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[scarybore]

Restocking popular titles is a major problem that NOE's got which has got to affect sales to a small degree.

Often, something sells out and it takes weeks and weeks and weeks for a reprint to happen. It's happened with all sorts of "hot" titles at launch that I can remember (MGS:TT, FF:CC, RE4, Harvest Moon), and I know people who have been put off and bought other games because they just couldn't buy what they wanted on the launch weekend and by the time it was back in stock again, they had moved on.

And once again it seems we're in the same boat with the USB wifi dongle (had an Amazon UK order placed for weeks and did they manage to ship me one on day one? Of course not). Sort that out next-gen please as it's REALLY annoying.

Good point, I for one had to order a Broadband Adapter from Amazon France because I was unable to get one in the UK. I realise it was not going to be a huge seller but it's pretty sad. Unrelated to Gamecube but I also had to import a GBA SP headphone apapter from Japan as I never saw one here.

Some more inane problems for me, which admitably won't have affected everyone and may not be what you are looking for;

Patheticaly small memory card at launch for a insane price compared to the other consoles. I was offered one for £5 when I bought Resident Evil, and I believe Japan got it free with their copy. I have about 8 GC memory cards because the larger capacity cards came too late.

Only 2 memory cards slots with 4 controllers available. Became a damn annoyance with PSO, and im sad to see MS make the same mistake with the 360.

Removal of S-Video from the PAL console and lack of Progressive Scan support. Sure Progressive Scan isnt a biggie in the UK yet, but when it's already in a US or JP title why remove it from the PAL versions? It atleast future proofs it to a degree and for the people who did have 480p capable TVs would atleast have liked the option. The removal of S-Video was retarded, for some it's a better option for their TV. If MS and Sony can have it work perfectly fine in their PAL consoles, there is no reason to go around removing such options. Include RGB and S-video in you next console please for 480i users, it doesn't have to be one or the other, and make sure every title supports 480p while you are at it.

To continue my last point, every game should of had a 60hz option. Otherwise I will continue to import.

The Nintendo VIP site tends to offer nothing interesting and as such doesn't make me feel down when I buy NTSC games instead. Better rewards would be nice.

Too colourful. While I mentioned in a previous post that not many would want to show off a purple console, the controller looks childish with bright colours all over the place. Doesn't bother me personally but it all comes down to image again.

Release dates still slow, but better than before. MS have been great at getting titles released in Europe soon after the US, Nintendo needs to do better.

Less games that appeal to older demographics and UK tastes. More would like Pro Evo than Mario Soccer for example, slapping Mario everywhere will not make things better in that regard.

 

[Timen]

Threepio, don't let this tread die tell us which were the "good" points.

 

[Temujin]

Most of this has already been said, but still:


- Marketing and image is VERY important. Especially around a console launch, you need to raise awareness about the new product. And not just to kids and teens, but really everyone. The european DS commercials were quite good for example (although they should've been played longer after launch). After that, every major release should get in-store promotion and a tv ad. When it comes to GC games, I can only remember a Metroid Prime ad.
Also, promotional stuff always helps. Showing up at big events/gigs/parties etc. is a great way to get your product out. I also loved how there was a Nintendogs tour almost everywhere in Europe, even in little Belgium. More stuff like that please And don't forget to hand out freebies, even if it's something stupid like stickers and crap. People love free stuff.

- Some (if not most) of the GC's first party just weren't as good as in the N64 days. In fact, the 3 GC games I enjoyed the most were 2nd party or partnerships (Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime and F-Zero GX). Maybe that's just me though, and I can't really tell why.

- Third party games arriving really late, or not at all. Didn't they cancel Burnout 3 because they didn't regard the GC as an online-capable console? Lame excuse maybe, but make sure they don't come up with excuses like that again.

- Games arriving in Europe really late, or not at all Really, I bet Animal Crossing would've sold so much more if it came out within 3 months after the US launch, instead of the, what, 18? months it took now. Really, I know people will downplay this problem, but importing has become child's play now. Everyone's doing it, and it mostly hurts EU sales.

- No real big 3rd party exclusives. I bet the GC would've been taken more seriously if it had a racing game like Project Gotham, a football game like Pro Evo Soccer and a shooter like Halo. One of those wouldn't be enough, diversity is important.

- Not having a DVD player, which really made it look more like a toy than a videogame system. I know casual people think like that.

And some bits about the Rev:

- HD support would be nice. I'm (relatively) poor, but I still plan on buying a HDTV in 2-3 years.

- I already said a great deal about marketing earlier, but when it comes to the Rev, I would stress two things: stylishness and free wifi. Really, you need to get this wifi thing known! I doubt many people know that the DS has online games.

Oh, and in general: the Nintendo Europe sites really need an image change or something. And the only interesting VIP actions it ever had was that Zelda disc and getting your DS early.

 

[cbrotherson]

Oh..and make sure Revolution is launched in 2006 in Europe (as opposed to March 2007)

For me this is paramount. Utterly critical. A slip into 2007 is so so dangerous unless Nintendo attempts to drive home just how different the system is from the other consoles. And even that is dangerous as if it's seen as too different, the mainstream potentially wont take to it for fear that they wont get FIFA et al on the machine. The company needs to show the public just how much this machine is capable of. Launch not only with a unique IP title but also strong multiplatform titles and it could help do the job. We may criticise the X360 launch, but the selection of games for the territories is well thought out. FIFA may have got a 2/10 at Eurogamer (who are great guys, btw, dont underestimate them), but as a UK launch title with PDZ, Kameo, Kong and others, MS has got this Christmas ON LOCK. Shows off the capabilities of the machine and keeps the third-party side happy, complete with movie tie-ins. Almost perfect title selection and perfect timing.


There is little doubt that another companies (MS and Sony) will copy the motion sensor controller for public release in due time. Heck, last week I saw a news article on TV how a bunch of uni professors in Scotland are using that tech for games, claiming how it's going to change gaming and how they plan to use the technology in other mediums, such as mobile phones. Nintendo is racing against the clock here, regardless of killer apps. Sony and MS may not have Mario or Zelda, but neither game/franchise (or even GoldenEye and Turok,which at the time impressed the shit out of my PS/PC owning friends) saved the N64 from its beating, esp in Europe where terrible pricing, poor image and a delayed launch hamstrung the machine from day dot.

If Nintendo doesnt do what MS is doing RIGHT NOW this time next year in Europe, it's on another road to another 4 years of punishment. The market is ready for something new and improved and there's never been a better time for Nintendo to capitalise. Timing is cruical.

C.

PS.
Ironically, I've just seen a Smash Football ad on TV as I typed this. Good slot, good move :lol

 

[Orgen]

I'm not from UK (I'm from Spain ) but I'll give you some points about that:

- No Mario launch title. This was a very bad mistake. (at least, Smash Bros was a huge seller, but with a Mario title (no Luigi's Mansion) the GC sales had been better)

- No GC ads, at least here.

Patheticaly small memory card at launch for a insane price compared to the other consoles.

That's a very good point. Sports games were the most affected. (and FIFA sells a lot in Europe)

- No WE: Final Evolution distribution in Europe. (it would have sold decently, and enlarging the possibility that there were more PES for GC)

Not having a DVD player

No GTA

- No online support.

Resident Evil 4 was too late, and not exclusive enough

Why was there never a console + handheld bundle?

Exactly. Why?

- No "real" Pokémon RPG.

That's all IMO. Sorry for my bad English _D

 

[Mama Smurf]

Threads too long to read everything, so I'm probably repeating. Nevermind.

The UK is pretty materialistic, or a lot of it is. Chavs all follow their trends, but they're not alone. The anti-chavs do similar things, they'll avoid chav trends (like refuse to wear burberry, hoodies, baseball caps when they always have before). We (as a nation, not me) like things that are "cool", especially at the ages where most games and systems are bought. I lived in Canada for a while, and the difference was stark. I think I'm right in saying Nintendo have ALWAYS struggled in the UK compared to how they're doing in other territories. I don't think people just dislike Nintendo, rather competitors have just been seen cooler.

Some of the GC's problems have already been solved with the Revolution. First of all, its not purple. Maybe purple used to be associated with royalty, perhaps it's a great colour generally, but now it's associated with being gay. Like it or not, there's a lot of people out there who don't like that association. Even if people don't see it as that, it's often considered as a girl's colour. You might as well have launched it in pink. Sometimes I wonder if NCL make decisions based on what's happening in Japan for other territories. I'm glad to hear you're getting more of a say now, because I don't believe for a second anyone in the UK would have chosen purple. The whole look of the system wasn't great for the mass market though: the multicoloured controller, the handle, the box shape...just didn't work. Like I say, this seems to have basically been fixed. The system looks great (you HAVE to launch with white at least, preferably black AND white), the controller is cool...just don't give it some dumbass name.

Nintendo basically wouldn't go online. Most gamers don't go online, it's true, but you just didn't get it. It doesn't matter if most people can't go online, if the third party games are basically the same in every other way, most people will still go for the ones which can be played online just in case it they can do it in the future! Or they'll go for the slightly better graphics, in which case it's generally Xbox. Same goes for buying the console. It's a plus if a console can go online when weighing up which one to buy, even if you can't do that yourself just yet. Again...hopefully fixed already.

No DVD. Bit like online. A lot of people didn't need a DVD player as they already had one, others could use their PCs, the remainder were likely to buy a seperate one. Again though, you're uniformed about consoles, you're talking to someone in GAME and he's reeling off a list of positives and negatives for each...the other two play DVDs. They don't really know anything about games, so basically they hear "These two can go online, this one can't (well, it can, but you know what I mean), these two can play DVDs, this one can't, this one has more games this one's more powerful...buy the GC if you have a 5 year old daughter, no other reason". It might be all about the games to us, but not to the average mum on the street.

I'm worried that things like no hi def will hurt the Revolution in the same way. Luckily, it will now have differentiated itself to have positives the other systems don't, so maybe it'll be ok. I just think you're gifting retailers chances to tell people a negative there.

Nintendo downplay things too much. Yeah, it's great that they gave out realistic figures for polygon counts and such. I'm sure theoretical numbers are completely useless. BUT people are stupid/uninformed, and media will jump on things like that. The GC pushed some wonderful graphics, it's much closer to the Xbox than it is to the PS2 IMO, but people actually thought it would be the weakest! Over time I think people understood it was stronger than the PS2, but by then...too late.

You don't get much business from me. You don't get much from a lot of hardcore gamers. Not because we're playing our PS2s and Xboxes...or not entirely that. Because you're screwing us! This isn't a Nintendo only problem, but if you fix it before the other retailers do, you can get a jump on them! STOP overcharging us. It's ridiculous that I can import games from the other side of the world for cheaper than buying them at even the cheapest places in the UK, online or on the street. Get them within a month or two of US releases at the least, all of them. I hate the translation excuse, I don't give a crap about the rest of Europe. It's translated in English already, just release it in the UK and Australia and anywhere else that speaks English before you do for the rest of Europe. They won't get it any later, we'll simply get it earlier. My DS is Canadian, my GC is Japanese. I think I have maybe 3 games this gen bought in the UK? You're losing hundreds of pounds worth of revenue from individual people every year because we're buying them from other territories. And don't be assholes about it, we will find ways to import stuff, you can't stop it whatever you think. You guys caused one of my favourite online retailers to have to shut down when you stopped him silling Pokemon, it's not the way to go. I'm still importing. You have to lower prices and bring release dates forward.

No piracy (or difficult piracy). You don't want to add piracy...but I'm not kidding here, it hurts GC sales. SO many people pirate Xbox and PS2 games. They see their friends doing it, how easy it is, how they can get 5+ games for the price of one on the GC. They don't give a fuck that its illegal. Again, LOWER PRICES. You'll make the market bigger, people who pirate will be less likely to, you'll slow down importers...it's all good!

More soon probably, I have to go make dinner.

 

[nubbe]

Weak image.
Need more sex appeal.

 

[Merlin]

A lot of it is because Nintendo of Europe was SO shit through most of the GameCube's life. They're a lot better now though. Iwata was serious when he said he wants Nintendo to be a more global company.

 

[Tempy]

I'm worried that things like no hi def will hurt the Revolution in the same way. Luckily, it will now have differentiated itself to have positives the other systems don't, so maybe it'll be ok. I just think you're gifting retailers chances to tell people a negative there.

I agree with you here. Even if I doubt HD will be widespread enough to matter, this console is supposed to last 5 years or so, and by then HD will most likely be in everybody's home. This is shortsighted. I'm almost convinced that people want the best looking stuff with their consoles, and don't care if it's expensive or not. If Joe Schmoe is too poor to buy a XBOX360 or a PS3 and has to settle for a Revolution because it's only $199, then most likely he doesn't have much money for games anyhow!

 

[Tempy]

Harvest Moon took ages to arrive in Europe and when it did it was 60 euros while in the US it had dropped to $20. You can bet your ass people would import if they hadn't already. A lot of people would actually pay these prices as long as it was released promptly. The translation excuse is a weak one when XBOX games arrived relatively quick.

But the most important thing is having games people actually want! So the Revolution is going to have everybody in the family playing? Hopefully that means there is something for Johnny Hardcore instead of all games being neutered "Family" entertainment. I'm not saying to start pumping out ultra violent and sex-laden games only, your cutesy titles definitely still have their place in anyone's gaming library. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[cybamerc]

GameCube faced an uphill climb from the very moment it was conceived and it's failure can be attributed to many things.

The design philosophy behind the system is fundamentally flawed. Nintendo designed a small, reasonably priced, fairly basic system with emphasis on portability and GBA connectivity. Consumers responded with massive indifference. Nintendo completely misjudged the market and while a thing like the handle was a fairly harmless addition on its own it became a symbol of Nintendo's errors. Connectivity was an ill-conceived idea by Nintendo's marketing department that Nintendo's game creators had no clue how to tackle and as such it never managed to become the intended trump card.

The GameCube is actually an elegant piece of hardware although you may never realize looking at the clumsy exteriors. It's a fantastically balanced design that packs quite a punch. Easily the best engineered system of the current gen. Performance-wise it's closer to Xbox than it is to PS2 yet many casuals consider it the least powerful system. Nintendo made a mistake in downplaying the specs of the system. Both competitors were hyping up the capabilities of their respective systems and when Nintendo said that numbers don't matter many people reached the logical (but untrue) conclusion that GameCube was the weaker hardware. I realize that Nintendo most likely did this because the GameCube in fact couldn't compete on paper. It was slower than Xbox and had less RAM and pushed less polys than even the one 1.5 year older PS2. But if I were Nintendo I would have done everything in my power to make it seem competitive to casuals. Hype up insignificant details and find some obscure benchmarks where the GC could trounce the competition.

In the end very few people probably care about specs and power. But Nintendo left an opening that the competition could (and did) exploit and it all adds up in the end. It reflected negatively on the system and helped build up the image of an underdog.

This is a mistake Nintendo is set to repeat btw but this time the difference in power will probably be substantial enough that it can't be covered up. With GameCube I feel Nintendo shortchanged the system. It was much better than Nintendo let on

The design of the system and the color choice that went along with it is a well-known mistake that Nintendo has also admitted to. Revolution and Game Boy Micro shows that Nintendo has come a long way although Nintendo DS is proof that Nintendo still has a lot to learn.

One major problem with the GameCube launch is something Nintendo couldn't have prepared for and then again, with a little more foresight maybe the effect could have been minimized. Certainly Nintendo had been warned as it was the worst kept secret in the industry. Xbox launched against GameCube in the States and while it was an abomination it had something which GameCube lacked - a killer app. The Western GameCube launches were solid but ultimately lacking - especially, and oddly enough, in terms of inhouse produced software.

Nintendo's own software wasn't up to the standard that people had come to expect from the biggest games publisher in the world. Moreover consumer tastes had changed. Cute and cuddly was out. Gamers demanded more realistic gaming experiences. Sex and violence were hits even with younger players. This development happened over just a few years and Nintendo was unprepared and ultimately also unwilling to do anything about it. Sure Nintendo was feeling the heat in the market but as long as you're making millions you can afford to be stubborn. Before GameCube launched Nintendo sold twice as many software units in the US as #2 EA. Today Nintendo is struggling in its biggest market and is very far from being #1.

Nintendo's launch marketing campaign was critized by many but it's not as if Xbox marketing was brilliant in comparison. One area where Nintendo failed miserably in Europe was instore marketing. GameCube had little to no retail presence. It's easy to bitch about retailers not giving Nintendo a fair chance but in the end it works the same for everyone. Money has to change hands. Nintendo obviously didn't pay retailers enough money to highlight its products and that's a real problem. That means consumers have to work harder to obtain the products and it may also have meant that many people didn't know about it.

Sure, GameCube had a record breaking launch but Nintendo has a loyal fanbase that doesn't rely on advertising and media coverage to gain knowledge about Nintendo products. The lack of retail presence is still a problem today.

Another problem is above the line marketing. Living in Denmark my experiences may differ from yours but Nintendo ads are not something you see in newspapers or magazines targeted at teens or adults. Nor do we get commercials during prime time. Except around launch. Then a couple of weeks after it's only on channels like Cartoon Network and before Pokémon. Nintendo's marketing (handled by Bergsala) in this case helps reinforce the kiddy stigma attached to Nintendo's products. That's a huge problem.

PR. Nintendo in Europe does a horrible job of getting its products into the news. I see stories about PlayStation and Xbox in the mainstream media whenever something even remotely newsworthy happens but very rarely do I see anything about Nintendo. Nintendo DS with Nintendogs is the must-have gift item this christmas. Why am I not seeing more stories about the limited supplies? Nintendo DS has been consistently outselling PSP for some time now (until GigaPack at least). Why do I have to read a message board to get this information?


I feel Nintendo created GameCube with the best intentions in mind. Most of the criticism leveled at the N64 was adressed with this system. But perhaps in doing so Nintendo lost some perspective. It fixed some issues but in doing so created some new ones while perhaps also failing at realizing where the market was going.


Anyway... I could on and on for hours. I will however use this opportunity to voice some of my concerns regarding Revolution.


While I commend Nintendo's dedication to innovation I feel they may be painting themselves into a corner with Revolution. Deemphasizing graphics in favor of unproven interface technology could be a fatal error. Some may be quick to point out that it worked for DS but I feel a lot of DS' success is due to Sony's mismanagement of the PSP platform. And the battle still hasn't been won. Moreover consoles come with different expectations and the success of the DS may not carry over to the Revolution easily.

The lack of HD support is a mistake. In general it's a mistake to release a platform that's considerably less powerful than the competition. Freestyle control has the potential to be great. But so are great graphics. Why not have both? One doesn't rule out the other but Nintendo acts that way.

The argument about HD making games more expensive is BS. In fact, because the Xbox 360 and the PS3 both support HD and developers will adjust to that making special, scaled-down versions for Revolution will likely be more expensive. Either way, just increasing the resolution of the framebuffer doens't make game development more expensive.

More than 50% of all new TVs sold in Denmark are flatscreens. A good number of those are HD Ready. Casuals may not care about that but that doesn't change the fact that many homes are getting new HDTVs these days. Sure, the Revolution will play fine on them but it'll probably look terrible.

The emphasis on price I don't get. Nor small form factor and quick bootup for that matter. GameCube was cheap, small and booted up quickly and it still failed. Yes, the casual audience may appreciate these things. But the casual audience won't pick up a Revolution on launch day. The hardcore gamers will and they don't mind paying a premium for great graphics and a full featureset. The interest of casuals depends on the success of the system with the hardcore gamers. You need those initial sales to get positive press, word of mouth and whatnot. It's great that Nintendo wants to expand the market but that
is going to be a long term process. Until then it will need the hardcore gamers. Does Revolution have what it takes?

Freestyle control has the potential to be great but there's certainly also a lot that can go wrong. One thing that suggests that Nintendo may not have thought everything through is the argumentation behind the new interface. It makes games simpler and more approachable to casuals Iwata says. But does it really? Now you have to set up sensors to get the controller to work and some games require add-on controllers. For other games there will be a classic controller shell. Simpler? Some games perhaps but the overall experience will actually be more complex. Moreover is this another example of Nintendo coming up with a new idea without knowing what to do with it? Like GBA connectivity and DS.

And the classic Nintendo mistake: too little too late. I'm worried that once again it'll be late and not have the right games available at launch.

 

[dose]

Bullet points from me, not sure how points 1 and 3 fit in with the new controller, but...

*No serious exclusive racer. Yep, the Mariokarts are great, but Nintendo need their own GT/PGR.

*No decent exclusive First Person Shooter. Nintendo need their own Killzone/Halo.

*Need more exclusive RPGs. Paper Mario was great, but getting exclusive support from the big guns like Square would be a real clincher.

*Marketing was poor, and the long delays for certain titles to appear was crazy.

 

[Sunski]

In the UK in particular, gamers want good FPS titles, good football games and GTA style mature action with cool music involved.

I personally think it is a mixture of brand awareness and not supplying to consumer needs.

For Revolution the Japanese market should be launching with the Mario and that Wok Game, Mario and an FPS in the states, and Mario and a GTA style game in the UK. I love Paper Mario, Mario Golf and so forth, but the majority of the UK doesn't. I'm not saying don't release those types of games for those that do, but provide the types of games they DO want.

- Get people to know what the Revolution is, why is is different and why it is worth their time. Cool adverts like the DS ones.

- Get a killer title out at UK launch that actually appeals to UK gamers. People keep pointing to Metroid Prime, but sadly this title hasn't been that popular worldwide. Need a blood and guts shooter if anything.

- Get the console out on time, with software dates planned better, and no delays. Push the stars catalogue as well.

- You need the shelf space. Even Tesco only has a tiny section hidden away for DS games now. Sony dominates the shelves.

 

[capslock]

GameCube faced an uphill climb from the very moment it was conceived and it's failure can be attributed to many things.

The design philosophy behind the system is fundamentally flawed. Nintendo designed a small, reasonably priced, fairly basic system with emphasis on portability and GBA connectivity. Consumers responded with massive indifference. Nintendo completely misjudged the market and while a thing like the handle was a fairly harmless addition on its own it became a symbol of Nintendo's errors. Connectivity was an ill-conceived idea by Nintendo's marketing department that Nintendo's game creators had no clue how to tackle and as such it never managed to become the intended trump card.

The GameCube is actually an elegant piece of hardware although you may never realize looking at the clumsy exteriors. It's a fantastically balanced design that packs quite a punch. Easily the best engineered system of the current gen. Performance-wise it's closer to Xbox than it is to PS2 yet many casuals consider it the least powerful system. Nintendo made a mistake in downplaying the specs of the system. Both competitors were hyping up the capabilities of their respective systems and when Nintendo said that numbers don't matter many people reached the logical (but untrue) conclusion that GameCube was the weaker hardware. I realize that Nintendo most likely did this because the GameCube in fact couldn't compete on paper. It was slower than Xbox and had less RAM and pushed less polys than even the one 1.5 year older PS2. But if I were Nintendo I would have done everything in my power to make it seem competitive to casuals. Hype up insignificant details and find some obscure benchmarks where the GC could trounce the competition.

In the end very few people probably care about specs and power. But Nintendo left an opening that the competition could (and did) exploit and it all adds up in the end. It reflected negatively on the system and helped build up the image of an underdog.

This is a mistake Nintendo is set to repeat btw but this time the difference in power will probably be substantial enough that it can't be covered up. With GameCube I feel Nintendo shortchanged the system. It was much better than Nintendo let on

The design of the system and the color choice that went along with it is a well-known mistake that Nintendo has also admitted to. Revolution and Game Boy Micro shows that Nintendo has come a long way although Nintendo DS is proof that Nintendo still has a lot to learn.

One major problem with the GameCube launch is something Nintendo couldn't have prepared for and then again, with a little more foresight maybe the effect could have been minimized. Certainly Nintendo had been warned as it was the worst kept secret in the industry. Xbox launched against GameCube in the States and while it was an abomination it had something which GameCube lacked - a killer app. The Western GameCube launches were solid but ultimately lacking - especially, and oddly enough, in terms of inhouse produced software.

Nintendo's own software wasn't up to the standard that people had come to expect from the biggest games publisher in the world. Moreover consumer tastes had changed. Cute and cuddly was out. Gamers demanded more realistic gaming experiences. Sex and violence were hits even with younger players. This development happened over just a few years and Nintendo was unprepared and ultimately also unwilling to do anything about it. Sure Nintendo was feeling the heat in the market but as long as you're making millions you can afford to be stubborn. Before GameCube launched Nintendo sold twice as many software units in the US as #2 EA. Today Nintendo is struggling in its biggest market and is very far from being #1.

Nintendo's launch marketing campaign was critized by many but it's not as if Xbox marketing was brilliant in comparison. One area where Nintendo failed miserably in Europe was instore marketing. GameCube had little to no retail presence. It's easy to bitch about retailers not giving Nintendo a fair chance but in the end it works the same for everyone. Money has to change hands. Nintendo obviously didn't pay retailers enough money to highlight its products and that's a real problem. That means consumers have to work harder to obtain the products and it may also have meant that many people didn't know about it.

Sure, GameCube had a record breaking launch but Nintendo has a loyal fanbase that doesn't rely on advertising and media coverage to gain knowledge about Nintendo products. The lack of retail presence is still a problem today.

Another problem is above the line marketing. Living in Denmark my experiences may differ from yours but Nintendo ads are not something you see in newspapers or magazines targeted at teens or adults. Nor do we get commercials during prime time. Except around launch. Then a couple of weeks after it's only on channels like Cartoon Network and before Pokémon. Nintendo's marketing (handled by Bergsala) in this case helps reinforce the kiddy stigma attached to Nintendo's products. That's a huge problem.

PR. Nintendo in Europe does a horrible job of getting its products into the news. I see stories about PlayStation and Xbox in the mainstream media whenever something even remotely newsworthy happens but very rarely do I see anything about Nintendo. Nintendo DS with Nintendogs is the must-have gift item this christmas. Why am I not seeing more stories about the limited supplies? Nintendo DS has been consistently outselling PSP for some time now (until GigaPack at least). Why do I have to read a message board to get this information?


I feel Nintendo created GameCube with the best intentions in mind. Most of the criticism leveled at the N64 was adressed with this system. But perhaps in doing so Nintendo lost some perspective. It fixed some issues but in doing so created some new ones while perhaps also failing at realizing where the market was going.


Anyway... I could on and on for hours. I will however use this opportunity to voice some of my concerns regarding Revolution.


While I commend Nintendo's dedication to innovation I feel they may be painting themselves into a corner with Revolution. Deemphasizing graphics in favor of unproven interface technology could be a fatal error. Some may be quick to point out that it worked for DS but I feel a lot of DS' success is due to Sony's mismanagement of the PSP platform. And the battle still hasn't been won. Moreover consoles come with different expectations and the success of the DS may not carry over to the Revolution easily.

The lack of HD support is a mistake. In general it's a mistake to release a platform that's considerably less powerful than the competition. Freestyle control has the potential to be great. But so are great graphics. Why not have both? One doesn't rule out the other but Nintendo acts that way.

The argument about HD making games more expensive is BS. In fact, because the Xbox 360 and the PS3 both support HD and developers will adjust to that making special, scaled-down versions for Revolution will likely be more expensive. Either way, just increasing the resolution of the framebuffer doens't make game development more expensive.

More than 50% of all new TVs sold in Denmark are flatscreens. A good number of those are HD Ready. Casuals may not care about that but that doesn't change the fact that many homes are getting new HDTVs these days. Sure, the Revolution will play fine on them but it'll probably look terrible.

The emphasis on price I don't get. Nor small form factor and quick bootup for that matter. GameCube was cheap, small and booted up quickly and it still failed. Yes, the casual audience may appreciate these things. But the casual audience won't pick up a Revolution on launch day. The hardcore gamers will and they don't mind paying a premium for great graphics and a full featureset. The interest of casuals depends on the success of the system with the hardcore gamers. You need those initial sales to get positive press, word of mouth and whatnot. It's great that Nintendo wants to expand the market but that
is going to be a long term process. Until then it will need the hardcore gamers. Does Revolution have what it takes?

Freestyle control has the potential to be great but there's certainly also a lot that can go wrong. One thing that suggests that Nintendo may not have thought everything through is the argumentation behind the new interface. It makes games simpler and more approachable to casuals Iwata says. But does it really? Now you have to set up sensors to get the controller to work and some games require add-on controllers. For other games there will be a classic controller shell. Simpler? Some games perhaps but the overall experience will actually be more complex. Moreover is this another example of Nintendo coming up with a new idea without knowing what to do with it? Like GBA connectivity and DS.

And the classic Nintendo mistake: too little too late. I'm worried that once again it'll be late and not have the right games available at launch.

Finally! You've started substantiating your hate!

 

[cybamerc]

Finally! You've started substantiating your hate!

I don't hate Nintendo or it's products.

 

[Newduck]

It pretty much suffered the same problems it had the cube had everywhere else in the world, but added with the typical NoE problems, and the fact that they seemed to do absolutely nothing to cater to the UK in the slightest.

MS didn't exactly start off with a product that geared towards the UK, a broadband only net service was iffy, and lack of good EA support early on didn't help. Atleast you could see they still tried to cater specifically to the UK, getting things like Champ manager and pro evo on board. Nintendo however did pratically nothing and just continued to attempt to shove delayed versions of their crappiest major titles to date.

The way retailers treated the gamecube didnt help, but they really didnt have much to promote, and nintendo pratically plays dead during the numerous fire sale gamecube times, alot of retailers dont even stock cube stuff any more and havent for awhile, nintendo seemed to just bury their heads in the sand at these events. I honestly think the stupidly cheap prices of the cube probably have done more good getting them into homes the last few years then anything nintendo themselves have.

A geniune cube presense here has been gone for almost 2 years i think, its painfully obvious in stores, on TV, anywhere, that its just not in the same league as the other two. So getting new adopters in that situation is hard, but there was little effort made on nintendos behalf anyway.

It'll be almost 3 years by the time that rev comes out in the UK that they've had a serious console competitor here, and 1-2 since its been almost totally dead, while the 360 is pratically cutting into its own lifespan with its launch, the rev will be coming out at a time where no ones gonna give a shit whether its backwards compatible or not anyway, and once people get over the cool looking wacky rev controller and if they realise it wont be playing pro evo, GTA or whatever else is popular at the time, they'll once again be in their well earned third posistion.

 

[Screenboy]

I think for a console launch to be successful here a total flood in press and media is needed. With the Xbox/PS2 there was amazing hype created, adverts were on the side of buses, TV everywhere. Their launch was even on evening news.

Football is a massive thing in UK so having sponsor boards at a match is a must aswell as advertising between big matches on Sky Sports like at half time etc.

The newspaper The Sun is read by millions so adverts etc. in there is a must for a launch.


The thing the Gamecube did well was the cheap retail price, but the design, especially the colour damned it to being labled as a kiddy console.

The launch titles we had were not very appealing to the casual gamer so games like Monkey Ball which was probably the best title launced with the console was extremely colourful and not that appealing graphics wise as this would be the game shown to these potential buyers.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

just wanted to say that nintendo is hurting themselves a little (again) with their approach to online.

while mario kart is a very very very welcome bit of software to launch online with, the fact that you can't do custom games really stings. Especially since my only experience with the game is to be locked into the searching screen for 10 minutes while it repeatedly finds 2 opponents, drops them, re finds them, drops them then refinds 1 opponent. I've only ever played a 3 player game, and number 3 always drops cause they are losing. The system would be much better if I could play 3 dudes from GAF.

I'm not a UK gaffer (close though) but seems like a good place to directlly tell nintendo something, especially because it is to do with how they are perceived. Right now my perception of the online system is far from easy to use, it's quite a headache.

 

[pulsemyne]

Also remember this launching the console into the marketplace isn't the hard part. Keeping the console in the public mind is the hard part. The GC had a very good launch in the UK but quickly faded due to lack of software and also a lack of ongoing marketing. Learn the lessons from the DS and sponsor something on TV that is ongoing so that the console is always in the publics face.
Also get aggresive. Drive home the message that gaming needs a revolution and that only nintendo can save it. Also please keep the name revolution, it sounds cool and conveys the message of nintendo gaming. Also get mainstream with the advertising, not so much targetting of specific programs like scifi stuff, go after the high ratings programs and pepper them with ads. Also target the footballing crowd as millions watch football every week.
To change the UK mindset you need to ram the thing down their throats with a consistant message and eyecatching ads (not ads like the PSP ones which everyone agrees is complete shit).
Also start advertising now, not later. Show the revolution promo video as an advert on TV. Make everyday people think about the possibilties the revolution offers. As soon as you do that the people may get the impression of the other consoles being an old style of thinking.
Oh and if you want to get the mindset of the hardcore and middlecore games players in the UK then Rllmukforum.com is a good place to start.

 

[Chittagong]

I would want to add to this a couple of factors that are not mentioned but that I know to suck having worked been involved with Nintendo in Europe.

- Nintendo still doesn't have a pan-European marketing approach. It's Großostheim, the other EFIGS capitals and then a random bunch of independent distributors with a wide spectrum of competencies, everyone doing their own shit - case in point: compare Nintendo.fr and Nintendo.fi

- Nintendo's media spenditure decisions are left in the country level. You should have pan-European media purchasing through one media agency like Procter & Gamble, Motorola etc. do. What happens now is that you get locally edited, 15s cutdowns of your spots in random and inappropriate programs

- Too much of customer contact is left in country level. You have no control of the customer service, event production, Wi-Fi Connection and other real consumer touchpoints in the European countries.

Suggestions:

1. Put in every European country a team working directly for NOE, like EA does. This team should be responsible of all your consumer touchpoints and in direct, constant contact with their boss at NOE to ensure that marketing vision is understood and delivered in consistently in every country.

2. Split distribution and marketing in smaller markets like EA, SCEE and Microsoft do. There are several good vendors in each market to fill the channel with Nintendo product, however, these vendors are not capable of mobilizing Nintendo's marketing story as well as Nintendo is.

3. Centralize media purchasing and advertising to global agencies that have representation in all European countries. This should end the inconsistent, market-specific cuts of TVCs and ensure sufficient and balanced coverage.

4. Start building an "European team spirit". You need get-togethers not for only the senior management of each European country like currently, but for multiple levels of stuff to understand that everybody is aiming for a single European goal. All levels of employees should establish an European network of peers to share best thoughts and to get support from.

 

[pulsemyne]

Oh and make sure the games come out in the UK quick. I wonder why not that many people have imported mario kart DS? could it be because it was out within 2 weeks of the USA.

 

[psycho_snake]

I dont live in the UK now, but I've lived there lonmg enough to understand why Nintendo has been doing really badly over there and why it is not doing asd well as it should be all over the world.

Firstly, the shape of the console will put anybody off. There were jokes about this thing being a purple purse and thats because it is. The colour it was first released in was awful, the handle at the back l;ooked very stupid and overall it just looked rubbish. Nintendo did a good job of making the console small, but just didnt go aboiut the design in the right way. Nintendo look like they have learned from this problem. The design of the rev is very slick indeed. Not only does it look good but its samll and can easily be transported, even without a handle! The PStwo is how consoles should look like. Its small, its sexy and it plays bloody good ganes. Nintendo seem to have got two of those correct, we need to wait longer to see if they ghot the last part correct.

The software that came out for GC worldwide was ok, in the Uk is was piss. Not only did Nintendo have a very limited library of quality games, but it took ages for them to get there. Uk GC owners receive the Nintendo f1sty party titlers months after everyone else hyas played them. No ine likes delays or waiting for something that can be released in a quarter of the time. Im very happy that i own an NTSC GC because I wouldnt want to wait tyhat long for games. The wait for Zelda is long enough, God knows how it must feel to be exited for this game and know that you will get to play the game many months after the NA release. The UK GC owners should be treated better. If you want to gain more marketshare there, release your games quicker.

next is the quality of the games. Nintendo's 1st party games are very good and Zelda: TP looks like it will blow everythign else this gen out of the water, but outside of Nintendo games there has not been much. RE4 was a very nice treat and I considered MGS: TTS a geat title, although I can imagine those who have played the game before would think that that the game was rubbish. There have been very few exclusive titles for GC outside Nintendo's games that scream 'buy a GC to play me', unlike PS2's huge collection and MS's ok collection. If Nintendo want to be more successful, they need to attract developers and make them develop their big title games such as MGS or FF on their console. They did that this gen. FF: CC and MGS: TTS both belong to those franchises, but they need more of them from all devs and they need to bring the main games of the franchise like RE4, instead of bringing over remakes or experiments.

As I mentioned above, MS dont have excellent 1st party titles, or not many of them atleast, but they have very good 3rd party support. Nintendo lack this. A few devs have dropped their support for GC this generation and that just isnt good enough. Nintendo need to keep their relationships with these 3rd party devs and get the best of them. Nintendo cant do it on their own, they need good 3rd party support. Wether its an exclusive title or multiplatform, it doesnt matter, but the more they get from each the better. that will attract many more customers.

As for marketing, I cant comment because where i live we dont have marketing for games.

What I do recommend Nintendo to do is make sure that they dont focus all their resources trying to make innovative games with the new controller. Some people just wont buy into Nintendo's new idea and they need to make sure that they do a bit of both. Do make original titles, but at the same time make sure create great quality games that can be played with a normal controller.

Its important that devs feel that they are welcome to make games that just use a standard controller. Not all devs will be willing to try something new, so give them the option. if they want to make use of the controller thats good, but let them just make an amazing game using a standard controller.