Wii’s competition not just PS3 and Xbox 360
According to a report by The New York Times, Nintendo of America‘s Reggie Fils-Aime sees the Wii as not just another option to the more powerful Xbox 360 from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 from Sony. In fact, it appears the Japan-based gaming giant is actually not settling for thwarting hardcore gaming alone.
“We don’t consider just Sony and Microsoft our main competitors,” said Fils-Aime. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata and Reggie Fils-Aime are planning on taking on the mainstream entertainment market, using an affordable, family-friendly gaming console.
“If people decide to stay home on a Saturday night playing Wii bowling instead of going to the movies, we win. If people spend 22 minutes making their perfect Mii instead of watching a sitcom, we win,” Fils-Aime continued.
One of the more common sentiments online (in forums, boards, etc.) holds that Sony’s PlayStation 3 was designed from the start as an all-in-one multimedia entertainment package, while Microsoft’s Xbox 360 serves “core” gamers who rely on bleeding edge graphics and visually stunning games. The Wii doesn’t deliver on either of those fronts, focusing on what is more important than the latest in pixel-shader technology. Fils-Aime explained:
Both of our competitors have focused on an old paradigm. They focused on more technological horsepower as the path to success. They fell into a trap of just listening to their core user base rather than focusing on attracting new customers.
According to him, every household has a geek or techie that can set up their console or PC to an LCD TV or monitor. But when the geek isn’t there, what the people eventually want is to simply attach the console to an average TV, switch it on and see it work instantly. Nintendo of America’s president concluded:
That’s what Apple got so right with the iPod. There were plenty of MP3 players out there, but Apple came along with a product you could just pick up and play. And that’s what we think we got right with the Wii. I think the consumer electronics industry needs to recognize that.
According to a report by The New York Times, Nintendo of America‘s Reggie Fils-Aime sees the Wii as not just another option to the more powerful Xbox 360 from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 from Sony. In fact, it appears the Japan-based gaming giant is actually not settling for thwarting hardcore gaming alone.
“We don’t consider just Sony and Microsoft our main competitors,” said Fils-Aime. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata and Reggie Fils-Aime are planning on taking on the mainstream entertainment market, using an affordable, family-friendly gaming console.
“If people decide to stay home on a Saturday night playing Wii bowling instead of going to the movies, we win. If people spend 22 minutes making their perfect Mii instead of watching a sitcom, we win,” Fils-Aime continued.
One of the more common sentiments online (in forums, boards, etc.) holds that Sony’s PlayStation 3 was designed from the start as an all-in-one multimedia entertainment package, while Microsoft’s Xbox 360 serves “core” gamers who rely on bleeding edge graphics and visually stunning games. The Wii doesn’t deliver on either of those fronts, focusing on what is more important than the latest in pixel-shader technology. Fils-Aime explained:
Both of our competitors have focused on an old paradigm. They focused on more technological horsepower as the path to success. They fell into a trap of just listening to their core user base rather than focusing on attracting new customers.
According to him, every household has a geek or techie that can set up their console or PC to an LCD TV or monitor. But when the geek isn’t there, what the people eventually want is to simply attach the console to an average TV, switch it on and see it work instantly. Nintendo of America’s president concluded:
That’s what Apple got so right with the iPod. There were plenty of MP3 players out there, but Apple came along with a product you could just pick up and play. And that’s what we think we got right with the Wii. I think the consumer electronics industry needs to recognize that.
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