Nintendo Wii marketing to exceed $200 million
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 12th 2006 at 10:15PM }
You better bring it! After taking a pounding in the last console generation, along with pre-E3 cries Nintendo would become a third party developer like Sega, Bloomberg reports Nintendo will spend in excess of $200 million marketing the Wii to make sure they don't come in last again.The $200 million will be spent over the next year and is the largest advertising campaign in Nintendo's history. You can expect to see Wii commercials starting this week. The message will focus on Wii being family-friendly and easy to use, but the main demographic being targeted is adults. 80 percent of the budget will be spent convincing adults to purchase the system and shaking off Nintendo's traditional consumer perception of being for children and teens.
Hardcore gamers can debate which system is greater till pigs fly, the cow come home and hell freezes over. $200 million is a lot of money to spend on an advertising campaign. Nintendo is pushing for the masses with an affordable gaming console. 2007 is going to be a very interesting year.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brad Mecoli @ Nov 12th 2006 10:37PM
I'd do the chick on the left.
Optimus Prime @ Nov 12th 2006 10:26PM
All Sony need to package a fruity-coloured PStwo with EyeToy and a bunch of games and dump it for $100 --> end of Wii.
spiritassassin @ Nov 12th 2006 10:27PM
w00t go nintendo
h2opoloplayer @ Nov 12th 2006 10:29PM
You can spend that much on marketing when you actually make money.
Efren Abrego @ Nov 12th 2006 10:32PM
Sounds like the kind of sh*t they said before the N64 and Gamecube launches.
Strike three!
Alfarif @ Nov 12th 2006 10:31PM
@h2opoloplayer
I was thinking the same damn thing. Now THAT'S an advertising budget. What are the numbers from Sony and Microsoft for the PS2 and XBox 360 for their launches and one year after?
Just... wow.
spiritassassin @ Nov 12th 2006 10:31PM
@ h2opoloplayer
Are you implying that Nintendo doesn't make money? If so, you are immensely mistaken.
Storm9 @ Nov 12th 2006 10:31PM
In the corporate world $200Million over 12month timespan is chicken scratch!
Kevin @ Nov 12th 2006 10:34PM
You have to take risks to get anywhere in this world. Good luck, Nintendo.
bubbacrosbysucks @ Nov 12th 2006 10:38PM
They better have a variety of campaigns, cuz from what i've seen they really suck. Especially the models chosen.
And 200 mil seems quite excessive for what I now know to be a gimmick toy. (just give me a light gun for the other two systems, and my desires will be satiated). I'd sell my nintendo stock right after xmas.
delldude420 @ Nov 12th 2006 10:58PM
7. Sounds like the kind of sh*t they said before the N64 and Gamecube launches.
Strike three!
Posted at 10:28PM on Nov 12th 2006 by Efren Abrego
*****************************************************
3rd times the charm
bubbacrosbysucks @ Nov 12th 2006 10:39PM
oh btw, I've been hardcore Wii only for the last year and a half, until this past week. This thing is very much less than what I've been hoping for, except for what I know will be the greatest game ever (Super Mario Galaxy).
Ritz @ Nov 12th 2006 10:38PM
h2opoloplayer beat me to it. I was about to say the same thing. It will be interesting to see if they make $200+ million in returns or not, as well. Afterall, if Nintendo didn't expect to make at least that much money, they wouldn't bother spending so much. Wii shall see.
At the current retail price (I know the economics of this is far from this simple) of $249.99, they will need to sell... 800,033 systems. So, they'll have that much back by day 1 then?
Rob @ Nov 12th 2006 10:38PM
So what is the amount being spent by Sony and MS for PS3 and the 360?
h2opoloplayer @ Nov 12th 2006 10:38PM
@spiritassassin
No, I was trying to get across the point that Nintendo is the the only company (with the gaming division) in the black right now. With the other companies taking a hit on systems sold, Nintendo is going to have a nice year. (Hell their stock more than doubled in less than a year.)
DG @ Nov 12th 2006 10:44PM
Something's working. There was a big front-page story on Nintendo in today's Seattle Times.
lets just put the gun down and we go get me those fries @ Nov 12th 2006 10:44PM
keep funneling that money from the handheld sales baby wooo.
BlindsideDork @ Nov 12th 2006 10:50PM
Saw the Red Steel commericial on tv...it looked just as sweet!
Bob @ Nov 12th 2006 10:54PM
I play to God that Nintendo wows us with commercials such as this in the near future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVpOs20CGA4
Seriously, who didn't love this commercial? Also note the legendary voice of Don LaFontaine doing the voice over.
I really wouldn't mind seeing some good Nintendo ads as they've seem to become a rarer breed as of late. I'll just be happy as long as they don't have guys curling up into the fetal position to go into morphball mode while playing Metroid...
Neko Tsukimi @ Nov 12th 2006 10:58PM
Just as long as some of that comes to me. I'm tired of being forced into pimping Wii for free...
I kid~
But hopefully, these commercials will be informative enough that people don't come up to me all the time at game stores asking a million questions about Wii. Their CMs/Ads just HAVE to be 100000000000000x better than those for PS3. Crying babydoll means nothing to me.
Radon @ Nov 12th 2006 10:59PM
Even if the Wii failed in the end Nintendo won't become a third party developer, they still dominate the handheld market in every way. Heck they practicly invented the handheld market anyways.
Everyone said the DS was a gimik and a toy, but it seems that market share would disagree. As it's been said, the DS "prints money" and i'm sure we will see the same idea with the Wii.
I work at a department store and with our 15 Wii preorder slots filled I could probobly sell about 50 more Wii's just in the last 2 weeks. Plus you won't beleave the jaws that drop when I tell someone the PS3 will be $659.99 Canadian. The Wii is already well marketed in my eyes, and Nintendo said it themselves, the first week is for the hardcore fans. They don't want to advertize a unit that someone can't pick up at any store.
Even if the Wii crashes and burns Nintendo will have made a great profit from just the holidays.
Wars are won on production numbers, and Nintendo definatly is the fastest and hardest workers of the top 3 in terms of total units made.
charlie @ Nov 12th 2006 11:00PM
They can probably afford to do this since They're selling the console for $250. They debuted the gamecube for $200 and the Wii is actually weaker hardware for the time. Plus they figure they'll be banking huge from being able to sell N64, SNES, and NES games by download. If they can get 10 million Wii owners to each spend an average of $20 on legacy Nintendo games over the course of the year, that covers their add campaign and they're for sure making a profit on each unit sold.
1up_clock @ Nov 12th 2006 11:02PM
"All Sony need to package a fruity-coloured PStwo with EyeToy and a bunch of games and dump it for $100 --> end of Wii."
That would also be the end of PS3.
Besides, no way that could be the end of Wii. There's too many people who waited so long for Zelda. That, and you've got to throw in Smash Bros. Heck, Melee is STILL selling, heavens knows what Brawl could do.
spiritassassin @ Nov 12th 2006 11:06PM
@ h2opoloplayer
Ah alright...in that case, I totally agree :).
Sloan Ranger @ Nov 12th 2006 11:05PM
Wow, they're really in the best position they've been in 10+ years to cash in on the hype they've legitimately generated with the Wii. The next 13 months are going to be VERY interesting.
The interesting challenge will be getting the non-hardcore to have a high game attachment rate, though, when you sell every console at a profit, you're not exactly dependent on software sales.
"All Sony need to package a fruity-coloured PStwo with EyeToy and a bunch of games and dump it for $100 --> end of Wii." Yeah that's it, Sony hasn't sold enough PS2 units yet! Brilliant!!!
Optimus Prime @ Nov 12th 2006 11:21PM
"Wow, they're really in the best position they've been in 10+ years to cash in on the hype they've legitimately generated with the Wii. The next 13 months are going to be VERY interesting."
With GC at 15% of the market, Nintendo Wii has nowhere to go but up (there, i said something positive).
Kent Houseman @ Nov 13th 2006 2:44AM
Durrrr this system is not the good. How could it be
without the cellular processing of the other systems like the 360 box and playstation:redundant. The wheee is a gimmick system and uses a remote..i already have remotes why should i get another.
The grafix aren't even good. I saw the colors and they are brownish. I can just install more rams into a gamecube and tape a remote to it and have a wee. Pretendo isn't fooling me!!
359 looks so realistic I feel like I am in the cartoon...The playstation is clerely the superior station. Look at the sleke design. Beautiful. Consolls are a status symbol and not for entertainment. You wont the spherebox or PS4? Wee is not an optional. The others are like Nascars while the Wheee is like a tractor that you have to drive wiht a remote. Who wants that! ghey!!
/facemelt
nes @ Nov 13th 2006 3:41AM
i'm all about nintendo, but the wii's ad campaign is going to look cheesier in 20 years than the nes's does now. it's bad.
FuzzyPickles @ Nov 13th 2006 3:46AM
I love the Wiimote. It's so bad.
Burnt Meatloaf @ Nov 13th 2006 4:07AM
*Radon: "Even if the Wii crashes and burns Nintendo will have made a great profit from just the holidays."
My feelings as well. Adjusted for new technology, Wii is actually much less powerful than Gamecube, even despite a higher price. Their profit per system sold will be huge.
As for Nintendo's kiddy image, that's because of the style of graphics they use for their games (cartoonish and few textures), rather than their "family friendly" stance on content.
Getting adults to play games probably won't work. Given the size and variety of the gaming market, anyone today who doesn't play video games just doesn't play video games.
Willo @ Nov 13th 2006 5:40AM
"i'm all about nintendo, but the wii's ad campaign is going to look cheesier in 20 years than the nes's does now. it's bad."
And why would that matter? Ad campaigns are designed for the moment and are the height of disposable media... If any ad campaign managed to move a product in 20 years time I'd be right surprised.
GhostDoggy @ Nov 13th 2006 5:41AM
You would think with names like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft you could rest on your own laurels and let the past histories be the foundation for spreading word of mouth advertising (especially in the Information Age and the Internet) and not waste such amounts of money on 'advertising'.
How many Wii's, PS3's, and 360's could be given away at the equivalent cost in advertising programs? Well, 800,000 Wii's and 2.3 million premium (3.1 million core) 360 systems. OMFG!
velocitystrike @ Nov 13th 2006 6:10AM
Yeah, @ h2opoloplayer...Nintendo made more profit than MS and Sony last gen, even though they came last. They built cheaply made systems and didn't make things at a loss.
Al @ Nov 13th 2006 6:09AM
I don't need ads, they've already sold one to me, but I think general people should know about it.
The key to the Wii is interaction, that's why it's special. They need to use that money and setup a way for non-gamer people to play with it, not just see videos.
That's where the un-tapped money is, where they should concentrate. Look what the 'Touch Generation' games have done for DS.
My MOTHER bought a DS (without me even showing it to her) and owns a huge collection of those games... and she bought them for herself. She plays it everyday and it blows my mind. I don't how, but Nintendo may pull it off.
V1L3 @ Nov 13th 2006 7:04AM
As I recall, the advertising budget for the Dreamcast was around $100 million.
It didn't seem to stretch that far.
I'd say the important thing is not how MUCH they spend on marketing it, but rather HOW they market it. And positive news stories and exposure like the article in Time magazine will probably achieve more in the long run than any ad campaign money can buy.
32_Footsteps @ Nov 13th 2006 8:30AM
"If any ad campaign managed to move a product in 20 years time I'd be right surprised."
I wouldn't. Plenty of ad campaigns have effectively lasted that long. I'm impressed when they do, but not terribly surprised when it happens.
A few I can think of:
Cocoa Puffs/Sonny the Cuckoo Bird "I'm cuckoo for cocoa puffs"
Lucky Charms/Lucky the Leprechaun "They're always after me Lucky Charms!"
Frosted Flakes/Tony the Tiger "They're Grrreat!"
Froot Loops/Sam the Toucan "Follow your nose!"
Shedd's Spread Country Crock/The Country Crock couple
Maytag appliances/Maytag repairman
Dunkin'Donuts/Fred the Baker (retired about 7 years ago)
There are some others, but an ad campaign can run successfully for a long time if done well. Though truth be told, they're often only meant for at most a year.
John Lucas @ Nov 13th 2006 9:20AM
This combined with the natural word-of-mouth that is spreading because of thisw product will make it LOCK that Nintendo is on top of the 7th gen.
About time, too.
Enough of these pretenders.
Respect the TRUE engine of the game industry.
I want Nintendo on top in more ways than just profit because for the level of good work they do & the commitment to ingenuity they have they deserve it.
AND they keep it affordable never gouging the customer.
I'm tired of these second-raters.
Let THEM be the alternatives.
First with me lies with the N.
John Lucas
John Lucas @ Nov 13th 2006 10:02AM
velocitystrike (Msg #34)says:
[[34. Yeah, @ h2opoloplayer...Nintendo made more profit than MS and Sony last gen, even though they came last. They built cheaply made systems and didn't make things at a loss.]]
Cheap in expenditure, velocity strike, but CERTAINLY not cheap in quality.
Behold.
Gulf War Game Boy Live in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96MaK2fJ0Kc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBeTXPaewMo
6th gen console endurance test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUWFpZ7DksI
HARDCORE 6th gen console endurance test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVRJtqPRZhQ
Bruce Banner AKA The Incredible Gamecube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRhCjglpzh8
In all honestly the only one who rightfully SHOULD be charging a premium on their products is Nintendo.
The fact that you get such consistency in quality in both hardware AND software makes you wonder why more people don't appreciate or respect the company Nintendo is. It's easy for businesses to get lazy & cut corners & Nintendo keeps up these standards whether competition's there or not.
Like Adam & Eve in paradise and pampered kids under the roofs of their parents, folks didn't know they how good they had it until it was gone.
John Lucas
Paul Gale @ Nov 13th 2006 6:14PM
Nintendo spending $200 million throughout the year on Wii advertising is excellent news for videogame fans. This means that while we're watching hit shows like Smallville, Lost, Raw, and Survivor, that get viewed by many people throughout the country, plenty of non-gamers will also be introduced to Wii.
I'm glad that Nintendo's not being cheap in the slightest with this upcoming ad campaign. It's really important for their goal, that they get the word out that its an easily accessible, fun machine to as many people as possible.
I'm most excited for the new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess commercial. The way Nintendo pumped up Ocarina of Time back in 1998 was absolutely perfect. Let's hope we get a similar, majestic commercial for this game as well.
Paul Gale
1up.com
Lo @ Nov 14th 2006 10:00PM
I don't know anything about video games. I'm a 21 year old girl, i've never owned a system in my life, they intimidate the hell outta me. That having been said, I'm buying a Wii. I can't be the only one. I think nintendo's approach is an interesting way to penetrate my demographic, we'll see if it pays off
Sidepocket @ Dec 28th 2006 5:05AM
OMFG! I just read Kent Houseman comment and wow, the horrible PSP Viral Ad actualy depicts him very well. Maby they were being honest about their demographic? @,@;