Nintendo: Listening to Fans is bad
What? I don’t know about you but I think this is just pretty lame. From The Gamerscore Blog.
In an interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, the author writes:
But the name Wii not wii-thstanding, Nintendo has grasped [an] important notion that (has) eluded its competitors. …Don’t listen to your customers. The hard-core gaming community is extremely vocal–they blog a lot–but if Nintendo kept listening to them, hard-core gamers would be the only audience it ever had. “[Wii] was unimaginable for them,” Iwata says. “And because it was unimaginable, they could not say that they wanted it. If you are simply listening to requests from the customer, you can satisfy their needs, but you can never surprise them. Sony and Microsoft make daily-necessity kinds of things. They have to listen to the needs of the customers and try to comply with their requests. That kind of approach has been deeply ingrained in their minds.”
I understand where he is coming from, but there comes a point where you have to listen to some degree to your target audience. Granted, Nintendo’s TA with the Wii is the non gamer, but to completely alienate your loyal following is pretty lame IMO.
6 Comments
Inevitable Winter on May 30, 2006 at 8:56 am says:
The success of the Wii will be the determining factor. Is Nintendo going to give us what we want? Or do they know the recipe for making happy gamers? I think Satoru’s comments should be taken with a grain of salt. I believe Nintendo IS listening to their loyal follwers, but they’re not taking direction from them.
I’ll be bold to say that the bulk of the gaming community is no more imaginative, than re-runs of Bob Ross. They don’t care to be. They want to pay money every year to beat better looking hookers with bats, and see the new “Madden helmet-cams” Of course they will keep asking for second and third helpings, it’s what they like, and that’s their perrogative. However those “wants” were instilled by blockbuster titles, and franchise names that are sysnonymous with modern gaming. They were shown what to like, and they accepted. It’s not that Nintendo doesn’t want to cater to those gamers, they just want to get them hooked onto something new and exciting, as well as fulfill their other initiatives.
I feel Satoru didn’t express himself justly. It’s obvious they want everyone to be gaming, so they hear the hardcore crowd, and instead of giving them what they’re screaming for, they plan to give them something new, something they might end up screaming sequels for.
jeffool on May 30, 2006 at 7:47 pm says:
I think maybe you’re misreading it? Iwata never implies that they “don’t” listen, but that they do more than “simply listening to requests.” The implication of not listening to requests at all is that of the writer of the piece.
rein on May 30, 2006 at 11:00 pm says:
I know it remains to be seen if Nintendo is going to gain or lose some of their market next generation, but no one can deny the buzz they created at E3. If their innovation pays off, is it bad if they are not listening to the hardcore crowd? I think the writer took a lot of liberty lumping the Nintendo customer base and the hardcore crowd together. The hardcore crowd is not Nintendo’s target market.
Heresyte on May 31, 2006 at 1:27 am says:
“Miyamoto isn’t interested in giving people what they want. He’s more interested in giving them what they don’t know they want yet.”
— Play Magazine
Personally I wish more companies would follow that philosophy. Trying to follow the opinions of the average gamer is what leads to games like Shadow the Hedgehog.
bapenguin on May 31, 2006 at 4:09 am says:
I know he’s not saying they completely don’t listen. No company is a complete isolationist.
In a sense he’s really saying, don’t listen to the few hardcore because they are just that. The few.
Inevitable Winter on June 2, 2006 at 6:52 am says:
Yesterday I had a HOUR & 1/2 conversation about the early, mid-century, and modern business models. Nintendo is clearly an innnovator in more dimensions than just gaming.
Modern companies are picking up on new trends, subscription models, ad-based models, user-customizable products, and many more. Some companies are tapping new marketing and PR techniques while the juice are flowing strong. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past, if you don’t deliver, you lose.
For instance, for years ABC, NBC, FOX, and other TV networks got their money through commercials. With PVR on the rise, some networks “WHINED”, and I mean down right had a temper tantrum like a 4 year old. They thought people were skipping their commercials and they’d lose their precious commercial income to other marketing techniques. Times are changing. Although this maybe the case, it’s also shown a select group of people actually watch MORE commercials because of PVR. Nevertheless, some bright companies powered by innovative thought and not just bags o’ cash figured out some new marketing techniques that not only works, but gives consumers, AND big Co, Inc. what they want.
I present the Hanso Foundation Alternate Reality Game, from the show “LOST”. It started putting REAL TV ads on for this “fake” company on during LOST. This game is catchy, and makes consumers want to watch for the ad, because in the ad every week is the next clue to the game.
In one instance several million users were directed to a website for the new clue, and what users found was more clues imbedded in a “Sprite” flyer found on the site (which represented a computer user’s personal directory), and a “Jeep” commercial hosted on YouTube.com. Not only can they tell jeep the EXACT number of unique IPs that hit the site, but they can also data mine the locations of computers that hit the ads. PRICELESS. While it seemed cheesey and like the old “switch-a-roo” to us watchers, it was harmless, and it did the job.
Companies like Google, ABC, Oracle, Nintendo and others are catching on that the world is changing, and instead of treating their customers like shit with DRM, litigation, and below par customer support, they are finding ways to “NOT” piss us off, yet get what they want. What a fucking novel idea huh? ^_^
It’s really the dawn of a new age, and this one looks like it will change the way the world works. It’s nice to know Nintendo sees the trends, and wants to stay ahead of that curve, and they’re taking us with them.