Eidorian
11-12-2005, 02:43 AM
http://cube.ign.com/articles/665/665952p1.html
In October, the New York Times cited a steep decline in the numbers of young men going to the movies -- that absolute sweet spot in the market for every action film Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis and Vin Diesel ever made. The head of Fox Films said Hollywood needed to cater more to audiences beyond young men. He said, "It makes no sense to continue aiming all of your films at the same demographic quadrant. Eventually, they become stale." In other words, the movie industry understands the need to move beyond special effects. But the videogame industry, apparently, does not.
Furthermore, it looks like we can't even count on population growth anymore. All through the 20-year lifespan of the dedicated game industry, we've seen a steady increase in the number of young boys entering their pre-teen and teenage years. Historically, these are our 'blue chip recruits.' But now, for the first time, the number of 10-to-14-year-olds has dropped. And it's going to get worse because right now the U.S. population of boys aged five to nine years is a full eight percent smaller than their 10-to-15-year-old brothers. And the pipeline is shrinking. In other words, if we just maintain our relative popularity, revenues are going to fall.
And there are two recent best-sellers which I think really capture what Nintendo is all about right now. The first is blue ocean strategy. It cites successful companies who've looked beyond the bloody, red waters of ruthless competition. Companies who pushed the accepted definition of their markets and found so-called blue oceans, where they were able to expand business while they competition remained behind. In order to do this, those companies had to shift their focus from "what is" to "what can be." Examples here include how Southwest rethought the airline industry, Dell the PC business, and Cirque De Soleil redefined the very meaning of the circus.
The second book, Innovator's Dilemma, extends this same thinking a bit further. The Harvard authors demonstrate that new markets are frequently created not by listening to the desires of current customers, but catering to what are seen as smaller, even fringe audiences. In reaching them, the technology or performance proposition initially can be seen as a step backwards. Instead, what is offered, and I quote, "typically cheaper, simpler, smaller and more convenient to use."
The primary example here is probably the iPod. It was not the first portable MP3 player, but the first one, coupled with iTunes, that offered a compelling combination of simplicity and ease of use. Looking at the current state of the videogame market, we believe there's a strong argument for expanding the audience beyond the current core players, attracting players by rethinking what a videogame means, and delivering our entertaining in a more convenient and affordable fashion.
Here's a small sample of what I mean.
"If we cannot expand the market, all we can do is wait for the industry to slowly die."
"If it our responsibility to make games for all skill levels, including people who are not playing videogames."
"Technology alone cannot advance videogames, which is why we plan to take Revolution in a dramatic new direction."
I'll let you guys read the rest but Nintendo seems to be looking into a new market instead of beating the current one to death. I'd have to agree to them. My girlfriend bought a DS after playing Nintendogs for 5 minutes.
In October, the New York Times cited a steep decline in the numbers of young men going to the movies -- that absolute sweet spot in the market for every action film Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis and Vin Diesel ever made. The head of Fox Films said Hollywood needed to cater more to audiences beyond young men. He said, "It makes no sense to continue aiming all of your films at the same demographic quadrant. Eventually, they become stale." In other words, the movie industry understands the need to move beyond special effects. But the videogame industry, apparently, does not.
Furthermore, it looks like we can't even count on population growth anymore. All through the 20-year lifespan of the dedicated game industry, we've seen a steady increase in the number of young boys entering their pre-teen and teenage years. Historically, these are our 'blue chip recruits.' But now, for the first time, the number of 10-to-14-year-olds has dropped. And it's going to get worse because right now the U.S. population of boys aged five to nine years is a full eight percent smaller than their 10-to-15-year-old brothers. And the pipeline is shrinking. In other words, if we just maintain our relative popularity, revenues are going to fall.
And there are two recent best-sellers which I think really capture what Nintendo is all about right now. The first is blue ocean strategy. It cites successful companies who've looked beyond the bloody, red waters of ruthless competition. Companies who pushed the accepted definition of their markets and found so-called blue oceans, where they were able to expand business while they competition remained behind. In order to do this, those companies had to shift their focus from "what is" to "what can be." Examples here include how Southwest rethought the airline industry, Dell the PC business, and Cirque De Soleil redefined the very meaning of the circus.
The second book, Innovator's Dilemma, extends this same thinking a bit further. The Harvard authors demonstrate that new markets are frequently created not by listening to the desires of current customers, but catering to what are seen as smaller, even fringe audiences. In reaching them, the technology or performance proposition initially can be seen as a step backwards. Instead, what is offered, and I quote, "typically cheaper, simpler, smaller and more convenient to use."
The primary example here is probably the iPod. It was not the first portable MP3 player, but the first one, coupled with iTunes, that offered a compelling combination of simplicity and ease of use. Looking at the current state of the videogame market, we believe there's a strong argument for expanding the audience beyond the current core players, attracting players by rethinking what a videogame means, and delivering our entertaining in a more convenient and affordable fashion.
Here's a small sample of what I mean.
"If we cannot expand the market, all we can do is wait for the industry to slowly die."
"If it our responsibility to make games for all skill levels, including people who are not playing videogames."
"Technology alone cannot advance videogames, which is why we plan to take Revolution in a dramatic new direction."
I'll let you guys read the rest but Nintendo seems to be looking into a new market instead of beating the current one to death. I'd have to agree to them. My girlfriend bought a DS after playing Nintendogs for 5 minutes.