INTERVIEW: Nintendo

We recently had a chat with Nintendo UK’s Wii product manager Rob Lowe about how making your products appeal to everyone doesn’t need to alienate anyone…

CG.biz: What did it take to awaken video games to the wider markets that are currently being so successfully exploited?
 
RL: To a large extent it took new hardware and new software. On the hardware side it took the creation of new hardware with an interface that was easy to understand and to use so it offered everyone a chance to get involved. On the software side it took software that offered compelling and interesting subjects to a wider audience beyond shooting, driving and fighting. There is nothing wrong with these types of games, it's just that they weren't appealing to the wider audience who weren't playing games.

We found that when you offered software that covered subject matters that people found interesting or felt that were more relevant to them, they began to become interested and pick up games for the first time. Most adults with families and kids simply don't have the time or desire to spend 20 hours to finish a game and liberate humanity but 10 minutes a day Brain Training, using Wii Fit or looking after a virtual pet dog appeals to them in a way other genres of games don't.

CG.biz: How much of Nintendo’s growth in recent times can be attributed to the influx of females into the game market?
 
RL: It would be misleading to attribute any growth (Nintendo or otherwise) solely to women alone. The areas of growth across both Wii, DS and the UK market as a whole has quite simply come from bringing lapsed gamers back into the category and from new, first time users be they male, female, single or families – we know there are a lot of men out there buying and using Wii Fit too.

CG.biz: Do you have information on which if Nintendo’s games have enjoyed the biggest success in the female market?
 
RL: It'll be no surprise that our Touch Generations titles resonate with women very well. Again, that's not to say that they ONLY appeal to women – there are huge numbers of men and women of all ages picking up Touch Generations titles. Wii Fit is certainly one that clearly resonates with women of all ages and Nintendogs we know has a younger, but significant female share. In terms of recent titles, we have been pleased with the response from women to Professor Layton and Mario Kart Wii.

CG.biz: How important has Nintendo’s use of female celebrity role models such as Louise Redknapp and Girls Aloud been to recent successes?
 
RL: Our choice of ambassadors in many circumstances have made people sit up, take notice and re-evaluate their concept and opinion of video games as a category, but ultimately it does come down to the products and how they resonate and appeal to everyone. Word of mouth spreads fast and if a product does not live up to its promise it will soon stop selling and fall out of favour.

CG.biz: Prior to release Animal Crossing Wii was pegged as a big new potential female-friendly IP. Did that work out for you?
 
RL: It's still very early in Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City's life cycle but the initial results are already quite compelling, with just over 40 per cent of people registering the game on our website being female. This is a great start and a very high ratio and it's important to remember that website registrants are skewed towards male gamers too.

CG.biz: Wii sales have slowed a little – time to release a pink one, right?
 
RL: We've got no plans right now to expand the range of Wii hardware colours.

CG.biz: Do you think your capture of the wider market has come, be it to a large or small extent, at the cost of losing some of your more traditional followers?
 
RL: No – there is always room for both. For every Wii Fit, Brain Training and Nintendogs title we release we also release a Super Mario Galaxy, Professor Layton, Smash Bros, Metroid and so on. That's not even taking into account the huge number of core gamers who enjoy our Touch Generations range just as much as those who are new to gaming do.

CG.biz: In an ideal world, what would you like the ‘Nintendo’ brand to mean to the typical female consumer? And how does this differ from what it might mean to the male consumer?
 
RL: We want everyone to feel the same way about us and our products regardless of gender. It's our goal to provide people with good quality, value for money entertainment and ultimately to make people smile.

CG.biz: In your opinion, is the casual, family-friendly gamer now more valuable to the video games market than the core gamer?
 
RL: There is clear room for both and any publisher can demonstrate clear value in both casual and hard core. For every Carnival Games there is a Bioshock and for every Wii Fit there is a Resident Evil 5. What's certain is that many casual games are now becoming 'ever-green' selling consistently over weeks and months, where many hardcore titles may still achieve similar sales levels but over a much shorter time scale. It's really just different product cycles.

CG.biz: What releases should girl gamers be looking out for in the coming months?
 
RL: People can continue to look forward to a wide and varied range of titles from Nintendo in the coming months, not least Wii Motion Plus and Wii Sports Resort, launching in June and July respectively.