How have Nintendo manage to shift 50,000,000 Wii consoles since November 2006? It certainly wasn’t by trying to beef-up processor or graphics capability, which in the Wii is comparable with a prior generation of console.
No. It was, Peter Merholz argues, because they took a customer centred approach to the console’s development and focused on making the most of what already existed.
“…the Wii designers took existing technologies and rearranged them to design a new customer experience.”
With the addition of a few simple and cheap sensors Nintendo was able to take existing technology and reframe it, a move that “drove top-line growth, attracting new audiences to game playing…thus moving more units.”
And what’s more Nintendo has been able to turn a profit:
“At launch, the XBox 360 Premium Edition was priced at $400, though cost $525 to produce. The Playstation 3 was priced at $600, costing $800 to produce. Wii cost closer to $158 to produce, and was priced at $250.”
So, next time you’re trying to solve a problem or gain a competitive edge take a leaf out of Nintendo’s book. Stop and think, are you more likely to achieve your objectives through acquiring more technology? Or would you be better off reconfiguring what you already have to arrive at a more desirable customer experience?