Nintendo to target casual gamers with Revolution
They're a priority apparently.
Speaking at the 33rd annual UBS Global Media conference, Nintendo of America's chief marketing officer spoke candidly to an audience of analysts and investors about its approach to expanding the games market.
Unsurprisingly, innovation and a desire to reach new, non-traditional audiences was a focus for Reggie Fils-Aime, as he discussed marketing games, and the forthcoming next-generation Revolution console to casual gamers, families and a female audience, in addition to the 18-24 year old male.
The speech included several quotes praising the company's ambitions and continued innovation in reference to the Revolution console, including publishing powerhouse Electronic Arts, quoted as saying: "It's a brilliant controller, and as usual we can credit Nintendo with being innovative and neat and fresh and fun. They continue to pioneer in our industry... They make some of the best games in the industry... And we look forward to partnering with them."
After stressing the continued success of the Nintendo DS which, according to Nintendo, is still outselling Sony's PSP, Fils-Aime pointed to the Nintendogs phenomenon, which has generated immense excitement amongst gamers young and old worldwide. The title has sold just under a million units in the US alone, and has attracted twice as many female players than usual. According to Nintendo, the DS has achieved total sales of around 6 million to date, compared to 4.26 million for the PSP.
To bring home the point once and for all, Nintendo's president was quoted in the presentation as saying: "If we cannot expand the market, all we can do is wait for the industry to slowly die."