Nintendo’s Wii is winning the game war in Japan - but its cutesy form appeals perfectly to the Japanese market.
One thing I noticed on my trip to Tokyo last week was how popular Nintendo’s Wii console appears to be. There was a heck of a lot of joint marketing stuff going on with the Wii and other Japanese companies at the Ceatec show and the Wii has a commanding presence in stores in places like Akihabara, one of Tokyo’s electronic districts.
The Japanese figures are certainly looking good for Nintendo - the Wii outsold Sony’s Playstation 3 last month by almost three to one.
What is it about the Wii that has the Japanese so enthralled? Well, it has been considerably cheaper than the PS3 and is a much more compact unit so perhaps better suited to those boxy Japanese apartments.
It also has that cutesy appeal that goes a long way in Japan and led Sony to create its ludicrous dancing music player the Rolly. But that doesn’t explain the huge success of the Wii around the world in general. I think the potent mix of price, form factor and innovative new gameplay involving the Wii remote is what is working for Nintendo.
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