According to Kline, Nintendo created a near monopoly on video games by doing a few things. By creating the “lock and key” in their cartridges, Nintendo was assured that only they could produce games for their systems. By allowing other companies to produce the software (cartridges) that required their approval to sell, they were able to market a larger variety of games available. And by developing the marketing of the Nintendo brand, they were better able to develop a loyal consumer group.
Marketing began by developing research groups that looked into player response to a game, and grew to the point where kids would be testing the new Nintendo games. It was not only these tests that gave an idea as to what types of games would be most popular, especially as they were tested by the target audience, but also Nintendo’s other marketing strategies. The Nintendo magazine, Nintendo Power, gave a good advertising advantage. Having a gaming magazine solely for their brand allowed for marketing new games, it assured that there was no competition from other brands. It separated it’s readers from those who played on other consoles, as the information it contained was only useful for those playing the Nintendo brand. Additionally, the phoneline for help with games helped to create a positive relationship with the brand as it was Nintendo providing the support. Using the marketing techniques, Nintendo created a brand that was not only recognizable, but desirable as well.
After reading about how Nintendo created the “Nintendo Kids”, I have to wonder, how many of you were Nintendo kids? If so, did you evolve with Nintendo and buy the consoles as they were developed? And how do you buy games now? What sort of things do you pay attention to in game advertisements?
That’s a good question to ask the class about “Nintendo Kids.” My sense in teaching HNRS 353 over the course of several years is that each new year, fewer students grew up on Nintendo. And when they express nostalgia for something like Mario, it’s for the later versions of Mario and not the early NES versions. But I could be wrong…
I wasn’t a Nintendo kid (mostly because my hippie parents still believe video games are evil), but I think it’s becoming difficult to label each successive generation according to what console they use to play. It’s becoming a more integrative about the content of the game. You aren’t a Nintendo kid, you’re a Pokemon kid or a Yu-gi-oh, or at least that’s how people I know identify themselves. You like Pokemon whether it’s for a DS, a card game, or the TV show. It’s no longer about the fact that Nintendo makes Mario or Donkey Kong, but about the character himself. Unfortunately, people are becoming Beiber kids or Hannah Montana kids, and all the merchandise and games that are associated with the Disney culture. Branding seems to be less about the maker these days and more about the object in question.