Nintendo has commented recently that it wants to have not only the teenage male, but everyone else in the household using its upcoming console. The company has described the Revolution as a "new kind of entertainment machine" that will show kids and parents alike that videogames "can be appreciable to them." But what does that all mean? Is there significance in the use of the word "entertainment" as opposed to "game", or "machine" over "console"?
My mother used to play Nintendo and Super Nintendo with me when I was young. As I grew into more complex 3D games, however, she stuck with Dr. Mario and Tetris (though she does thoroughly enjoy Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life). My aunt can really get into Pac-Man Vs. and Donkey Konga with her kids and me, but she mostly feels videogames are a waste of time. How can Nintendo convince them, and the masses that won't even touch a controller that the Revolution is for them too? The following runs through the possibilities.
Games for the Mind and Body
Nintendo has been venturing into the unknown with a series of "Touch! Generations" games in Japan, titles that offer simplistic yet deep gameplay experiences that challenge the user's mind, and encourages them to better themselves. Cram School and DS Training for Adults have been selling very well with people outside the normal gamer demographic, and DS systems are moving as a result.
Partnering with learning centers and universities, Nintendo could offer similar products for the Revolution. The whole household would be able to track and compare various brain functions like logical reasoning, response time, and perception over a long term. The Revolution's ability to download content would further the usefulness of such an application by continuously adding new questions and challenges so that one doesn't simply become accustomed to all of the original exercises.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has expressed his desire to create applications similar to the aforementioned DS non-games for the Revolution.
Of course, it is equally important to keep the body in good shape. Obesity in North America has been described as an epidemic, and some do point their fingers at the video game industry, but what if videogames could help people get into shape?
ResponDESIGN released a fitness game called Yourself! Fitness for the Xbox. IGN gave it a favorable review, but it probably sold like cow patties at a bake sale for the sole reason that its target audience is vastly different from the userbase of the Xbox. Given enough time, though, such games could break into the market in a big way and change the way people view the relationship between video games and physical activity (or lack thereof). Nintendo could partner up with health organizations and help develop a similar application whereby the family could enter fitness information such as height, weight, sex, BMI, etc. and track that data over time as the game takes the user through basic (or advanced) exercises designed to lose, maintain, or gain weight. The kids can spend ten minutes running around the family room with Mario, while the teens work out with Peach, Plum, and Candy Kong, with the parents using a more realistic, specially designed model to guide them through workout sessions. Added functionality could include a dance mat, or even a Revolution-compatible pedometer.
Edutainment Redefined
How many times have you heard, "You can play videogames after doing some homework," and wished that homework was as fun as video games? Edutainment has been around for a long while, but has almost always fallen short of being both educational and entertaining on the console scene. In recent years, however, tools like the Leap Frog learning systems have been all the rage with parents of young children. Why not make the Revolution compatible with such devices? Nintendo could introduce--by itself or through partners--reading, writing, and math aides through the Revolution. Math Blasters is pretty fun as far as edutainment goes, so why not get that on a Nintendo? And parents would go crazy over a lock that wouldn't allow little Billy to play Super Smash Bros. until he's spent a set amount of time with Math Blasters: Fraction Fumble or Mario Super Solar System Exploration.
What about the babies? It's been proven that colors, patterns, sounds, and shapes help a young child develop mentally. Instead of letting them watch half an hour of Teletubbies, why not let the young ones interact with an input device, and let them learn that their actions affect the shapes and colors and sounds on the television screen. Electroplankton for twelve-month olds? When it comes to videogames, there's no such thing as starting too young.
A Fake Fireplace
My friend has a clock radio with preset sounds of water, fire, and even a human heartbeat. These sounds are designed to create a soothing environment. Why not apply that to the Revolution? What if you could buy souped-up screensavers that help to create a relaxed environment? Some people use a fireplace motif on their monitors to figuratively warm up a room. Just think what the Revolution could do. Imagine a large tank with fish swimming around, a beautiful sunset with the sound of the ocean, or an ever-changing garden with bird chirps and insect sounds. Now, with a click of a joystick, you could affect the fishes' movements, or you could watch what the sunset slowly fade to a full moon even if it's raining out your window. Better yet, connect the environments with weather information and geography from other regions around the world and have a Hawaiian sunset or a sunrise behind Mt. Fuji right in your living room. Such an application is far from being a game, but it demonstrates interactivity, and would be just one more amazing reason to own a Revolution.
Trailers on Demand
Everyone sees trailers for upcoming movies on television and before their feature presentation, but sometimes you just can't remember which film caught your attention. Apple's Quicktime site is a great place to view movie trailers, but my guess is that few people will immediately go there to watch or re-watch them.
Apple and Nintendo are always being brought up as two companies that should collaborate, and this is one area where they could benefit from one another. Nintendo would allow Apple to put all game trailers for Revolution titles on its website. In return, Apple could allow Revolution systems around the world to download free movie trailers, as well as the game trailers. Not only would the gamer of the house be kept up to date with upcoming releases, everyone else can be kept up to speed with what movies will be hitting the silver screen.
Free Games
Microsoft has announced that it will have a free game service that features simple games like solitaire and checkers. To be honest, Nintendo really should have a similar service. Not everyone will appreciate the complexity of modern videogames, but chess and pool have been favorites since the genesis of online games.
A Yahoo Games-like hub as part of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection could let adults and children alike play a variety of basic (but up to reasonable graphic standards) games alone, or with their friends and intellectual equals. Mario-themed tic-tac-toe? Metroid-styled Bejeweled? Nintendo vs. Sega chess? This feature, in combination with the NES, SNES, and N64 downloads, could be a real selling point for parents and other adults who don't have the time for complex, time-consuming titles, and extra free titles are music to anyone's ears.
Convergence Pay Off
When Rogers Telecommunications in Canada bought the Toronto Blue Jays, many heads were scratched as people tried to understand why the media giant would buy something so seemingly unrelated to its business. They used their various media outlets to make Blue Jays content accessible, while using the Blue Jays to promote its products and services.
Nintendo more or less owns the Seattle Mariners. They can use this as leverage to appeal to an entirely new demographic. By offering exclusive content like on demand ball games, interviews, statistics, and fantasy leagues, Nintendo can draw sports fans to the Revolution. By the same token, Nintendo could use this outlet to promote sports games like Pennant Chase and MVP Baseball. If this captures enough attention, then other companies may bring more sports titles to the Revolution, which is good for everyone.
A Nintendo for Everyone
Nintendo isn't trying to command the living room with an all-in-one entertainment appliance, but that doesn't mean that it can't get a foothold in living rooms around the world by offering unique ways for every member of the household to use the Revolution. Microsoft and Sony are trying to deliver a hub for movies, music, and games, but this alone might not attract every member of the house to their products. After all, most households have the ability to play CDs and DVD movies already. Five years ago, such features sold the PS2 to the masses, but today, it's almost a non-issue.
Nintendo needs to go beyond trying to put people everything they already have into one package; it needs to think outside the box about how to deliver relevant tools and entertainment for everyone aged 1 to 91. If each next-gen system sells the same number of units, the Revolution has the potential to touch two, three, or even four times as many people. Ultimately, this strengthens the Nintendo brand among the masses, and sets up the big N for further success in all its future ventures.
