Markerting fundamentals Nintendo DSL polar white - Essay Example

It has launched in various markets within a short span and hence the political disturbance in any one market will not affect its overall sales. While Sony and Microsoft, its main competitors spent extravagantly on fast chips, graphics, and cutting edge disk technology but Nintendo designers use energy-saving chips and a standard optical disk player to lower product costs (Bremner, 2007). Others in the industry like Atari failed because they did not have high-quality software and games to sell the hardware (Marketing Week, 2006).

Video game is a cyclical industry in which new consoles are launched every five or six years. With each cycle the power of the hardware increases with better graphics and more powerful games (The Economist, 2006). Nevertheless, Nintendo felt that industry has reached a crossroad and games are not designed for non-gamers. This undermines the prospects for future growth. With this in mind, the new Nintendo DS was launched making it easier to learn and play. It launched a different color of the product that was unique to each region/country.

For instance, in Europe it launched the black version in addition to the white color which it launched initially in Japan. In Australia and North America, they launched online white and renamed it Polar White. The current market leaders being Sony and Microsoft concentrate on 16- to 24-year-old males market, which is core to the gaming industry. Nintendo DS are easier to learn and play and is aimed at the younger, female segment (Marketing Week, 2006). They have very strategically taken this step as they are unable to cope with the market leaders.

The games for the core market are becoming dull and similar and hence Nintendo expects to create a market for Nintendo DS with this strategy of segmentation. Since every five or six years new launches take place, Nintendo DS has been launched at a very strategic time because the