At the same time, on the most granular level, I wonder if a similar technical divide exists inside your own home. One person is probably expected to provide solutions when it's time to install the wireless network, redirect the satellite dish, or retrieve a lost document. The have-nots sit and wait.
Several years ago, we noticed this same kind of dichotomy beginning to separate active core consumers from potential consumers in my own industry, video game entertainment. While ardent players reliably responded to ever-advancing technology and complexity, those same attributes consistently chipped off potential new players from the total market, narrowing the consumers into a smaller niche.
For the frustrated, it simply wasn't worth the investment of time or money in the midst of a life ever-busier with work, family and other obligations. The players happily jousting inside the castle walls didn't see the moat outside widening.
For us, this raised two fundamental challenges that I believe now, or someday soon, will confront almost every consumer-facing technology business. First, how do you satisfy the core while still expanding appeal? And second, how do you leverage your strengths against entirely untapped audiences--to the so-called "blue oceans" in popular marketing speak?
The snap answer is obvious--"innovate!" It's a popular prescription, but not a simple one to follow. Harvard professor Clayton Christensen outlines one distinct course of action for innovation: 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. Toyota is performing this juggling act right now, touting world-class hybrid technology with the Prius, while simultaneously offering traditional horsepower and towing capacity to new pickup truck buyers.
But technology companies may not have the luxury of expanding product lines to address both audiences. I would suggest that for them, "smaller/cheaper/easier" is a far more likely road to riches, while "more of the same" eventually proves to be a dead-end street. It doesn't mean innovation stops--just that innovation turns to ideas like simple user interface and interactive experience rather than faster system speeds and feeds. The next generation of R&D should balance what's under the hood with what users want to hold in their hands.
A recent McKinsey study looks at this a different way. It claims there may be a middle ground--one reaching new customers and building new revenue streams without abandoning key products or core competencies. It describes "white spaces," or markets that exist (perhaps unrecognized) between typical product categories. They "fuse consumer benefits" by combining "brands, technological breakthroughs or insights" in new ways. A decidedly non-technical example is the repurposing of traditional breakfast cereal into the "breakfast bar." The result? A new, highly profitable category--"on-the-go nutrition."
A couple of years ago, we at Nintendo began to telegraph the nature of our new game console, the Wii, in terms identified by professor Christensen: "smaller, less expensive, easier to use." It is purposely so simple and intuitive that anyone in a household can use it. It also incorporates functions like a photo browser, an Internet browser, and custom news and weather channels, which lead some people to wonder what these elements have to do with video games. In fact, this is a conscious move into "white space"--in this case, that sizable gap between technophiles and technophobes where consumers just want an understandable way to catch up with the times.
These days, any forward-thinking company will consider tools like MySpace. But it may be equally vital to search for potential consumers lurking in the "white spaces."
Biography
Reggie Fils-Aime is the president of Nintendo of America.
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DUH!!
At some point it stops being a technological problem and starts being a people problem. We have to let those go, they'll never like a computer until it's a robot/android with perfect AI that does everything they want without asking.
I think the Wii is brilliant example of listening to what the market wants and I believe it has more to do with its price than its blocky controller.
However, (listen up Nintendo employees), I will NEVER buy a Wii until it has the kind of games I like: Japanese-style RPGs (like Final Fantasy X or Xenosaga) and mature games (Grand Theft Auto series). As I see it, the Wii is a box for little kids, and that's the same reason I didn't buy a Gamecube.
You should try Paper Mario and Red Steel. They're really fun. In the second game your character actually mimics your hand movement, it's really sweet especially during the gun fights.
1 - RPGs -are- coming.
Nintendo completed a purchase of Monolith Soft, the development company behind the Xenosaga series, only 3 days ago.
The upcoming Wii "Fire Emblem" might also be up your alley, and believe it or not, Super Paper Mario is a fun little RPG-ish romp, that almost anyone should be able to enjoy.
2 - Mature games -are- coming.
And a few of them are already here. Though it doesn't appeal to me personally, the already-released "Godfather" on Wii is said to be an AMAZING experience for those who enjoy such games, and far superior to the other console versions.
Though the idea of Grand Theft Auto IV on Wii is still up in the air, Rockstar Games has already announced that the sequel to their infamous "Manhunt" game will be on Wii. Red Steel and the soon-to-be-released Scarface are also worth looking into.
A GameCube repeat, this is most certainly not.
In fact, if you consider your self a hardcore gamer, you should appreciate all game systems.
And now the Wii represents an opportunity for all who closed their minds to Nintendo before to branch out.
Nintendo has it right. Why go for the small core group when there is a larger market beyond it? With more units, more devs will get on board. More devs mean more games and an increase ratio of poor ports to AAA titles.
until it has the kind of games I like..."
Yeah, because Nintendo needs to do *anything* it can do to try to
finally sell a few of those damn things!
Maybe they'll send out some coupons or something to get it
jumpstarted...
- Yes the Wii is hard to find BUT-
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by samwise_gamgees
May 12, 2007 3:30 PM PDT
- I live in sacramento california and it's still impossible to find a Wii here,BUT I am not angry I am actually very happy for nintendo because for once they actually have a console that IS a success and that is a reason to be happy.
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(10 Comments)Now before everyone says I am a nintendo fanboy I want to set the record straight and say that I have bought more PS2 games by far then I purchased gamecube games,I like playing video games and I probably always will,I have in fact bought most all of the game devices since the days of the NES and a few from even before then - I am sill playing my Commodore64 games several times a week because the games I have are still fun to play all these years later.
I did not buy an Xbox but plan to buy an Xbox360 just as soon as the price drops a little more as I am not made of money.
I owned both a PS1 and a PS2 but do not plan to buy a PSP or a PS3.
I WILL be buying a Wii just as soon as I can as it has quite a few games out now that are indeed fun and many more that are certain to be must haves.
So keep looking for a Wii we will boh find one sooner or later but remember it is all about having fun not which system is better or best.