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Nintendo succeeds by focusing on consumers
For years now I've written in Uncle Mark about how the most popular videogame systems differ. The Microsoft XBox and Sony PlayStation offer high-tech complexity, while Nintendo products focus on being fun to play.
The president of Nintendo of America describes Nintendo's path to success (emphasis mine):
"Our key fundamental difference is we drive our business through the eyes of the consumer. We are consumer-driven and we are insight-driven and as part of that, our objective is to create joy, wonder and a sense of enrichment. That drives everything we do. ...
"We took a different path [from the other videogame makers], one we call the path of disruption, of really doing things differently, focusing on games and hardware that consumers could immediately pick up and play like the DS and Wii. ... It really is recognizing the world is changing with the rise of the Web, the rise of even more power on the part of the consumer. These consumers today, they don't just consume media, they want to get inside it."
A CNET interview describes his philosophy in this way...
Provide a new product that actually underperforms on an established industry metric for "progress," and substitute an alternative that typically is smaller, less expensive and easier to use. Initially, the "core" of any industry will scoff. But if the product is right, enough new users will be attracted to form an alternative definition for progress.
See also:
• Microsoft and the videogamer's experience
• Nintendo Wii and the customer experience
