titles via TV commercials targeted at the general public. But traditional marketing methods, which had been effective since the introduction of the company's blockbuster Family Computer models in 1983, no longer work, say company officials.

Iwata said the video game market is becoming saturated and Nintendo can no longer rest easy. That sense of crisis is a main factor behind the decision to launch the new point system, company officials said. Sony, meanwhile, is attempting to transform its game consoles into digital appliances by fusing them with the company's highly rated audio-visual equipment. Nintendo has refused to follow suit, maintaining instead that its priority is to offer entertaining game titles that anybody can readily enjoy.

As the critical year-end shopping season approaches, Nintendo plans to roll out new titles to help it regain its competitive edge and market share. He added that the company plans to announce a successor to its current generation of consoles next spring.


Posted by Ethan Pearson, Founder, Director
Source: Asahi Shimbun

Quote:But if Nintendo has some real N5 software to show off then Sony and MS are going to look bad in comparison. Imagine how amazed everyone would be if Nintendo showed clips from some N5 games like Too Human, Mario, Pilotwings, and Zelda. Nintendo is the best game developer in the world, and if they get their next system out before everyone else with a good flow of AAA titles for the first year or so, they would probably have a good chance or reclaiming the throne from Sony. Nintendo has to quit with the extreme secrecy and come out with guns a' blazin'. Completely blow everyone away and convince every man, woman, and child on the planet that they cannot live without an N5. Have huge titles for the N5 launch and spend as much money as possible on marketing.