New Wii Games Find a Big (but Stingy) Audience

Marketing its Wii video-game system at a lower price than competitors, Nintendo has caught a wider net of potential customers, but game sales have also been slower with this softer audience.

New York Times, April 21, 2008 — Ninetendo sits atop the home video-game market. Its Wii, though less technologically advanced than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Sony’s PlayStation 3, continues to outsell those machines and is now in more than 20 million homes.

So why are retailers having so much trouble selling Wii games?

Nintendo Is Ad Age's Marketer of the Year†

...While Marketers Picked Apple as Their Choice

Advertising Age, October 15, 2007 — Question: Can a new product not only radically revive a company but also reinvigorate an entire industry?

In much the way Apple made music aficionados out of mere music buyers, Nintendo via its Wii system has created a passionate group of devotees out of people who previously couldn't have cared less about video games. Wii broke open a market long confined predominantly to young men and welcomed in the rest of the family.

Chips, Dip and Nintendo Wii†

Consumers of All Ages Are Throwing Video-Game Parties, and Advertisers Want in on the Fun

Advertising Age, August 28, 2007 — Just after Christmas last year, Evite staffers began to notice Nintendo's Wii video-game system popping up in search queries, idea forums and party themes. In fact, they were seeing more than 100 Wii parties a month. So in March, the online-party-invite specialist launched dedicated Wii party-planning pages. This month, it added invitations including actual Wii avatars, games and themes.