Pachter: Nintendo is like McDonald's
The man with his own Joystiq tag, Michael Pachter, is at it again, this time talking about Nintendo and the Wii. In likening Nintendo's success with the Wii to that of McDonald's success in slowly killing you, Pachter says a lot of what worked for the food chain is working for Nintendo right now. Does that make Mario a Big Mac?
"They buy the Wii games that they buy for the same reason that people go to McDonald's," Pachter said on consumers. Further elaborating on his comparison of the two companies, he said, "McDonald's doesn't win a lot of restaurant critic awards but they are approachable, they're consistent, and you know what they're going to serve you." He says that if the "concept is right," the "recognition factor" is there, and if "you can 'get it' from what's on the box," then "sometimes the game doesn't even have to be that good in order for it to sell."
He must have skipped lunch today, because Pachter also brought Nintendo's competition into the food comparison mix, saying, "Nintendo has become the fast food machine. Sony is very much the high-end restaurant. And Microsoft is somewhere in between."
So, basically, the Wii is like a #4 on the value menu, the Xbox 360 is like lunch at Applebee's, and the PS3 is like getting a reservation at Dorcia on a Friday night. Got it.
"They buy the Wii games that they buy for the same reason that people go to McDonald's," Pachter said on consumers. Further elaborating on his comparison of the two companies, he said, "McDonald's doesn't win a lot of restaurant critic awards but they are approachable, they're consistent, and you know what they're going to serve you." He says that if the "concept is right," the "recognition factor" is there, and if "you can 'get it' from what's on the box," then "sometimes the game doesn't even have to be that good in order for it to sell."
He must have skipped lunch today, because Pachter also brought Nintendo's competition into the food comparison mix, saying, "Nintendo has become the fast food machine. Sony is very much the high-end restaurant. And Microsoft is somewhere in between."
So, basically, the Wii is like a #4 on the value menu, the Xbox 360 is like lunch at Applebee's, and the PS3 is like getting a reservation at Dorcia on a Friday night. Got it.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
BxGT @ Mar 10th 2009 9:54PM
I guess that makes Microsoft burger king and the Sony Wendy's.
GoldN @ Mar 10th 2009 10:06PM
Good job reading.
Ridgecity @ Mar 11th 2009 2:22AM
"and the PS3 is like getting a reservation at Dorcia on a Friday night."
Actually, no, you can get a PS3 anytime you want, maybe finding a Wii would be more like getting a reservation on a Friday night...
If The Wii is a McDonald's Big Mac, The xbox360 is Applebee's the Cajun Lime Tilapia, then the PS3 would be like eating sushi in New York, it's a buffet, but it's a $100 buffet.
yojimb0 @ Mar 10th 2009 9:54PM
I'd say the 360 is more like lunch at Chili's.... and I dig the Dorcia reference ;)
thesimplicity @ Mar 10th 2009 10:07PM
Dorsia, with an "s." Jesus, whenever I read these articles I can't help but wonder what the author's head would look like on a stick.
marauder800 @ Mar 10th 2009 11:30PM
@thesimplicity
If you're going to be an ass and call out the blogger for a minor spelling error, try not to make 3rd grade punctuation errors. Oh the irony!
Gopheur @ Mar 12th 2009 3:35AM
@marauder800
You forgot a comma, dude.
Blurrz @ Mar 10th 2009 9:55PM
The PS3 is like Peter Luger's. Expensive, but you won't eat a better steak.
WiredKnight @ Mar 10th 2009 11:30PM
You've never had Kobe.
MJZimmer88 @ Mar 11th 2009 1:20AM
Peter Luger's is the SH*T!
And it blows a simple kobe away. Mainly because it pretty much is a kobe... only 3 to 5 times bigger.
ronald.raygun @ Mar 11th 2009 1:45AM
kobe is overrated
David @ Mar 11th 2009 5:45AM
Please, people are still putting the PS3 on a pedestal? If the 360 is Applebees the the PS3 is like Kelseys or something. They're pretty much the same, why is everybody just falling over and accepting Sony's bullshit that they are a Ferrari, or a high-end restaurant, or whatever analogy they use to make themselves feel better.
Markez @ Mar 10th 2009 9:56PM
Oh dear god, prepare for the biggest expo if idiocy that Joystiq has seen in ages. THANKS PACK
Markez @ Mar 10th 2009 9:57PM
Speaking of which, is there someone at Dell I can talk to about my laptop's mouse and keypad absolutely melting down since I bought it off my old employer. I feel entitled to choking the shit out of some Dell employee somewhere because of it, thanks that is all.
Foetoid @ Mar 10th 2009 10:10PM
You've got a Dell. You deserve everything you get. I'm sorry.
finnith @ Mar 10th 2009 10:58PM
Dell's aren't that bad nowadays from what I've heard. Maybe it's an isolated event?
Markez @ Mar 10th 2009 11:00PM
Nah, the one I've got is garbage. Been troubleshooting quite a bit and it appears to be pretty widespread nonsense with this series of laptops.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Mar 11th 2009 12:00AM
I have a Dell XPS desktop that I love the hell out of. To the point that I'm considering keeping this case for my next computer build.
Markez @ Mar 11th 2009 12:27AM
Yeah, Shep, this was just a corporate standard laptop. Let me buy it for 200 beans when I left the company. Half the memory crapped out, and the keyboard/mouse started going haywire a cuppla months afterwards.
Foetoid @ Mar 10th 2009 9:57PM
Excellent picture Joystiq. +100
Tyler @ Mar 10th 2009 10:35PM
That picture really frightens the green apple splatters out of me...
Foetoid @ Mar 11th 2009 1:53AM
Wow, 2 comments so far voted into 3 hearts in one thread. Anyone care to make it a record and vote this one up too?
Josh @ Mar 10th 2009 9:59PM
Ew, disgusting, no.
sony boy @ Mar 10th 2009 10:03PM
Some woman called the police cause there were no Mcnuggets... maybe i should call the police too cause there isn't a wii in gamestop.../sarcasm
but seriously i kinda agree with michael, but i think this year is when The wii/psp strikes back
Hyams @ Mar 10th 2009 10:11PM
I'd liked to laugh at you silly Americans, but then one English dude called 999 because his meal was taking too long to arrive in a restaurant.
Roto13 @ Mar 10th 2009 10:16PM
Didn't she call 911 because they took her money, told her there were no McNuggets (and there weren't any when they took her money), and refused to give her a refund? It wasn't because she was in some kind of ravenous hog-woman who was going to start hallucinating if she didn't get her McNugget fix in the next few minutes.
Though 911 is for emergencies and that's clearly not what that was. :P
KaBob799 @ Mar 10th 2009 10:34PM
Yeah the guy lied and told her that she couldn't get her money back when they found out they were out of nuggets, but she still got in trouble for calling 911.
BigD145 @ Mar 10th 2009 10:56PM
People in the US call 911 while waiting in the ER and Pachter is a moron making some dumbass analogies. McDonald's food will severely mess up your body and Nintendo... what? He's basing everything on brand? I don't get it.
Popfrogs @ Mar 11th 2009 12:29AM
"I'd liked to laugh at you silly Americans, but then one English dude called 999 because his meal was taking too long to arrive in a restaurant."
Hyams, there's no nationality assigned to morons. Idiocy can happen anywhere, anytime.
Asim Fareed @ Mar 10th 2009 10:06PM
I'd kill to get a reservation at Dorcia's on Friday night
Shattercross @ Mar 11th 2009 7:52AM
*roll on snare*
+1 for you sir.
Premature ejaculation man @ Mar 10th 2009 10:09PM
Oh damn that looks scary.
ZaxCG2 @ Mar 11th 2009 1:00PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1M9GsBNls
Insight @ Mar 10th 2009 10:12PM
I foresee many comments that will make me raaaaaage in the morning, both from the WDF and the HCSS ('hard core' stupidity squadron). Shame I have to go to sleep.
KeegdnaB @ Mar 10th 2009 10:13PM
Please.....we all know the McNuggets are #10
Get your facts straight Joystiq
SoshiKitai @ Mar 11th 2009 5:32PM
Not in some McDonalds... 7 McDonalds in my area have changed it... in some it's #11, in others it's #13...
...the world has changed.
Mr Khan @ Mar 10th 2009 10:17PM
A story like this two years ago could've incited a flame war
two years ago....
Gun Barrier @ Mar 10th 2009 10:31PM
Don't worry, it probably still will. Im not enraged by the posts so far though.
Markez @ Mar 10th 2009 10:39PM
To our credit, the Joystiq community is really, really better than most. I enjoy Sessler's Soapbox quite a bit, and if you want to see how bad things can get, go take a look there.
Longhorn4Life (PSN MariusElijah) @ Mar 11th 2009 12:03AM
unfortunately
Roto13 @ Mar 10th 2009 10:17PM
"Patcher:"
*stops reading*
*except I obviously didn't stop reading but I probably should have*
Markez @ Mar 10th 2009 10:25PM
One of a number of asshats why I don't understand why they have a respected place in the industry/and/or decent job.
Count in the moron Cassamassina as far as I'm concerned, as he doesn't have an objective bone in his body. And this coming from a Wii/DS fan.
One of a number of a people where I see the name, and it means I immediately disregard anything they ever say.
Mr Khan @ Mar 10th 2009 11:00PM
Cassemassina's problem is precisely that he is not a Nintendo fanboy, but instead of that leading to him being more objective, that leads to him gaining the ability to bitch about everything Nintendo does wrong. Almost as if he were on a timer, he starting railing on Nintendo in 2008, just like he did back in 2003.
Plus he's very immature, and despite the fact that he does apparently have some good inside sources in the industry, whenever his predictions are proven false (Kid Icarus at E3), he throws a hissy fit.
DBuck_Eye @ Mar 10th 2009 10:17PM
Mario's always been a Big Mac Daddy.
archie91s @ Mar 10th 2009 10:22PM
Hideo Kojima pretty much made the exact same analogy a couple of years ago, and he also said it a few times on different occasions if I remember correctly.....
Popfrogs @ Mar 11th 2009 12:41AM
Well they have a point. Nintendo gets rich off the kid's market, and people are always having kids and kids gotta have toys...so it's a perfect business model. The McDonalds analogy is even better because although their quality isn't the greatest (DS and Wii are both low-def compared to the competition), they're cheap enough and get the job done while keeping kids happy.
tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 10th 2009 10:23PM
Oh patcher how I love some of the things you say. Basically just called the wii garbage, and I love it.
Lord of the Patapons (slycooper_rocker) @ Mar 10th 2009 10:37PM
moving on...
Markez @ Mar 10th 2009 10:37PM
You're really cementing your place in the joystiq halls of shame as someone who has lost all ability to be insightful, interesting, humorous, or worth discussing anything at all with. I know you don't care, but congrats!
tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 10th 2009 10:58PM
The fact that I irk you guys is more than enough satisfaction to me, and with no effort. I mean really, that was arguably the weakest bait I've thrown out there in my career here and you bit. You all are easier than my last 2 girlfriends combined.