Price

The pricing of games is quite interesting. Nintendo will use a series of pricing strategies throughout the life of the product. Prior to launch the business will take orders for new games and consoles, which will all be premium priced and the business will apply a price skimming strategy. As the product becomes adopted they will begin to reduce price to competitive parity, and as they reach the end of their life-cycle games will be priced promotionally until they hit the bargain bucket. Who knows whether in the future they will become nostalgia products or even antique rarities?

Place

The product is distributed in a number of ways. Nintendo manufactures products and then distribute it via wholesalers to retailers to you. Some very large national accounts will be dealt with directly because of the huge volumes they buy. Nintendo is available on the high Street in all key electrical and gaming retailers, as well as being sold online by well-known retailers such as Amazon.com and play.com, and you might find one or two second-hand bargains on eBay.com. Distribution is mature for Nintendo and there are few avenues to market which they do not pursue.

Promotion

Nintendo will launch new products. For example, when the company launched the Nintendo 3DS there were a series of special launch days, and even some midnight launch events. Fans of the Nintendo product get the chance to have a go on the new Nintendo system, early purchasers get a free carrying case, and there are always free giveaways such as T-shirts and beanies.

The launch campaign demonstrates a huge effort on the part of Nintendo. For example, more than 85% of the UK audience saw the Nintendo 3DS campaign called Believe Your Eyes. The campaign itself was to emphasise the benefits of the 3D experience. The campaign was a mash up of consumers experiencing the product and innovative advertising.

Nintendo Marketing Mix

Would you like to take a lesson on the marketing mix?

Product

Nintendo operates in the manufacturing and distribution of innovative, interactive entertainment products. For example the business markets home entertainment, handheld devices and also provide the hardware and software which is necessary for the use of electrical products.

Popular amongst its product lines over the years have been GameCube, GameBoy, Wii, Nintendo 64, Super NES, Nintendo DS, Super Mario, Pokémon, Brain Age and many other well-known gaming brands.

In 2012 it is rumoured that Nintendo will partner Fuji television and Nippon television to bring full 3-D television shows to its Nintendo 3DS. The content is free, although consumers will need to watch adverts.

The launch of the Wii U controller will make it much more interactive. It has a central, handheld touch screen and will show different media to supplement and enhance the experience on your TV. It has a High Definition (HD) platform. Reports indicated that it will be launched somewhere between June 2012 and September 2012, although the price to you the consumer is yet to be announced.

This is nothing new. Back in 2000 Nintendo spent in excess of $200 million to launch their new Nintendo Wii product. Much of this brand was actually targeted at non-gamers, so not only trying to tempt gamers from competitors products, but also attacking new targets players such as older people and women. People playing Nintendo Wii on TV ads are not your typical perfect people!

People

Being a manufacturer, Nintendo don’t really have public facing employees, certainly not facing the public in the retail environment. This is done by their distributors. However in 2010 Nintendo rewarded employees with an £11,000 bonus per employee which is very generous for Japanese workers, comparing with a meagre £8000 for Honda workers. According to Euro gamer.net the average salary for a Nintendo worker aged 35 to 39 years old was about £38,000 per annum including bonuses.

Process

Most processes revolve around the design, development, manufacturing, marketing and post-purchase services for each Nintendo product. There will be processes for ordering new products before launch, and for returning faulty products should they occur. There will also be the customer life-cycle which hopefully will see Nintendo customers remaining loyal over a long period of time.

Pysicial Evidence

The Nintendo logo and brand is one aspect of its physical evidence. You must be familiar with the trademarked Nintendo term surrounded by a curved oblong, generally in red. Others would include super Mario Bros and Pokémon.

At an initial glance their buildings are pretty much square boxes, and do not replicate the campuses of Microsoft and Google in terms of their physical presence. The closest that they have come to some physical evidence is their Kyoto-based research and development headquarters, which was built in 2009.