In a rather interesting article over
at GamesIndusry.biz, several prominent figures in the UK games industry share their thoughts on how the
Revolution should be marketed and how it should avoid the pitfalls experienced by the Nintendo Gamecube. While that
particular system still earned Nintendo some profit, it's a grudging admittance that the system's market penetration
never quite reached the levels it deserved. If all goes well for Nintendo, that won't be an issue this time around. Some wise words on the matter come from Peter Lunn, head of Koch Media (Nintendo's distribution partner). "We need to get away from 'next-gen' just being about hardware. 'Next-gen' should be about interaction. Nintendo is proving that with the DS it's possible to attract new users through more interaction, and the growth of online play is showing interaction with other people can make games more compelling. 'Next gen' is the social growth of gaming."
The rest of the article touches on issues such as how the Revolution should be presented in stores and how it should be pitched at both niche and mainstream audiences. In an ideal world, games would be the deciding factor when it comes to commercial success, but unfortunately we live in an environment where brand image and marketing spin play very important roles in a well-oiled machine. For the Revolution to be a huge success, Nintendo will have to pair their excellent first-party titles with a solid marketing presence, one that will introduce all sorts of people to a new control concept via familiar and loved franchises.
