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Many faults littered Nintendo in the past, naturally I ignored them but there was a few, there wasn’t much in to form of 3rd party support, little in the form of any gory adult titles and there were slightly overpriced. Of course Nintendo are now just as cheap as Sony (some cases cheaper and others more expensive), Adult titles are coming in thick and fast and the Gamecube’s line up is now covered in 3rd party titles. There was a fourth problem though… the west, Nintendo weren’t a fan of America or Europe, but mainly Europe, the Japanese public doesn’t like western games as opposed to us who live the titles that come in from the east and Nintendo have never been keen to committing themselves to us. We’re more like a nice extra than a brilliant business concept, little advertisement, no official website (in the UK anyway), no control on pricing, long waits for games releases. It was as if they didn’t care and it is true, Japan is Nintendo’s biggest market and you’d much prefer to impress the home croud than the ones who live far away. But times have changed, and evidence from the way Nintendo act is coming thick and fast all about it.
Why announce no Spaceworld??? Yeah they’ve done it before but that was due to lack of titles, hardly true this year look at the long list of Gamecube exclusives, so why cancel it? Trying to give Rare no major opportunity to announce going Multi-format? Nope, Spaceworld is where Nintendo announce major games (like 2 certain ones last year), now this isn’t the case; major announcements take place at E3, a western games show. And yet why falter in the Japanese homelands? Well Garbe123 will tell you X-box is doing better over there, well actually it varies one week they’ll sell none and the next they’ll be level pegging with Sony… odd? I’d say so; even odder is last month the Wonder swan crystal was outselling the normally unstoppable GBA! It wasn’t until recently that Nintendo stormed the top 50 games, previously only 3 Gamecube titles featured in them and now Super Mario Sunshine has hit number one, not even terrified Sony’s 1 billion yen advertisement campaign managed to counteract the Japanese’s love for Mario. Over 100% increase in console sales occurred with that release, but sooner or later it would dwindle away, Zelda has slipped from Christmas release so what do Nintendo have to fight the unpredictable Japanese market? They can’t, they can’t control the way the Japanese economy is going, they can only do one thing, look to the west and that is what they have done.
In Europe in a space of 11 weeks Nintendo sold 1 million Gamecube’s, not a light statistic and one that many will wonder, how come the change? Nintendo’s marketing campaign in Europe has increased nearly as much as their console sales in Japan, doing deals with “cool” TV shows like MTV is evidence of this, Nintendo have blitzed Europe, Nintendo UK has been set up as has a Nintendo official website, and do you remember those cube’s they set up in London? Nintendo need to gain the west, and whilst people used to say “Nintendo don’t know how to advertise and fight competitors” you are so very wrong. Nintendo do know, it is because the west was an extra that they didn’t really bother; now though, now their genius comes to light. Even before the Gamecube was released they dropped the price to kick Microsoft so hard in the teeth that the gold fillings actually began to give way. It was a swift and clever move, as if Nintendo were planning it all along, and they were, marketing genius make them think it costs that much so Microsoft drop the price and then drop it again. Recently the street teams Nintendo have been developing are just as clever, before the release of the Gamecube Cube Clubs in both America and Europe were set up, right now young adults are going around the streets of America with Gamecube’s and screens attached to them, as well as GBA’s. A unique advertising idea that even goes back to those people dressed as Pikmin assisting the elderly, very odd and very funny.
And it is more than just advertisement that we are enjoying these days, it is the creation of Western games from Nintendo and the shorter release dates. Do you remember when Zelda was released very shortly after the Japanese release? That will be happening constantly and if it doesn’t then Nintendo will do something else to counteract it. A perfect time to release the Gamecube was may 3rd, due to the various Cinema releases and sports events, but it was still a long time and so what did Nintendo do? They sent their busiest yet most famous man around a tour of all major European cities and then shipped him to America, surly Miyamoto didn’t have time for this? Anyway we are getting games quickly and Mario is just the beginning, it will be happening all the time, look at Wario’s World and Doshin The Giant. Also Eternal Darkness, Starfox Adventures and Metroid Prime, all of these are games being made by America and British companies (western), major Nintendo games being made with western ideas in mind! A survival horror game and a first person shooter? FROM NINTENDO! These are different times, and it is all because Japanese can’t stand still.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
Why announce no Spaceworld??? Yeah they’ve done it before but that was due to lack of titles, hardly true this year look at the long list of Gamecube exclusives, so why cancel it? Trying to give Rare no major opportunity to announce going Multi-format? Nope, Spaceworld is where Nintendo announce major games (like 2 certain ones last year), now this isn’t the case; major announcements take place at E3, a western games show. And yet why falter in the Japanese homelands? Well Garbe123 will tell you X-box is doing better over there, well actually it varies one week they’ll sell none and the next they’ll be level pegging with Sony… odd? I’d say so; even odder is last month the Wonder swan crystal was outselling the normally unstoppable GBA! It wasn’t until recently that Nintendo stormed the top 50 games, previously only 3 Gamecube titles featured in them and now Super Mario Sunshine has hit number one, not even terrified Sony’s 1 billion yen advertisement campaign managed to counteract the Japanese’s love for Mario. Over 100% increase in console sales occurred with that release, but sooner or later it would dwindle away, Zelda has slipped from Christmas release so what do Nintendo have to fight the unpredictable Japanese market? They can’t, they can’t control the way the Japanese economy is going, they can only do one thing, look to the west and that is what they have done.
In Europe in a space of 11 weeks Nintendo sold 1 million Gamecube’s, not a light statistic and one that many will wonder, how come the change? Nintendo’s marketing campaign in Europe has increased nearly as much as their console sales in Japan, doing deals with “cool” TV shows like MTV is evidence of this, Nintendo have blitzed Europe, Nintendo UK has been set up as has a Nintendo official website, and do you remember those cube’s they set up in London? Nintendo need to gain the west, and whilst people used to say “Nintendo don’t know how to advertise and fight competitors” you are so very wrong. Nintendo do know, it is because the west was an extra that they didn’t really bother; now though, now their genius comes to light. Even before the Gamecube was released they dropped the price to kick Microsoft so hard in the teeth that the gold fillings actually began to give way. It was a swift and clever move, as if Nintendo were planning it all along, and they were, marketing genius make them think it costs that much so Microsoft drop the price and then drop it again. Recently the street teams Nintendo have been developing are just as clever, before the release of the Gamecube Cube Clubs in both America and Europe were set up, right now young adults are going around the streets of America with Gamecube’s and screens attached to them, as well as GBA’s. A unique advertising idea that even goes back to those people dressed as Pikmin assisting the elderly, very odd and very funny.
And it is more than just advertisement that we are enjoying these days, it is the creation of Western games from Nintendo and the shorter release dates. Do you remember when Zelda was released very shortly after the Japanese release? That will be happening constantly and if it doesn’t then Nintendo will do something else to counteract it. A perfect time to release the Gamecube was may 3rd, due to the various Cinema releases and sports events, but it was still a long time and so what did Nintendo do? They sent their busiest yet most famous man around a tour of all major European cities and then shipped him to America, surly Miyamoto didn’t have time for this? Anyway we are getting games quickly and Mario is just the beginning, it will be happening all the time, look at Wario’s World and Doshin The Giant. Also Eternal Darkness, Starfox Adventures and Metroid Prime, all of these are games being made by America and British companies (western), major Nintendo games being made with western ideas in mind! A survival horror game and a first person shooter? FROM NINTENDO! These are different times, and it is all because Japanese can’t stand still.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
Yeah, nice to see that Nintendo is becoming more global.
But I didn't get what you meant about Japanese people not standing still...
But I didn't get what you meant about Japanese people not standing still...
Many faults littered Nintendo in the past, naturally I ignored them but there was a few, there wasn’t much in to form of 3rd party support, little in the form of any gory adult titles and there were slightly overpriced. Of course Nintendo are now just as cheap as Sony (some cases cheaper and others more expensive), Adult titles are coming in thick and fast and the Gamecube’s line up is now covered in 3rd party titles. There was a fourth problem though… the west, Nintendo weren’t a fan of America or Europe, but mainly Europe, the Japanese public doesn’t like western games as opposed to us who live the titles that come in from the east and Nintendo have never been keen to committing themselves to us. We’re more like a nice extra than a brilliant business concept, little advertisement, no official website (in the UK anyway), no control on pricing, long waits for games releases. It was as if they didn’t care and it is true, Japan is Nintendo’s biggest market and you’d much prefer to impress the home croud than the ones who live far away. But times have changed, and evidence from the way Nintendo act is coming thick and fast all about it.
Why announce no Spaceworld??? Yeah they’ve done it before but that was due to lack of titles, hardly true this year look at the long list of Gamecube exclusives, so why cancel it? Trying to give Rare no major opportunity to announce going Multi-format? Nope, Spaceworld is where Nintendo announce major games (like 2 certain ones last year), now this isn’t the case; major announcements take place at E3, a western games show. And yet why falter in the Japanese homelands? Well Garbe123 will tell you X-box is doing better over there, well actually it varies one week they’ll sell none and the next they’ll be level pegging with Sony… odd? I’d say so; even odder is last month the Wonder swan crystal was outselling the normally unstoppable GBA! It wasn’t until recently that Nintendo stormed the top 50 games, previously only 3 Gamecube titles featured in them and now Super Mario Sunshine has hit number one, not even terrified Sony’s 1 billion yen advertisement campaign managed to counteract the Japanese’s love for Mario. Over 100% increase in console sales occurred with that release, but sooner or later it would dwindle away, Zelda has slipped from Christmas release so what do Nintendo have to fight the unpredictable Japanese market? They can’t, they can’t control the way the Japanese economy is going, they can only do one thing, look to the west and that is what they have done.
In Europe in a space of 11 weeks Nintendo sold 1 million Gamecube’s, not a light statistic and one that many will wonder, how come the change? Nintendo’s marketing campaign in Europe has increased nearly as much as their console sales in Japan, doing deals with “cool” TV shows like MTV is evidence of this, Nintendo have blitzed Europe, Nintendo UK has been set up as has a Nintendo official website, and do you remember those cube’s they set up in London? Nintendo need to gain the west, and whilst people used to say “Nintendo don’t know how to advertise and fight competitors” you are so very wrong. Nintendo do know, it is because the west was an extra that they didn’t really bother; now though, now their genius comes to light. Even before the Gamecube was released they dropped the price to kick Microsoft so hard in the teeth that the gold fillings actually began to give way. It was a swift and clever move, as if Nintendo were planning it all along, and they were, marketing genius make them think it costs that much so Microsoft drop the price and then drop it again. Recently the street teams Nintendo have been developing are just as clever, before the release of the Gamecube Cube Clubs in both America and Europe were set up, right now young adults are going around the streets of America with Gamecube’s and screens attached to them, as well as GBA’s. A unique advertising idea that even goes back to those people dressed as Pikmin assisting the elderly, very odd and very funny.
And it is more than just advertisement that we are enjoying these days, it is the creation of Western games from Nintendo and the shorter release dates. Do you remember when Zelda was released very shortly after the Japanese release? That will be happening constantly and if it doesn’t then Nintendo will do something else to counteract it. A perfect time to release the Gamecube was may 3rd, due to the various Cinema releases and sports events, but it was still a long time and so what did Nintendo do? They sent their busiest yet most famous man around a tour of all major European cities and then shipped him to America, surly Miyamoto didn’t have time for this? Anyway we are getting games quickly and Mario is just the beginning, it will be happening all the time, look at Wario’s World and Doshin The Giant. Also Eternal Darkness, Starfox Adventures and Metroid Prime, all of these are games being made by America and British companies (western), major Nintendo games being made with western ideas in mind! A survival horror game and a first person shooter? FROM NINTENDO! These are different times, and it is all because Japanese can’t stand still.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
Why announce no Spaceworld??? Yeah they’ve done it before but that was due to lack of titles, hardly true this year look at the long list of Gamecube exclusives, so why cancel it? Trying to give Rare no major opportunity to announce going Multi-format? Nope, Spaceworld is where Nintendo announce major games (like 2 certain ones last year), now this isn’t the case; major announcements take place at E3, a western games show. And yet why falter in the Japanese homelands? Well Garbe123 will tell you X-box is doing better over there, well actually it varies one week they’ll sell none and the next they’ll be level pegging with Sony… odd? I’d say so; even odder is last month the Wonder swan crystal was outselling the normally unstoppable GBA! It wasn’t until recently that Nintendo stormed the top 50 games, previously only 3 Gamecube titles featured in them and now Super Mario Sunshine has hit number one, not even terrified Sony’s 1 billion yen advertisement campaign managed to counteract the Japanese’s love for Mario. Over 100% increase in console sales occurred with that release, but sooner or later it would dwindle away, Zelda has slipped from Christmas release so what do Nintendo have to fight the unpredictable Japanese market? They can’t, they can’t control the way the Japanese economy is going, they can only do one thing, look to the west and that is what they have done.
In Europe in a space of 11 weeks Nintendo sold 1 million Gamecube’s, not a light statistic and one that many will wonder, how come the change? Nintendo’s marketing campaign in Europe has increased nearly as much as their console sales in Japan, doing deals with “cool” TV shows like MTV is evidence of this, Nintendo have blitzed Europe, Nintendo UK has been set up as has a Nintendo official website, and do you remember those cube’s they set up in London? Nintendo need to gain the west, and whilst people used to say “Nintendo don’t know how to advertise and fight competitors” you are so very wrong. Nintendo do know, it is because the west was an extra that they didn’t really bother; now though, now their genius comes to light. Even before the Gamecube was released they dropped the price to kick Microsoft so hard in the teeth that the gold fillings actually began to give way. It was a swift and clever move, as if Nintendo were planning it all along, and they were, marketing genius make them think it costs that much so Microsoft drop the price and then drop it again. Recently the street teams Nintendo have been developing are just as clever, before the release of the Gamecube Cube Clubs in both America and Europe were set up, right now young adults are going around the streets of America with Gamecube’s and screens attached to them, as well as GBA’s. A unique advertising idea that even goes back to those people dressed as Pikmin assisting the elderly, very odd and very funny.
And it is more than just advertisement that we are enjoying these days, it is the creation of Western games from Nintendo and the shorter release dates. Do you remember when Zelda was released very shortly after the Japanese release? That will be happening constantly and if it doesn’t then Nintendo will do something else to counteract it. A perfect time to release the Gamecube was may 3rd, due to the various Cinema releases and sports events, but it was still a long time and so what did Nintendo do? They sent their busiest yet most famous man around a tour of all major European cities and then shipped him to America, surly Miyamoto didn’t have time for this? Anyway we are getting games quickly and Mario is just the beginning, it will be happening all the time, look at Wario’s World and Doshin The Giant. Also Eternal Darkness, Starfox Adventures and Metroid Prime, all of these are games being made by America and British companies (western), major Nintendo games being made with western ideas in mind! A survival horror game and a first person shooter? FROM NINTENDO! These are different times, and it is all because Japanese can’t stand still.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.