Nintendo Wii U - Part One - How a Failure in Messaging Leads to a Failure in Sales
Nintendo has a special place in my heart.
Yes, I know. I'm on the brink of 23 years old and I've officially entered what many people refer to as "adulthood." Truth be told though, much of my childhood life was spent playing Nintendo games with my friends. Just as many people have emotional ties to a song they love, or a movie they've seen, I have fond memories of bonding with my family and friends over games like Super Mario World, Super Smash Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart and Starfox. Many still agree to this day that these are some of the most iconic and influential video game franchises of all time.
Although Nintendo may be home to a long list incredible titles, it can't be denied that their current console, the Wii U, is one of their worst performing consoles of all time.
Wait, what's that? You've never even heard of a Wii U?
Of course you haven't. And therein lies the problem. The Nintendo Wii was a breakout success and was a hit with "gamers" and "non-gamers" alike. As of December 31, 2014, the Wii amassed an earth-shattering total of 101.44 consoles sold worldwide since its 2006 launch, solidifying itself as the second-best selling console of all time. But I don't even have to tell you that, because chances are you've seen, and maybe even owned a Wii or two. Even people who don't typically play video games were captured by the Wii's alluring use of motion controls and accessible games.
So what happened?
The instant Nintendo's Wii U came out of the gate, there was already confusion as to what it actually was. Nintendo revealed their brand-new console at their E3 conference in 2011, the buildup and trailer of which you can watch below:
The gaming press and those who follow the industry knew full well that when Nintendo announced they were working on a new "system," Nintendo was announcing the successor (or sequel) to the Wii. This wasn't an add-on or an accessory to the already-existing Wii, but an entirely different console, much like the difference between a Playstation 2 and a Playstation 3.
However, this is not the message Nintendo accurately communicated, especially not towards audiences who are uninitiated and unfamiliar with the games industry. There are several reasons this trailer (and Nintendo's other ads and messages) generated more confusion than answers, but I'm going to focus on what I think is the biggest oversight:
The original ad lacked any indication of there being a new console.
Through the trailer above, we're shown how amazing the new controller is and all of the features it offers. But nowhere in this trailer does Nintendo show the actual set-top box, the console itself. The ad is entirely focused on the controller. For all the average consumer knows, the Wii U could just be an optional tablet you could buy for your already-existing Wii.
Essentially, this would be like making an ad for a Blu-Ray player and advertising only the remote and not the player itself. Even the few TV ads that circulated when the console launched in 2012 focused only on the controller itself.
A confused message makes for a confused audience.
It's understandable that Nintendo wanted to emphasize the features on the Wii U's tablet controller, since it's one of the most interesting aspects of the whole console. However, the fact that the ads focused solely on it and nothing else (coupled with the fact that the Wii U isn't exactly a name that clarifies that the system is a sequel, not an attachment) led many people to wonder what exactly the Wii U was. I was an early adopter of the Wii U and tried inviting people over to play it, and I typically got one of two responses:
"What's a Wii U?" and
"That's the Wii controller with the screen, right?"
Case in point: a confused message makes for a confused audience.
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This is part one of a couple of posts I'm writing about the advertising, communication and public relations factors that caused Nintendo's Wii U to get a poor start. Next week I'll write about Nintendo's misconception of its own target audience.