N-Philes

Page 2

With the Nintendo DS, Nintendo set out to create something unique and innovative. Instead of the traditional "more power" motif, they decided to include a base package hardware wise, but with extraordinarily innovative ways to play games. With the touch screen, Nintendo garnered the ability to create not only games, but also software applications, which could be fun, educational, and even practical. This is most obvious in their creation of such games such as Brain Training, Touch! DIC, and Electroplankton. While not at all games in the modern sense, these applications let users do things that you weren't normally able to do with traditional video game systems, something that Nintendo has wanted to accomplish with the Nintendo DS. The real question among Nintendo brass however, was: would users actually pay for these "non-games"? The answer from them was uncertain. So rather than force in-the-know gamers to import a Japanese game, Nintendo of America nicely gave us the option to purchase at their online store.

Not only does this save Nintendo money, it also gives them idea on how much we really want these "non-games". Also, if Nintendo continues this trend, we could have a hassle free way of accessing some of the perhaps rarer/unique titles that perhaps small shops or large chains wouldn't take a gamble on.


I wasn't exactly pleased with the announcement, mainly because it's the exact opposite decision you'd expect from a company that's positioning itself as the industry innovator. After all, Nintendo is the one preaching about reaching those audiences who've left gaming, who've never even thought about gaming, and about the "blue ocean of opportunity."

Then they do this.

Electroplankton represents an interesting and difficult challenge. How do you market a game that doesn't even seem like it's targeted at gamers? Electroplankton isn't the type of game a person walks into a specialty store and hones in on, so it's not exactly going to move units at your local GameStop. But instead of simply relegating the title to online distribution, Nintendo should've tried something new. They just recently said they'd have to try marketing on different channels, why not take the next step and try new forms of distribution? Maybe the game won't sell at GameStop (or even the game section of a store), but what about the music section? Bookstores? Set up a demo kiosk with some headphones and let the game to the talking. If Nintendo's truly going to discover new audiences, they're going to have to reach out and communicate with them, and I think they missed an opportunity to, at the very least, experiment with new ways of doing just that.

Continued on page 3Previous Page

1 | 2 | 3