Well good luck with that. I'm not sure the Nintendo software IPs are that attractive to Emerging Markets. I always see let's plays and what not on CoD, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy etc. on Chinese streaming sites, but boy would it be difficult to find one for Mario or Zelda.
If I am not mistaken, EA adapted the mobile version so that it would run on the Mega Drive. The Mega Drive and the Master System were hugely popular here in Brazil back in the day, mostly due to the excellent work done by Tec-Toy with SEGA stuff here.
As people started moving on to the Playstation, Tec-Toy began repackaging the Mega Drive in cheaper ways to sell it to people who couldn't afford newer consoles. It became a system-on-a-chip that doesn't play any cartridges; instead, it brings dozens of Mega Drive games stored in memory that run through emulation. They even released some kind of Guitar Hero game for a Mega Drive that came packaged with a plastic guitar 0_0
Here in Brazil, not only is the Mega Drive a cheap alternative, but it is also seen as a good way to get younger kids started in gaming.
I'm glad you weren't at the helm of the Lego Company when they were having financial difficulties in their home market and were actively pursuing growth markets.
Nevertheless, analyzing Xbox One's failure and missteps in the Chinese market might be a good start in their analysis.
Are you suggesting LEGO's turnaround was due to some sort of expansion into BRIC rather than a concerted effort to change their innovation processes, in particular re-engaging with their customer base, to inform and validate their product design?
As someone who lives in the target market that Nintendo is talking about, I can understand Iwata's reasonings very well, but I'm skeptical of the approach.
Console cost and software cost are undoubtedly big hurdles in terms of pricing for emerging markets. In fact, I'll give him props for even calling $30 a barrier in pricing.
But our market, from my anecdotal observation doesn't want cheaply made $10-15 content. They want the CoDs, the Battlefields, the Assassin Creeds, the FIFAs, they just don't want to pay the prices paid by the rest of the world.
That's why PC and the netcafe client model is highly successful in many Southeast Asian countries. We're willing to pay $1 for 4 hours of playing any game of our choice everyday, but we don't like to pay $60 to play one game for the rest of the product life, even if it's just a one-time cost.
As someone who lives in the target market that Nintendo is talking about, I can understand Iwata's reasonings very well, but I'm skeptical of the approach.
Console cost and software cost are undoubtedly big hurdles in terms of pricing for emerging markets. In fact, I'll give him props for even calling $30 a barrier in pricing.
But our market, from my anecdotal observation doesn't want cheaply made $10-15 content. They want the CoDs, the Battlefields, the Assassin Creeds, the FIFAs, they just don't want to pay the prices paid by the rest of the world.
That's why PC and the netcafe client model is highly successful in many Southeast Asian countries. We're willing to pay $1 for 4 hours of playing any game of our choice everyday, but we don't like to pay $60 to play one game for the rest of the product life, even if it's just a one-time cost.
Designing a new platform makes perfect sense if this new platform uses the same next generation architecture Nintendo wants to use across the board in the future.
If it is based on their new architecture and can leverage the software development from these new platforms, it makes sense. That's what I meant if they will try to integrate it with their next handheld.
I think this announcement is a little bit too soon though because I don't see the new platforms in the near future. I expect a 3DS successor the soonest around holiday 2015.
Emerging Markets like brazil, russia, india and china, central america, the malaysian corridor etc are all well aware of the new consoles. There is a market for shitty knock offs, but all of them want the new hardware and the new games. Whenever I hear "console for emerging markets" i hear "we don't want to make money and we think our customers live under a rock"
I can see that they don't want to be treated like second class costumers but if it is a compelling product, Nintendo should also release it in the rest of the world to lessen the image.
I can also see Nintendo fans going crazy over a cheap mini console with good Nintendo software in the developed countries.
THIS is a new hardware announcement I can believe. I wonder what the specs will be. I hope Nintendo realizes they should be providing strong support for local game developers in these markets especially BRIC for future long term health.
Anyone who doesn't get this idea just think of how Smash Brothers and Mario Kart exist on the 3DS and WiiU. Nintendo is most likely offering a console that is inbetween both in power while still being the same architecture.
This is total craziness. The visions of a madman. Not a genius madman, mind.
Why make a new platform? Why not build on the Wii? Oh, that's right, they've already let it die and nobody can be arsed to develop more software for it now, not even Nintendo themselves.
Whatever comes out of it will be a failure of train-wrecking, ship-sinking proportions.
To leverage Nintendos strength as an integrated hardware-software business, we will not rule out the idea of offering our own hardware for new markets, but for dramatic expansion of the consumer base there, we require a product family of hardware and software with an entirely different price structure from that of the developed markets.
It seems to me someone went to Nintendo IR website and clicked on the penultimate financial report instead of the latest, then quickly wrote an article about this (old) "news", assuming we should really treat it as news.
I live in Brasil and am sure their next big push with this initiative is here. The videogame market in here is growing, as game prices and concepts like price decay for games that are older and/or non sucessfull take hold at the stores.
THe thing is, right now the prices for the consoles here are
(dollar in todays rate)
Wii U - 1,800 reais - 814 dollars
XBOX ONE - 2200 reais - 995 dollars
PS4 - 4,000 officially - 1810 dollars , but you can get it anywhere non-official at 1,500 reais - 678 dollars
Like you all know, taxes here are crazy. For it to be competitive pricewise, Nintendo have to either rent or build a factory to get tax breaks, plus bring in all production for the console, like MS and Sony already have.
Plus, MS and Microsoft subside the prices of games, so all their launch games is around 159 reais at launch window, which lasts about a month here.
All that for a
seemengly, we dont know yet
underpowered machine.
I am very glad they decided to finally focus on emerging markets, it took 3 straight losses for them to consider us after 30 years, but they have their work cut out for them, for a company very resistant to change.
Hmm I'm not sure if Nintendo can succeed in this aspect. If I had to pick one of the 3 who could best serve emerging markets it would probably be Sony to be honest due to their global logistics organization and how the PS2 managed to sell 55M almost in those types of markets
Not sure Nintendo can make it cheap enough, available in enough countries and offer cheap enough games
