E3

[Weltall]

Ryan, just like the rest of these confused members here, you are not able to think in anything but very broad terms.

EVERY non-essential product made in this world to sell to consumers is vying for your (the consumer's) attention. So in that broad sense, books are competing with movies, video games are competing with flowers, and bikes are competing with radios. But believe it or not, there are distinctions in the marketplace. Now I know, all of your vast knowledge on this subject which consists of five minutes worth of *somewhat* concentrated thought tells you differently, but I assure you that if you take even just one marketing and business class or seminar you will find out the same thing. Call it stupid if you wish (I won't disagree), but that is how the market works. There are very broad markets, and there are sub markets. Nintendo makes products for a few distinct sub markets, and there is enough distinction between them that they have them separated, like like Sony has all of their billion sub markets separated as well. This is not rocket science, people. I can't believe how difficult this is for some of you to understand this.

Gee, I guess all those years working in retail and actually selling this shit didn't teach me a thing about marketing. Imagine that.

Now, I'll admit that there are sub-markets, but that's not the point. The broad point is the IMPORTANT point. These subgroups merely exist so that the corporate entity on the whole can get a leg-up on their competitors. That's why I don't buy the bullshit Nintendo spews about creating their own market niche and not competing with Sony and MS. They are quite in competition. They have to do it in unorthodox ways because the avenue of gaming consoles is one Nintendo will never control again. Now, Nintendo's subsystems work well enough that the company turns a profit and their supposed lack of competitive fire is accepted at face value, but don't you think for a minute that Nintendo wouldn't go guns forward if they had a legitimate opportunity to unseat Sony from their perch, even if it seems like they really don't care anymore... I think that's more a result of a sense of futility than anything. The point is, you're making these sub-divisions of the process out to be the most important, but it's only one piece of the puzzle. Take football for an analogy. One team gains more yardage, more first downs and causes more turnovers than their opponent. This opponent scores more points than the first. Which one wins the game? The object is not simply to find a niche and control it, but to use these niches to boost the company as a whole. That's why the broad viewpoint is quite important here. It's why Nintendo controls so many niches and yet is in last place in the console race.

Ok let's think about this for a moment.

Who here has a pretty good amount of knowledge of business and marketing? Answer: me.

Who here has family members who make their living having to know about this stuff? Answer: me

Who here knows absolutely nothing about this subject and refuses to listen to a more knowledgeable person's explanation for the sole reason that there's nothing you hate more than to admit that he's right? Answer: the whole lot of you

Oh, give me a break, professor. Just because you took a class or two doesn't make you the eminent authority on anything. Much of marketing and its workings is based on common sense. I'm quite sure that you've taken more English and Writing courses than I have, and I'm also quite sure I am a better writer than you are, despite not taking any such classes in high school. All I have to do is remember that you consider Emperor Palpatine a well-written, deep character and I don't doubt for a minute that I can do better, and have done better, without even thinking.

Sometimes you really just need to swallow your pride, taste defeat, and brush your teeth. You often end up in arguments where it's you against the world, and the frequency of them suggests that you may not be the know-it-all you think you are.