Nintendo is a Japanese cult brand that gave the world NES, Game Boy, and, admittedly, the legendary Mario. During its existence, the company managed to conquer the console and video game industry, failed in third-party markets, and retained international popularity. Rivalry in the gaming industry was non-existent until the 90s; however, the competitors quickly gained a position in the market and almost outperformed Nintendo (Runnebaum, 2022). Nonetheless, the Japanese brand has managed to sustain its rating due to its compelling distinctions.
The gaming industry started to develop rapidly at the end of the last century due to the spread of technological advances. Nintendo began its journey back in 1889 by selling gaming cards; its console development emerged only in 1977, which marked the beginning of its gaming history (Runnebaum, 2022). It was the leading manufacturer until the 1990s, when other companies penetrated the video game market. The first significant rival was Sega which promoted aggressive tactics to conquer the top positions in the U.S. gaming industry. The console war between these two manufacturers lasted till 1994, preserving Nintendo’s place since it remained a debt-free company, unlike its competitor (Runnebaum, 2022). At that time, Sony Computer Entertainment emerged in the market, offering PlayStation, which rapidly spread across the U.S. Meanwhile, Microsoft issued Xbox 360, waging a console war on Sony and placing extra pressure on Nintendo.
The company launched its best-selling product Nintendo Switch which penetrated nearly the entire gaming market. A year after the console appeared on store shelves, its competitors, Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PS4, are popular and in demand in the search to prove their durability (Bobrov, 2018). The product was increasingly popular and was outperforming its competitors up until 2018 (Bobrov, 2018). Currently, Nintendo remains in demand because of its well-established reputation.
One of the most compelling strengths of Nintendo is its vast experience. The company’s presence in the gaming industry equals over 130 years, significantly exceeding that of its competitors. The manufacturer has gone from producing cards to creating the most innovative gaming equipment. In addition, the company issues games of any genre ranging from horror to action, which meets the needs of a diverse target audience. The other distinction of Nintendo is its marketing strategies: the specialists launched a campaign to sell its Switch console and achieved immense success. According to Kharpal (2022), “Nintendo has sold 103.54 million units of the Switch since its release in early 2017” (para. 1). These numbers prove that the company has a strategic approach, especially when the new product is planned to launch.
What is more, Nintendo is an international company with an ever-growing revenue. Nowadays, the company operates in 27 countries which makes its profit increase annually. Its interventional influence helped the corporation establish a foreign partnership. For instance, Nintendo made friends with Disney, which enables the gaming manufacturer to use its partner’s characters in the games. The listed points are the organization’s major strengths which ensured its top positions in the mentioned industry.
Even though the company develops its products relying on the demand, the main trends of the gaming industry are predetermined by the surge of new advancements. Among them are the growth of cloud gaming, new challenges for mobile developers, and virtual events. The driving force behind the development of the gaming industry is cloud technology, which provides fast and uninterrupted data transfer between remote computers (Lam, 2022). The technology allows for running the most demanding games with a minimal delay, not on the user’s device but on a remote server. The server operates on a streaming model: it transmits audio and video streams to the gamer, and he, in turn, controls the character from his device.
In addition, multiple brands and celebrities continue to use games as a platform to promote and communicate with a wide audience. The trend appeared after the cancellation of concerts and other restrictions related to the pandemic. The success of cooperation between various companies and musical artists has only increased interest in collaboration with mobile products. The different trend is related to the spread of 5G, which will provide new speeds (Lam, 2022). This means a significant increase in content download speed for the mobile games market.
These trends signify the success of Nintendo as its Switch console is being adjusted to these tendencies. It is forecasted that “more than half of the U.S. population will identify as a digital gamer by the end of 2022” (“U.S. Video Gaming Industry,” 2022, para. 17). It also means that the company will have to adapt its games to the cloud mechanism and concentrate more on the mobile versions. Perhaps, it will switch its consoles to the 5G mode to provide its customers with a more technologically-advanced experience.
In conclusion, Nintendo is one of the leading gaming companies in the world with continuingly growing popularity. Its marketing strategies, international partnership, and vast expertise allow it to preserve its position. Nonetheless, the gaming market is growing and dictates new trends to expand the user experience. As a result, Nintendo will have to stick to the new directions in order to sustain its top stance.
References
Bobrov, L. (2018). Nintendo competitor analysis in the gaming consoles market. Similarweb. Web.
Kharpal, A. (2022). Nintendo Switch sales top 100 million, surpassing the Wii, but chip shortage weighs. CNBC. Web.
Lam, C. (2022). The 8 future trends of gaming industry update 2022. Inapps. Web.
Runnebaum, A. (2022). The fascinating history of Nintendo. Slash Gear. Web.
US video gaming industry in 2022: Gaming devices & video game content viewership trends. (2022). Insider Intelligence. Web.