wii love nintento

by Ashley Bower
Wii is for Everyone
Nintendo has been demanding presence and leader in the gaming industry. Unfortunately, in recent years the brand began losing it’s momentum until the release of the Nintendo Wii. PR Week stated, “By 2006, Nintendo had dropped to third in the video-game industry behind Sony and Microsoft after dominating the landscape about 20 years earlier.” Now Nintendo is back on top as the industry leader. While other brands were busy racing against one another to introduce the next big expensive high tech graphic games specifically for hardcore gamers, Nintendo opted to develop an inexpensive hand held machine marketed toward all walks of life. John Gaudiosi stated, “The Wii is a pop culture smash of such dimension that Nintendo still can’t make consoles fast enough.”
The Wii campaign began to gather fans before the actual console was introduced. The name alone, garnered attention. Next they spread the message that this game was more about the act of “playing” than the graphics. Nintendo’s idea was to bring games into the active world. Finally, the Wii launch was a positive experience for buyers as stores were adequately stocked.
The tipping point for Nintendo wasn’t simply the introduction of the Wii; it was the public relations campaign “Wii would like to play.” This campaign targeted grandmas, gamers, exercise fanatics, children, bowlers, you name it. Their approach was that Wii is for everyone or as PR Week says “a game for non-gamers.” The Wii ushered a change in how we think about games. Nintendo was focused on only gamers until the Wii was introduced and an epidemic was born.
The stickiness factor, identified by Gladwell, says, “There are specific ways of making a contagious message memorable; there are relatively simple changes in the presentation and structuring of information that can make a big difference in how much of an impact it makes (p.25).” Nintendo made the message memorable by including everyone not just serious gamers. The Power of Context says, “Human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment then they may seem (29).” Commercials featured families in their homes instead of teenage males inside the world of the alternate universe. Because of the inclusion of all ages and gamer levels, the Wii became accessible to everyone.

http://www.pr.weekus.com/PR%20-Campaign-of-the-Year-2008/article.104107

http://www.wiichat.com/latest-nintendo-wii-news/4636-wii-marketing-campaign-hit-200-000-000-a.html

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/articles/news/nintendogolinharris-honored-for-wii-pr-work/?biz=1

http://www.gamedaily.com/commentary/article/php/3712546

http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/marketing-techniques/10522676-1.html

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/05/01/8405654/index.htm

Image courtesy of: http://www.gamerheadlines.com/2009/09/10/us-sales-downturn/