Ch. 7 - Business Marketing

In regards to relationship marketing, Nintendo frequently sends customers who sign up for the Club Nintendo membership service deals and sales via email that is exclusive to these members.The more one spends on Nintendo products and registers on the website, the more rewards and opportunity for deals are presented by Nintendo. Besides Club Nintendo, Nintendo is similar to its competitors in that it typically has little to no knowledge of it's customer's shopping habits(due to most of their products being sold via outside stores such as Gamestop and Best Buy.) and thus, have generally poor relationship marketing strategy relying on brand loyalty for sales.

Nintendo however serves as a platform for other developers. Independent video game studios either design or port(a process of optimizing a video game made on competitor's consoles to work on multiple consoles) games on Nintendo consoles. While not as reliant on 3rd party developers as Sony and Microsoft, a great portion of games available on Nintendo consoles come from them. In order for those developers to make or port games on Nintendo consoles, they have to go into an agreement with Nintendo, pay licensing fees and also pay for development kits("DevKits") to properly program the games on the console. In exchange, Nintendo gives the games it's iconic seal of quality and then publishes and distributes the games. Nintendo is VERY serious about the content available on it's consoles so it's very selective on the games they allow for publishing, which has many 3rd party developers prefering to publish on Sony and Microsoft platforms instead(Electronic Arts being notorious for skipping out on making Nintendo ports of their games).

From what I just mentioned, it seems like Nintendo doesn't have a very reliable business marketing strategy when it comes to dealing with outside developers. Nintendo now has to rely on internally developed and published games for a majority of it's profits. This isn't good at all as seen with it's continued losses and booming successes of it's competitor's consoles and game sales.

http://www.wired.com/2014/01/nintendo-forecast/

Ch. 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

Following Nintendo all this time has made it clear that it's actual target market is young and single consumers who are not burdened by too many responsibilities and have more disposable income than other types of consumers. From children to young adults (5-24) is Nintendo's main focus.

Nintendo products are also widely available across most of the 1st world, with several game specialty shops, electronic stores such as Best Buy and even some department stores like Target and Walmart. Add on top of its widely available product line is the fact that Nintendo products are cheaper in price than it's competitors Sony and Microsoft, making them more appealing to young consumers who may not have the means to afford the others.

That's not to say that Nintendo has been entirely 100% focused on young and single consumers however. Within recent memory, Nintendo has been going for a more family oriented approach to marketing. Beginning with its Wii system, Nintendo has been aiming to get all members of the family involved in some form of gaming using the gimmick of motion controls using an easy to navigate set of controllers. In this regards it has been highly successful as the Wii has even been used in elderly homes as a form of therapy.

With that said,Nintendo's newest system, the Wii U seems to only be targeting the young market again. The Wii U has ditched the motion controllers in exchange for a tablet/controller hybrid and the games available are more focused on hobbyist gamers(as in consumers who play games more often and of different varieties than others). The gimmick of motion controls of course like all gimmicks became tiresome and so Nintendo had to go in another direction. The good part about this is that it gave Nintendo a fresh new direction to focus on game development. The bad part however is that it has put it in direct competition with Sony and Microsoft's newer consoles as well which is turning out to not go well in Nintendo's favor.

Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

Nintendo has been known for having unique and innovative ideas for it's various gaming consoles and software. Thinking outside of the box is Nintendo's creed when it comes to developing new products. From Evolving the Gameboy from just a single screen, monotone portable gaming device to its 3DS iteration, which has an additional touch screen, vibrant 3d graphics and app capabilities to add onto it being just a portable gaming system.

The best example of Nintendo's new product strategy in my opinion however is with it's Wii console. The release of the Wii really speaks to the aim of Nintendo as a business. Creative, new, and universally fun for people of all age ranges. Wii was a real game changer(no pun intended) when it was released whether you hated it or loved it. Its impression on the gaming industry is still being felt to this day with the other, newer consoles still taking notes from Wii's features.

Wii started development with the code name "Revolution"(which I think sounds waaay better than Wii) back in 2001 soon after the release of Nintendo's Gamecube console. The main goal of the Wii was to change the way games were to be played and increase the immersion factor. Incorporating  new motion controls to achieve this, it also had the added benefit of being an exercise as well as being entertainment which falls in line with Nintendo's views of being simple and clean fun for the whole family. Wii ended up being a reaaal big deal when it released, beating out its major competitors, Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 for a few years after its release. From dancing games that utilizes motion controls to sports games like boxing that does the same, Nintendo Wii  really broke the mold the way Nintendo was infamous for doing.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

Nintendo's products fall into the heterogeneous category of shopping products. The various games and video game consoles produced by Nintendo are all essentially different from each other as well as from it's major competitors Microsoft's Xbox division and Sony's Playstation division (although this is blurred with 3rd party games sold on all 3 platforms). When you buy a Nintendo product, you know for sure that it's a Nintendo product.

Nintendo's product lines consists of video games(either published by or developed and published internally), video game consoles, and licensed merchandise such as toys, posters, cards, comics and candies based on various Nintendo video game franchises. Nintendo's main focus when it comes to products seems to be more so along the lines of developing games. Most of Nintendo's "console sellers"(games that move consoles) are it's own internally developed games such as The Legend Of Zelda and Super Smash Bros. with less focus on publishing  games developed by other developers.

Super Mario Candies

As a brand, Nintendo is on a global scale. Based in Japan, Nintendo gets a good majority of it's sales from overseas within the Americas, Europe, Australian(Australia and New Zealand) and Asia territories. Nintendo has been doing so since the 1980's and is one of the more easily recognizable brands out there now. Many consumers to this day are fiercely loyal to the brand even to this day with many buying only Nintendo products over everything else when it comes to video game entertainment. Whistle the Super Mario theme or hum the Tetris theme anywhere and chances are someone is going to recognize the tunes despite them being over at least 20 years old.

Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management

Nintendo has an online service called "Club Nintendo" that was created for long-term consumers in mind. The way that the service is designed is that those who register can earn points(fashioned as gold coins from the Super Mario series) for every Nintendo product they purchase(and register) that can be redeemed for either free Nintendo games or other Nintendo related merchandise unavailable otherwise. Those who are registered can also fill out surveys about the products they've registered as well that also earns them gold coins.

Club Nintendo's home page

Outside of this process, Nintendo frequently sends Club Nintendo members deals and sales via email that is apparently exclusive to these members.I myself being a member have received various sales promotions from Nintendo. Im also on the mailing list of both of Nintendo's major competitors Sony and Microsoft and I can definitely give Nintendo credit for being more friendly when it comes to sales promotion for "valued" customers than the others(Microsoft being THE WORST at this).

With that being said, Nintendo also keeps track of consumer's tastes in video games. Theres been many of times I've been suggested a video game due to me registering another game that's similar. It's kind of creepy in a way, but it's to be expected since Nintendo is keen on keeping it's customers in the loop. These suggestions often come with very detailed descriptions and I have on more than one occasion considered buying a game based on them. Overall, its pretty nice that Nintendo at least knows the games I would most likely be interested in instead of just throwing random games in my face. Im not a serious Nintendo gamer(I do most of my gaming on Sony's consoles) but I must admit that it feels more comfortable shopping with Nintendo than the others. Seems like Nintendo is paying more attention to my preferences and is ready to do business. I'm speaking from experience, so I know that there's many like-minded people out there that continue to shop with Nintendo because of this.

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Historically speaking, Nintendo has been known for the outlandish way it chooses to advertise it's products. The advertisement  campaign for it's 3DS handheld gaming console was by far the most peculiar. The campaign was called "I'm Not a Gamer" and it involved  actors and athletes playing the console then proudly stating that they're not gamers. This was done to appeal to non gamers and I guess show that you don't have to be a "gamer" to enjoy playing video games on the 3DS. The campaign wasn't well received as many felt that it "missed the mark" when it came to successful advertisement. Internet spoofs of the campaign began to spread like wildfire and Nintendo discontinued the campaign.

A parody of "I'm Not a Gamer"

Nintendo has been focused on consumer's lifestyles when advertising their products with the general theme of happiness. Nintendo advertisements try to convey that if you buy their products, you and your family will be much happier and closer than ever. On occassion, they've been known to employ humor as well in their advertisements as in the case of "Super Smash Brothers", released in 1999 for their N64 console.

I used to find this commercial HILARIOUS

The mediums typically used by Nintendo for advertisement are TV commercials and magazine ads(typically within gaming entertainment publications). Nintendo also at one point had it's own dedicated magazine called "Nintendo Power" which focused on all Nintendo related video game news and reviews for games. It ran from 1988 till it was discontinued in 2012. Nintendo power used to give gamers news surrounding their newest products 1st before other publications and also offered demos of upcoming games periodically. Personally speaking, playing demos of games not released yet was always an exciting thing for me. I always felt a little superior to my friends if I got to play something 1st and that usually makes me buy the game when it is released, so I can definitely see the logic in giving away free demos.

R.I.P. Nintendo Power =(

Ch.14 - Marketing Channels and Retailing

Nintendo uses the Retailer Channel type of Marketing Channels for selling and distributing its wares. They also use Direct Channel marketing by way of it's e-shop and Nintendo World stores with one being located here in NYC, near 34th street. I however didn't visit this store but visited a Gamestop store around my way. Gamestop is by far the largest video game specialty chains still in existence in this country. Other big chains such as Best Buy, Target and Walmart may sell video games in their respective electronics sections, but Gamestop's main focus has always been video games(although within recent years they've been selling other electronic devices such as iPads and Beats by Dre headphones).

Being a video game specialty store, Gamestop of course sells Nintendo games and consoles as well as Nintendo's competitor's wares. From my observations over the many(MANY) years of shopping at various Gamestop chains I noticed something now that I''m actively researching Nintendo that I failed to notice before: the Nintendo section is almost always located in the front of the store and if not in the front, within close proximity to the cash register.

A photo from my visit to the Gamestop on Flatbush Junction, Brooklyn

I feel really dumb for noticing this now(I've been shopping for games at Gamestop since I was a preteen) but now that I see it, I can understand why it's always in those locations. I think it's like this to easily catch the eye(or quickly distract) younger gamers before they notice the more mature content Microsoft and Sony tend to produce. Im not a reeeaaal big Nintendo gamer( I just own a 3DS for gaming on the go) so I usually have to weave through a crowd of small children in order to reach the Xbox and Playstation sections all the way in the back of the stores. Its crazy. Now everytime I'm in a Gamestop I'm going to be conscious of this.

Anyways, as a retailer, Gamestop is good for general society looking to find games or consoles conveniently. They sell new and used games at fair prices and often have promotional sales in store and/or online. If you want to sell anything however, I STRONGLY suggest you look elsewhere. Gamestop's selling and trading in policies are hilariously unfair. Seriously. Its such common knowledge within the gaming community, its an internet meme. Sell on amazon.com, ebay.com or a "mom and pop" game store if you want a good return for selling games. With that said, Gamestop is pretty decent otherwise, always well stocked and scarcely having shortages(especially in the case of Nintendo). I've been a customer for years and have several games on reserve as I'm writing this. I shop there for the convenience factor mostly, but for REAL gamers, Gamestop really isn't all that hot.

Alot of these Gamestop memes are hilarious

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

Nintendo has attempted to incorporate the idea of their gaming consoles going above and beyond just playing video games. With their most recent consoles( Wii, Wii U and 3DS), Nintendo has built them in a way that they've become more like "media boxes" than video game consoles. They have the ability to go on social networking sites like facebook via built-in apps, search the web using a web browser, and stream videos from Netflix and Youtube.

Nintendo wants their consoles to be the centerpieces of everyone's entertainment centers. The problem is, Nintendo's major competitors Sony and Microsoft have been doing the same thing for MUCH longer than Nintendo has and arguably do it way better. Back in 1999, Sega(who no longer make gaming consoles) released the Dreamcast. Dreamcast was the 1st gaming console that had the ability to connect to the internet. Playing games with people across the world, browsing the web at a time when not everyone had access to a desktop computer, and playing music CDs, Dreamcast was revolutionary. Sony took notice to the popularity of Sega's Dreamcast and set off to create the successor to the Playstation with the changing consumer tastes that the Dreamcast started. In 2000, Sony released the Playstation 2(PS2), a console that did everything the Dreamcast did, but better. The graphics for gaming were better, the online functionality was better and it had the added bonus of being the 1st console to also have a built-in DVD player. The PS2 swiftly put the revolutionary Dreamcast to sleep by the end of 2001(I was 11 at the time and was really bummed out about it. I really liked Dreamcast . . . .). Now Sony changed the battlefield, and Microsoft decided to join the fight with their 1st console, the Xbox in the same year. Xbox did pretty much the same thing that PS2 did, had better graphics and better media integration, and a built-in hardrive but made the mistake of not including a DVD player so the PS2 continued to dominate the market.

Now here's where Nintendo's blunder comes in. Nintendo was developing their latest entry during the life cycle of Dreamcast and during the development cycles of both PS2 and Xbox. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo failed to pay notice to the impact the Dreamcast had on the market and the shift in tastes for consumers so when they released their Gamecube in the same year, it ended up doing less than both PS2 and Xbox. Nintendo had to release the console at a much lower price than the competition to make it appealing. Historically speaking, the Gamecube was a failure compared to older Nintendo systems.

Fast forward to 2005-2006 and its the dawn of Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. Both of these systems aimed to drastically improve the functionality of their predecessors. This was the beginning of social media becoming popular and so there was focus on making gaming more social. Nintendo was also developing their newest console, the Wii. The Wii's gimmick was that it used motion controls so gaming became more of an exercise under the guise of playing games. Nintendo was adamant in not going in the same direction as Sony and Microsoft. At 1st, the Wii(which released before both PS3 and X360) did really well. It was the ultimate party/exercise machine . . . buuuuuuuut when the fad eventually died down, Nintendo found itself in a similar situation it had with the Gamecube.

Now its 2014. Nintendo now has it's newest console, Wii U on sale that does what Sony's new PS4 and Microsoft's new Xbox One does and at a lower price point. It seems as though they've learned their lesson when it comes to paying attention to the tastes and behaviors of consumers, but it seems as though its too little too late. Both Sony and Microsoft continue to dominate console sales despite being more expensive(I personally own a PS4 with no desire to buy a Wii U). As a consumer you'd have to be crazy to go for the inferior product. Consumers who want entertainment centerpieces as well as gaming consoles will always go with the console they feel holds a stronger presence, something they can brag about to their friends. "Yeah, I got a PS4" just sounds better than "Yeah, I got a Wii U" plain and simple.

Ch. 3 - Ethics & Social Responsibility

Nintendo approaches the concept of operating business very much like it's approach to developing video game software: making sure that everyone has a smile on their faces. From it's treatment of employees to making sure operations are running as green as possible, Nintendo is(seemingly) no-nonsense when it comes to ethics.

"At Nintendo, we emphasize safety and reliability in manufacturing products of the highest quality so that consumers of all ages can enjoy them with peace of mind."

Nintendo follows through with this statement by following the safety standards across all regions, Including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 here in the U.S., the Toy Safety Directive for the European region, and the Toy Safety Standards of Japan for Nintendo's motherland. Nintendo also ensures that all of it's hardware is tested and approved for sale and all software is rated appropriately before they are sold. This keeps various games that would be too mature for younger gamers out of their reach(In this country, in order to purchase a rated "M"(for mature) game, you need to be at least 17 years old with a valid I.D.). Nintendo however rarely publishes such content on their systems so it isn't much of an issue.

"We recognize that the strengths and talents of each employee inspire Nintendo's competitive edge. We strongly believe that promoting the development of each employee to his or her fullest potential is the best way to increase the long-term collective strength of the company and is the best path to individual job satisfaction."

Through Nintendo's Human Resources Development program, Nintendo evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of each employee and encourages them to always seek greater. There is room for advancement and many incentives(including wage and salary increases) in place to encourage strong performance. Its more or less in line with Herzberg's Two-Factor theory: a satisfied employee is more likely to work more efficiently, and that in turn is better for the whole company(obviously). With that said, I find it illogical to think that other businesses(mainly Nintendo's direct competitors, Sony and Microsoft) wouldn't follow a similar set of ethics in terms of employee satisfaction. But what do I know? I'm just a humble college student.*shrugs*

Even Super Mario thinks it sounds like a bunch of generic corporate mumbo jumbo

"Nintendo Co., Ltd. established the Environment Committee in September 2011, with the company President serving as committee chair, in order to promote environmentally conscious activities. We also established our Environment Policy to guide environmental activities and implemented the PDCA (Plan - Do - Check - Act) cycle, an environmental management system based on ISO 14001, with defined targets specific to environmental activities. Some of our overseas subsidiaries have also established groups to promote the environmental activities of the company."

But I digress, continuing on with this observation of Nintendo's ethical standings, Nintendo claims to run all manufacturing processes as well as transport of manufactured goods in an eco-friendly way. Nintendo also claims all of its products are built with a similar mindset, with it's gaming consoles utilizing energy-saving technology. This to me, is very laughable. How is it possible that gaming systems are eco-friendly? I mean, sure they save a bit of energy, but honestly, 70 years from now when they burn out, they sure wont be going anywhere. Plastic and metal wiring isn't really known for being biodegradable, I'm just saying . . . . Anyways, I guess in a way to make up for this, Nintendo holds electronic recycling drives around the world in order to promote recycling. 

At Nintendo, Everything is green! . . . Veeery, very green! . . . .

So on paper, everything seems straight and narrow with Nintendo in terms of it's business ethics, but who can be so sure? While reading Nintendo's CSR from 2013, I couldn't help but feel like I'm just reading a bunch of nonsense. Sterile words I would expect a computer to mutter if computers gained sentience. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, but my slightly cynical view on this world(as well as multi-billion dollar businesses) is making me believe there could possibly be some underhanded things happening behind the scenes. Again, what do I know? I'm Just a humble college student.

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Nintendo for the last 30-40 years has had a focus towards  videogame home entertainment systems and software. In its tenure, Nintendo has focused on creating innovative as well as family friendly video games geared towards all ages. Nintendo is very adamant about the content that is available on its console and the type of software produced under the Nintendo name brand. This has been seen in it's quality control system that places strict guidelines to the amount of violence and other graphic content; The games that are approved by Nintendo gain the "Nintendo Seal of Quality", and are allowed to be sold and marketed on and for Nintendo consoles.

Nintendo Seal of Quality

With this family-oriented approach to the videogame industry, Nintendo has differentiated itself from it's competition. Where Nintendo's major competitors Microsoft and Sony market their respective systems and software to older gamers(within the late teens up to mid 30's) with a focus on games dealing with mature subject matter, Nintendo markets to young gamers and gamers who prefer more light-hearted entertainment. Nintendo has also ventured into fitness games with their "Wii" videogame console and has branched out to include health conscious people who would otherwise never even touch a videogame console.

This is where Nintendo hopes to excel. With it's vision of creating hardware and software for the whole family to enjoy, Nintendo plans on filling in the gaps left by their super serious competition. From it's youth friendly games to sports and fitness games the whole family can enjoy, Nintendo seeks to gain the upper hand from its competitors.

Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo of America at the E3 gaming convention

 In my personal opinion, I can understand why Nintendo would go the route they're on in a philosophical kind of way. Myself being a gamer almost all my life, some of the 1st games I've ever played were Nintendo games. Nice, cheerful as well as colorful games with memorable soundtracks. From Tetris to Super Mario, I was always having innocent fun. I feel that nowadays however, children don't have that kind of luxury. You turn on the television and theres commercials for Call of Duty, go outside and theres an advertisement for Grand Theft Auto V on the buses. The younger gamers now are hardly represented and I believe that Nintendo's plan to market directly to them even when the industry now is more mature gamer-centric is very admirable. In theory, a plan like this should offer an easy competitive advantage based on their choice of market. Children and teens have not only more free time to play videogames, but also have more disposable income(whether it be from allowance or part-time jobs in the case of teenagers) and by marketing the Wii as a healthy way of gaming as well as family entertainment, would bring in whole new types of consumers. From parents who want to bond with their children, to elderly people looking for a way to stay active in a fun way that is also not very intensive, Nintendo definitely has a solid plan of attack.

Nintendo Wii: Fun for the whole family

"[Nintendo] aims to create something better than what is already available in the world. We believe this can happen by creating something unprecedented. Since "Game & Watch" and the Nintendo Entertainment System(NES), all the Nintendo hardware has been developed consistently under this philosophy"

                                                                          -Satoru Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo 

Ch. 1 - Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

 Nintendo is a Japanese based company that began life in 1889 as a manufacturer of hand-made playing cards (for a game called "Hanafuda"; the cards are actually still being sold by Nintendo to this day with their modern franchises displayed on them). The name Nintendo translates roughly to "Work hard, but in the end it's in Heaven's hands" which I can say surely was the case for Nintendo, as they're still a major player within the entertainment and gaming industry. Nintendo began to take its current form post World War II, producing novelty toys and games. In 1977, Nintendo began making its current "bread and butter", Video game entertainment systems under a license from U.S. television manufacturer Magnavox. 

Nintendo's Modern Hanafuda deck

"At Nintendo we are proud to be working for the leading company in our industry. We are strongly committed to producing and marketing the best products and support services available. We believe it is essential not only to provide products of the highest quality, but to treat every customer with attention, consideration and respect. By listening closely to our customers, we constantly improve our products and services.

We feel an equal commitment toward our employees. We want to maintain an atmosphere in which talented individuals can work together as a team. Commitment and enthusiasm are crucial to the high quality of our products and support services. We believe in treating our employees with the same consideration and respect that we, as a company, show our customers." - Nintendo's Mission Statement

Original Nintendo video game characters, Old and New.