HISTORY OF NINTENDO
CONSOLES
By the Numbers…
(10) Wii U
Launch date: 2012
Lifetime sales to date: 13.36 million units
Launched in 2012 — an attempt to beat both Microsoft and Sony to the market — the Wii U
took the name of the highly-successful Wii console and ran it into the ground. Through a mix
of unclear messaging and underpowered hardware, Nintendo failed to sell console buyers
on the new system. Consumers instead turned to the likes of Sony's PlayStation 4 and
Microsoft's Xbox One for their gaming consoles.
(9) GameCube
Launch date: 2001
Lifetime sales to date: 21.74 million units
Nintendo's GameCube helped launch the dawn of the modern era of video games. The
competition shifted from a battle between Nintendo, Sega, and Sony to a battle between
Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Nintendo launched its last "traditional" game console in this
time period.
(8) Nintendo 64
Launch date: 1996
Lifetime sales to date: 32.93 million units
With the introduction of the N64 console, Nintendo shifted gears and made significant
changes from the competition’s products. Instead of using digital media for games
(compact discs), the N64 was the last Nintendo console to use cartridges. This severely
limited the Nintendo 64 technologically against competitors and resulted in a shift in the
balance of market share.
(7) Super Nintendo (SNES)
Launch date: 1990
Lifetime sales to date: 49.1 million units
When Nintendo's first system, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), was at the peak of its
popularity, it dominated over 90% of the American video game market. However, the
company faced very little (if any) competition. However, when Nintendo launched its Super
Nintendo system in 1990, Sega was beginning to gain millions of fans with its Master System
and Genesis consoles.
(6) Nintendo 3DS
Launch date: 2011
Lifetime sales to date: 13.36 million units
With the 3DS, beyond mobility, Nintendo hoped to differentiate its product with a glassesfree 3D experience. Consumers weren’t overly impressed with the 3D tech fortunately sales
remained strong with a strong lineup of games, a low price point, and aggressive marketing.
Even still, it sold half the units of its predecessor (a difference of nearly 60 million units).
(5) Nintendo (NES)
Launch date: 1983
Lifetime sales to date: 61.91 million units
The console that started it all: the Nintendo Entertainment System, more commonly known
as the "NES“, the console became a cultural touchstone for millions of people.
For years, parents all over America referred to all video game consoles as "the Nintendo" —
like Xerox stands in for photocopies and Kleenex stands in for tissue paper — largely due to
Nintendo's complete video game dominance in the mid-'80s. Talk about building a powerful
brand!
(?) Nintendo Classic
Launch date: 2016
Lifetime sales to date: ?
Nintendo recently released a “classic” version of its old NES console for $60. The system
quickly sold out (within days) and, based on the high demand and low supply, is currently
selling for us much as $400 on eBay. Details are foggy as to how many more units of the
console Nintendo will be supplying over the holidays but one thing is obvious: the popularity
of Nintendo’s original gaming system remains strong with consumers.
(4) Game Boy Advance
Launch date: 2001
Lifetime sales to date: 81.51 million units
Nintendo's handheld systems are notoriously enduring, and the GBA was no exception. It
played games that were about as impressive as those on the SNES, but it was a handheld
that fit in your pocket! Keep in mind this was years before the normalization of smartphones,
years before Apple ever unveiled its iPhone.
(3) Wii
Launch date: 2006
Lifetime sales to date: 101.63 million units
In the long, steady decline of sales of Nintendo's living room game consoles, the Wii is the shining exception. It sold
exceptionally well, and its motion-based controls attracted gamers and non-gamers alike. The Wii is still the only game
console that's just as likely to be found in a living room as it is in a retirement home — that's an incredible accomplishment.
Despite being innovative and assuredly pushing the video game market towards new input methods like motion controls
(Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's PlayStation Move attest to that), the console is viewed as a failure by many market analysts.
That's for one simple reason: The Wii was purchased by over 100 million people, but few of those folks ended up
buying games for it.
(2) Game Boy
Launch date: 1989
Lifetime sales to date: 118.69 million units
Much like the original NES, the original Game Boy is regarded as a classic at this point. It was, for
millions, the machine that powered "Tetris" — indisputably one of the best games ever made.
It was also the console that kept millions of kids from incessantly asking, "Are we there yet?" on family
vacations, that kept millions of commuters from reading while on the subway, that enabled kids to stay
up far past their bed time playing games.
(1) Nintendo DS
Launch date: 2004
Lifetime sales to date: 154.02 million units
Nintendo's most successful console ever made, by a huge margin, is the Nintendo DS.
It was innovative — two screens! touch gameplay! a microphone built right in! — and ahead of its time. The iPhone didn't
launch until 2007, and it was another year-plus before Apple's ubiquitous phone pushed into mobile gaming.
Gamers marveled at its impressive graphics, its innovative approach to design, and its mobility. It delivered on the promise
of the Game Boy and upped the ante. It's no surprise that the DS is Nintendo's most successful console — in many ways it
embodies the best aspects of Nintendo's business, all in one. It's unique, inexpensive, full of great games, and fills a need
that most folks didn't know they had.
Nintendo Switch
Launch date: 2017
Lifetime sales to date: ????????
Nintendo hasn’t released many details relating to the upcoming launch of the Nintendo
Switch leaving many analysts to wonder, where will it rank five years from now???
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) WHY DO YOU THINK THE NINTENDO “CLASSIC” HAS BEEN SO
POPULAR WITH CONSUMERS?
2) DO YOU THINK NINTENDO STRATEGICALLY LIMITED DEMAND
FOR THE “CLASSIC” CONSOLE? WHY OR WHY NOT?
3) WHAT MUST NINTENDO’S “SWITCH” CONSOLE MUST DO TO
COMPETE WITH SONY AND MICROSOFT GAMING CONSOLES?
4) WHAT IS PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION? WHAT IS POSITIONING?
5) HOW HAS NINTENDO DEPLOYED DIFFERENTIATION AND
POSITIONING STRATEGIES IN THE PAST TO HELP MARKET THEIR
PRODUCTS?
6) WHAT IS COMPETITION? HOW DOES COMPETITION IMPACT
YOU AS A CONSUMER?
7) WHO ARE NINTENDO’S COMPETITORS?
8) HOW MIGHT NINTENDO POSITION / DIFFERENTIATE THE
“SWITCH” CONSOLE TO GAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN
THE MARKETPLACE?
9) IF YOU WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR MARKETING THE SWITCH
CONSOLE OVER THE HOLIDAYS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?