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Super Princess Peach 2, with the Super Mario Bros 2 player swapping. Play as Peach, Daisy, Rosalina (and maybe Toadette?)
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What can Nintendo learn from Disney in terms of marketing and branding?
- Thread starter ScOULaris
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You missed me last page.
Super Princess Peach 2, with the Super Mario Bros 2 player swapping. Play as Peach, Daisy, Rosalina (and maybe Toadette?)
HolyBaikal
Banned
Well... Frozen is a bit of a fad like Pokemon was for Nintendo...
I mean, it's great and I love it. And I sure hope that Elsa is the new Barbie... because Elsa is a lot better character than Barbie. And I'm sure years from now many people will call Frozen one of Disney's greatest masterpieces.
But I don't think that Frozen and Elsa are going to stay as popular as they are right now forever. Nintendo could probably make something as popular as Pokemon some day, too.
I don't think that Dreamworks have a character as popular as Elsa. And I don't think that Hasbro do... either..
But they can still compete. Dreamworks is still popular. And so is Hasbro.
... I don't understand what you mean "Lip wouldn't be competing with Sofia the First, she'd be competing with Cinderella and Elsa". I mean, I think that Panel de Pon could be Nintendo's Sofia the First. Or their My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
And there must be reasons that Frozen is so popular n' stuff. I'm sure it would be possible for other people. I think that Nintendo could learn from Disney by having more strong female characters. One of the reasons that Frozen is so popular is because it has such strong female characters.
And by strong I don't mean like physically tough or even a tough personality even... but realistic women that girls can relate to. Girls they can understand and can get to know. Whether or not they have more perseverance or physical strength than the average person. Though Elsa and Anna have both of those.. I sometimes wonder if having cool ice powers is a part of why Elsa is so popular.
Anna is actually my favourite.
You always have to start someone. Nintendo making more movies or TV shows would be a good idea. And more merchandise. Hasbro and Dreamworks both compete with Disney, and they do okay.
Well, when I was a little girl I looooved all the Disney princesses (Jasmine and I guess Mulan were my favorite. Anastasia isn't Disney, but I liked that too.)
I have no clue what the appeal was, but the dresses and toys that came with them were a huge draw.
At the same time I was playing Zelda and...Mortal Kombat (on the Genesis no less.) I liked seeing princesses in those games because princesses are basically the equivalent of superheroes for little boys.
Like seriously, giving Rosalina or Zelda a serious spin off would be like crack for little girls. Just have a princess and make her active. Once your hooked it's over. Get them while they're young and you'll have an ignored market at your finger tips for years.
I have no clue what the appeal was, but the dresses and toys that came with them were a huge draw.
At the same time I was playing Zelda and...Mortal Kombat (on the Genesis no less.) I liked seeing princesses in those games because princesses are basically the equivalent of superheroes for little boys.
Like seriously, giving Rosalina or Zelda a serious spin off would be like crack for little girls. Just have a princess and make her active. Once your hooked it's over. Get them while they're young and you'll have an ignored market at your finger tips for years.
Nintendo's actually already got quite a big shelf presence is stores like Toys R Us... it's a shame that they're all in the boy-centric aisle. And that's their problem. Their games may be gender neutral, but their marketing in America at least caters 80% to boys and 20% to girls with Animal Crossing and Tomodachi Life being exceptions. Even all the Mario toys and merchandising are found in the boy's section. You could've fooled me when you say Rosalina is popular. I haven't seen ANY merchandising with her in it.
Nintendo's games this year have done a fine job of showcasing their array of female characters with Tropical Freeze, Captain Toad, Bayonetta, Mario Kart 8, and Smash 4. But the marketing here in North America has failed to showcase that especially with Smash. Between both Smash versions, only one 3DS commercial actually showcased Zelda, ZSS, Rosalina, Sheik, Wii Fit Trainer, Palutena, and Peach in gameplay reels... and that was a commercial used worldwide. Every other commercial just shows Samus and the actresses using Kirby and Pikachu. Just from the commercials, girls would never know that the roster compromises of more than just dudes. Little girls aren't going to settle for a game playing as the Olaf when they really want to be an Anna or Elsa.
TL;DR: light a fire for under their North American marketing team's ass and tell them that they're overestimating how gender neutral Mario/Yoshi/Toads are. People want to be Peach/Rosalina/Zelda. They want to see that Samus is a woman. They didn't know that there's over 10 playable female characters in Smash 4. How could they? None of the North American Wii U commercials showed any of them besides armored Samus. Girls go to Disneyland to take a picture of Mickey. But their first priority in the day? Taking a picture with mother fuckin' Ariel, Elsa, and Cinderella.
Nintendo's games this year have done a fine job of showcasing their array of female characters with Tropical Freeze, Captain Toad, Bayonetta, Mario Kart 8, and Smash 4. But the marketing here in North America has failed to showcase that especially with Smash. Between both Smash versions, only one 3DS commercial actually showcased Zelda, ZSS, Rosalina, Sheik, Wii Fit Trainer, Palutena, and Peach in gameplay reels... and that was a commercial used worldwide. Every other commercial just shows Samus and the actresses using Kirby and Pikachu. Just from the commercials, girls would never know that the roster compromises of more than just dudes. Little girls aren't going to settle for a game playing as the Olaf when they really want to be an Anna or Elsa.
TL;DR: light a fire for under their North American marketing team's ass and tell them that they're overestimating how gender neutral Mario/Yoshi/Toads are. People want to be Peach/Rosalina/Zelda. They want to see that Samus is a woman. They didn't know that there's over 10 playable female characters in Smash 4. How could they? None of the North American Wii U commercials showed any of them besides armored Samus. Girls go to Disneyland to take a picture of Mickey. But their first priority in the day? Taking a picture with mother fuckin' Ariel, Elsa, and Cinderella.
MisterGrey3000
Member
Not much; the company is doing as much as it needs to when it comes to investing in businesses outside of software and technology.
They're already really good at branding and marketing their various properties; I actually don't feel as though a Super Mario Bros. tv show or Disney Land ride would make the IP anymore popular than it already is and the same goes for all of their other franchises.
We live in a world where almost everybody in every rich developed nation has some sort of smartphone or personal computer that can play video games. Nintendo really doesn't need to do a lot of expanding outside of tech and software in this day and age; the company just needs to get it's act together in the hardware/technology space so they can be a dominant player in the youth/family/casual realm again.
They're already really good at branding and marketing their various properties; I actually don't feel as though a Super Mario Bros. tv show or Disney Land ride would make the IP anymore popular than it already is and the same goes for all of their other franchises.
We live in a world where almost everybody in every rich developed nation has some sort of smartphone or personal computer that can play video games. Nintendo really doesn't need to do a lot of expanding outside of tech and software in this day and age; the company just needs to get it's act together in the hardware/technology space so they can be a dominant player in the youth/family/casual realm again.
I agree with all of this. I'm just not convinced that Nintendo has a very good hold on the kids market.
Elsa is the most popular character in the last 10 years, maybe even that last 20 years. She can probably pull in $1-2B in merchandise a year right now. Eventually her popularity will wane, but she's bound to be a Disney staple for years to come.
Nintendo is in a poor position to take advantage of the situation. None of their existing female characters are filling that kind of niche. I suppose they can always create new characters to do so, but it's not something that Nintendo has much experience with.
Start producing non childish stuff? Even Disney own studio that produce non childish movie. Buena Vista is one of them.
Like seriously, giving Rosalina or Zelda a serious spin off would be like crack for little girls. Just have a princess and make her active. Once your hooked it's over. Get them while they're young and you'll have an ignored market at your finger tips for years.
Except this runs into the big problem Nintendo has right now. Most little girls aren't currently playing on Nintendo hardware. If you want little girls playing your IP, then you need to be on phones and tablets. Nintendo are on the outside looking in right now while the rest of the industry eats their lunch.
Someone hasn't been around a lot of elementary school age children. Tablets and phones as far as the eye can see. My daughters are some of the few children that actually game on Nintendo hardware at their school. I actually think that the worst thing that has happened to Nintendo in the children's demographic in the last couple years is that they don't have Minecraft. To call that game big among young children is an understatement.
SporeCrawler
Member
to be fair they are doing it. they got games like style savvy or super princess peach that primarily target young girls and smash has a disproportional representation of female characters for example.Well, when I was a little girl I looooved all the Disney princesses (Jasmine and I guess Mulan were my favorite. Anastasia isn't Disney, but I liked that too.)
I have no clue what the appeal was, but the dresses and toys that came with them were a huge draw.
At the same time I was playing Zelda and...Mortal Kombat (on the Genesis no less.) I liked seeing princesses in those games because princesses are basically the equivalent of superheroes for little boys.
Like seriously, giving Rosalina or Zelda a serious spin off would be like crack for little girls. Just have a princess and make her active. Once your hooked it's over. Get them while they're young and you'll have an ignored market at your finger tips for years.
SporeCrawler
Member
maybe but that was not the case a few years ago. they had massive success with wii and ds especially with the female audience.
sure at the moment tablets and phones are more successful but should they make games for those platforms? no they should not. thats just the same as releasing games on Playstation 4 or Xbone. nintendo is successful because they do their own thing software and hardware wise.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
Disney appeals more to adults than Nintendo does? Maybe Nintendo could calm their stuff down a bit. I've been a fan of Nintendo my entire life, but it has been an off and on again thing.
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are"
Nintendo loves to sink into Nintendo, but they haven't necessarily given it life. They've just recreated the worlds in better graphics. Maybe if Nintendo tried giving their games more life and better worlds to take time off in it would all be better. Disney is a magical world. I would never compare the two, but I've played enough Disney themed games on Nintendo throughout my life to know that a magical world can exist.
Like other developers; I feel like they don't bring you into the world. It's either going bonkers or it feels like the player is missing the big picture.
I had to mute my TV again in CoD tonight. Every 12 year old this side of the midwest was on. Maybe Nintendo and Disney need to let Activision do their job. The 3DS selection of games sucks if you aren't looking for a particular game. I don't need to be a genius to see who Nintendo's market is for. It's as if every developer is somehow sunk into this "let's make a kid's game mentality". Their hardcore fans have to pick and choose selective titles. I keep mine all spaced out. I have a good collection from their VC and whatever we all bring to attention. I'm certainly not looking at a store selection. It's too pitiful to look at sometimes.
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are"
Nintendo loves to sink into Nintendo, but they haven't necessarily given it life. They've just recreated the worlds in better graphics. Maybe if Nintendo tried giving their games more life and better worlds to take time off in it would all be better. Disney is a magical world. I would never compare the two, but I've played enough Disney themed games on Nintendo throughout my life to know that a magical world can exist.
Like other developers; I feel like they don't bring you into the world. It's either going bonkers or it feels like the player is missing the big picture.
I had to mute my TV again in CoD tonight. Every 12 year old this side of the midwest was on. Maybe Nintendo and Disney need to let Activision do their job. The 3DS selection of games sucks if you aren't looking for a particular game. I don't need to be a genius to see who Nintendo's market is for. It's as if every developer is somehow sunk into this "let's make a kid's game mentality". Their hardcore fans have to pick and choose selective titles. I keep mine all spaced out. I have a good collection from their VC and whatever we all bring to attention. I'm certainly not looking at a store selection. It's too pitiful to look at sometimes.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
You can't be serious. You honestly think drastically different people are buying each of those games? This is the problem. People associate art style with intended audience. I very much doubt it's the little kids flocking out to get Little Big Planet. The same with Minecraft which probably shares a large portion of it's fanbase with the same types of people/age group that buys GoW. The point is, those games are bought by everyone. They're only diverse in genre, but I doubt so in demographics of owners
I don't know about that. There's so much inertia behind phones and tablets at this point that I don't think it's possible to turn it around. The next Nintendo handheld is going to be going to war against "good enough" and convenience. The case they will be trying to make is not that they made a great handheld gaming device, but rather that it's worth carrying around a second game playing device. That's going to be a very tough sell.
HolyBaikal
Banned
Well... I mean... I don't think that should discourage Nintendo.
It's not discouraging Dreamworks and Hasbro and others, right.. ?
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
I wish Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. looked a bit better. I miss Old Disney. I'm not a big fan of their new CGI stuff because I want a slower moving film. I wish Nintendo had taken some better concepts into consideration before going all steam-punk. Maybe that's their biggest fault. Nintendo expects the market to jump onto something because it has a name or a play style. The art for a lot of Nintendo's new stuff is this high colored model. They don't necessarily bring you in all warm and fuzzy.
It's most of the time cold, fast paced, and mechanical. The mechanical side is their best side, but it just doesn't stick like it did 15 years ago. I'd like to see them do more than shoutouts to their glory days.
Let's separate the toy land section from Nintendo. This entire thread is probably sending the wrong message, but it cuts straight to the point. Where is the difference from Nintendo? Where is the solid package we got elsewhere?
At Disney World I can get a private suite with a nice view of the Magical Kingdom, a nice meal (pricey), and I can lounge to their vintage movies. I'd like something similar from Nintendo. I don't want to sound like a wild card here, but I'd love if Nintendo redefined their image again. A new logo, some casual colors, and some more upbeat adult friendly games. I still want my retro Nintendo, but I'd like it with less of what's available at the store right now. Can anyone confirm how the Nintendo selection and marketing at retail stores looks like? Anyone?
Nothing personally; I don't have kids or anything, so this whole "let's get new kids to see the magic of Nintendo" is just lame to me. Maybe someday I'll think differently, but not now.
It's most of the time cold, fast paced, and mechanical. The mechanical side is their best side, but it just doesn't stick like it did 15 years ago. I'd like to see them do more than shoutouts to their glory days.
Let's separate the toy land section from Nintendo. This entire thread is probably sending the wrong message, but it cuts straight to the point. Where is the difference from Nintendo? Where is the solid package we got elsewhere?
At Disney World I can get a private suite with a nice view of the Magical Kingdom, a nice meal (pricey), and I can lounge to their vintage movies. I'd like something similar from Nintendo. I don't want to sound like a wild card here, but I'd love if Nintendo redefined their image again. A new logo, some casual colors, and some more upbeat adult friendly games. I still want my retro Nintendo, but I'd like it with less of what's available at the store right now. Can anyone confirm how the Nintendo selection and marketing at retail stores looks like? Anyone?
Nothing personally; I don't have kids or anything, so this whole "let's get new kids to see the magic of Nintendo" is just lame to me. Maybe someday I'll think differently, but not now.
The idea is that Nintendo should take a page from Disney's book and try to engage audiences in ways other than games.
While Little Big Planet may be a slight stretch, Minecraft is the most popular game out there for children 9-15. While most of the bigger games on PS4/Xbone are meant for adults, at least there are still games for kids.
It's not really meant to discourage anyone, although an argument can be made that other works in similar genres but who don't offer what Frozen does has their sales deflated as a result.
The Nintendo presence in toy stores is pretty weak right now. Outside of Amiibo, they probably have less shelf space than Halo MegaBloks. Amiibo is about almost as big as Infinity and Skylanders, but most of the buyers are hardcore fans and not children.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
I totally agree. I just don't see too many people flocking to grab at their selection. People know what to buy the moment they buy the console. I just don't see too many people going for a random pick. I think the majority of us don't pick up a random game at a retail store and pay full price for it.
For one; they're two completely separate departments. It's just offset by a lot of what the industry has as a selection. You wouldn't see this billion dollar a year industry when you walk through their isles. I just see games I've already purchased months and even years prior. That's just at a glance. I noticed today at Walmart that things look a tad dried up period. All the games they had I owned, finished, or ignored completely.
I think the market for games period needs a makeover. If Nintendo branded themselves differently and if we got better games than I think things would look solid. I think the market in 2014 was less than stellar if you weren't following the industry. If you don't follow along then you're kind of SOL on the entire thing. I left Walmart thinking, "I'm so glad I had bought mostly digital in 2014". It's a completely different mindset when you know what you're looking for or at. I guess I'm not the best person to discuss this with because I've been gaming since I was in Kindergarten.
I don't see the kids of today getting their Super Mario World or Star Fox experience. I might be wrong, but I certainly have better deja vu than a lot of what's out there currently.
Duckhuntdog
Member
While not related to marketing or branding, I think the most important thing Nintendo can learn from Disney is that the CEO should step down (like Eisner did) for the better of the company and replaced by someone that is actually more adept at steering the company to success and adapt to the changing gaming market (Iger).
I am sure that Bob Iger has much to do with Disney's new found branding and marketing. It takes vision, leadership, and a bit of willingness to take huge risks. Qualities Iwata doesn't seem to have.
I am sure that Bob Iger has much to do with Disney's new found branding and marketing. It takes vision, leadership, and a bit of willingness to take huge risks. Qualities Iwata doesn't seem to have.
Nintendo has been making changes and its looking like they're starting to make money so I don't see Iwata stepping down.
Amiibo is going to kill.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
I would of made each Amiibo with a retro game attached or I'd make them do something special for an independent game starring each character. The Smash Brothers idea is tad lame to me. I'd rather have the extra costumes when I pick the character. This whole idea of DLC costumes is also lame IMO.
Playing fighting games in the arcade made DLC costumes a bit repulsive. It's nice to see alternative costumes, but the idea is less than welcomed IMO. I think a lot of people could agree to that, right? Costumes should be unlocked after clearing arcade mode and any other mode. There's no other point to digital collectibles unless it "does something''. What part of that is behind some cloud of smoke?
Duckhuntdog
Member
Funny, Eisner tired and did a bit of the same. He still got forced out. Now maybe in Japan it's a completely different story, but perhaps not.
That said, turning Nintendo the gaming company back into Nintendo the toy company for what may be some short-term windfall is hardly something to point to when it comes to saving oneself from being ousted (or maybe Nintendo has always been a toy company).
I don't see any plan on how to make Nintendo relevant in their core business nor how to win back market share. I do see a mad scramble and trying to make some quick cash on licensing because our core business is currently a money-sink.
Going from 100+ million selling console (lighting in a bottle or not) to selling less than a tenth of that... I think it's time for new leadership. Just like Disney had to do.
Nintendo in general is having trouble getting children. Nintendo is basically being held up by diehard fans right now. The casual crowd they had was a fickle one. :\
35% of Nintendo's fanbase is female. And unlike phones and tablets, Nintendo products are known for their high quality. If they wanted to, they could make high quality titles that have a heavy draw for wittle girls.
Splatoon might even be that.
Nintendo's plan obviously isn't going to be shared this early, and it probably won't be revealed until Nintendo is ready to start talking about their next platform(s). Nintendo has already shown us more than just Amiibo this year, so its going to interesting to see how things going in the long-term.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
Nintendo in general is having trouble getting children. Nintendo is basically being held up by diehard fans right now. The casual crowd they had was a fickle one. :\
35% of Nintendo's fanbase is female. And unlike phones and tablets, Nintendo products are known for their high quality. If they wanted to, they could make high quality titles that have a heavy draw for wittle girls.
Splatoon might even be that.
You'd probably be shocked at how many young kids get a DS or a 3DS. They just buy out the overstock sold at stores (aka the bargain bin), so the sales aren't very stellar. The store pays for their purchases by selling other items. Half of what's in the bargain bin is also kids games, so you have probably 20% kids buying the games that the hardcore fans are playing or they're buying older hardware/software.
I stopped going to GameStop's actual store (it's a lot better with ordering digital and shopping on a console's service), but I can just imagine the percentage is the same there. They sell and they try to commit their customers. Sales tactics are worse. GameStop is notorious for marketing to a specific market of people (kids, teens, adult moms, etc). I find GS's marketing to be the worst. They should of stuck to being a universal game store.
It feels like the market goes for this crowd for a very long time, then it gets stuck at a middle ground, and then it repeats the cycle all over again. Kids sort of pick and choose whatever is geared towards them or something that's popular (aka CoD). Nintendo isn't going to bring the CoD crowd in until the CoD crowd grows up.
Tablets and phones are for that social group or the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses. They want it because it's this "particular device". They aren't thinking of games like we did with cartridges and so forth. They see gaming as something there, but not necessarily needed.
MisterGrey3000
Member
The majority of non-enthusiast audiences are fickle.
You better believe that young males would migrate towards phones/tablets if those machines could run super cheap games with the fidelity of TLOU or Skyrim.
The Wii/DS audience didn't up and leave because they saw something shiny and new in their periphery...Nintendo failed to engage them with new and exciting casual experiences after 2010 so they moved on to greener pastures.
RetrospectiveLamb
Member
I think Nintendo can learn from Disney is how valuable their intellectual property is with Mario, Link, or Luigi. Like all of Nintendo's beloved characters are only limited to games and are underused, I would love a Nintendo theme park or more Nintendo Pixar inspired movies
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
Nintendoland and the CGI Mario movies that are coming out. Plus you have Wreck it Ralph (not necessarily Disney, but still).
I think they know their IP, but they tone down a lot of it. It's what you want and what you don't want all at the same time. I would of loved having the Yellow Cape in Super Mario 3D World, but they had to give him everything but that. I would of liked to have Yoshi in an egg, but it's everything else but that. I didn't like blowing into my Wii U controller, but everything else felt good.
This next Zelda game will probably be good, but it's going to be everything except the stuff you wanted. I liked Twilight Princess because it had the villages, the forests, the towns people, but it also had a parallel universe that had to make its way in somehow. You had to put up with a quarter of the game you didn't want in the first place. You always have a give and take with everything.
Would it hurt Nintendo if they brought back these guys:
Seriously!
Shigeru Miyamoto is a top class game designer but Walt Disney {the man} innovated beyond animation itself {which he also innovated in} that helped create a brand that is popular on a worldwide level many years after his death.
It's not as simple for Nintendo to create a themepark or go for animated movies, that's a market which is saturated at this point when it wasn't for walt. they'd need to try something that hasn't been done before and make sure it succeeds.
What that is I don't know.
It's not as simple for Nintendo to create a themepark or go for animated movies, that's a market which is saturated at this point when it wasn't for walt. they'd need to try something that hasn't been done before and make sure it succeeds.
What that is I don't know.
Gambit 1138
Banned
Disney should just acquire Nintendo
The biggest thing Nintendo can learn from Disney is that in order to grow and remain relevant, they absolutely, 100%, without a single doubt, must take risks. Nintendo will die if they do not diversify. If Disney had just stuck to Mickey Mouse and roller coasters they would be dead today.
Nintendo are still stuck on Mario, and their inability to take big risks - be it through acquiring a Western studio, jumping into other forms of entertainment, or developing brand new AAA IP's - is the reason why they're in their current mess. Nintendo need to go somewhere with their money and start spending it, because they're not going to magically find themselves in better fortunes by doing the same ol same ol.
Rogue_Ledr
Banned
Nooooooo! We don't need that, thank you very much. Plus were talking Disney here.
I believe Nintendo already had learned from them. Hell, they are doing the Amiibo thing.
Gambit 1138
Banned
Yes because that's exactly what Disney does. They send all of their IPs to EA
the fuck?
I don't think that deal would make sense for either side.
Beren the Empty-Handed
Member
First off, they need a marketing team that knows what they're doing (at least outside of Japan). In Japan for Smash Bros they had retailer-specific Smash advertisements tailored to that retailer's usual customer demographic (Princesses at fashion stores, handheld characters in train stations...). You can see a bit of that here. So where the hell was this for NoA? I don't know how it was advertised in Europe, but I bet it wasn't much different. I mean, how hard is that? You've got Zelda/Palutena/Peach/Rosalina/Lucina/Samus and so on for girls, mainstreamers for everybody, special guests Pac-Man/Sonic/Mega Man for the curious. This should have been easy to copy!
And yes, they need to take some risks. Not on the scale of what Disneyland was, but at least something. And after they take a risk, they need to support it. We've got under-produced amiibos, games not getting localized, new IPs getting made and then not advertised or featured well... Disney supports it's new ventures so much better - not just monetarily, either. They talk about them, try to show them off like they're the latest and greatest thing, and really promote them. Meanwhile we've got people who consider themselves pretty big Nintendo fans (I'm speaking from my personal experience with my friends irl) and have no clue what the hell Xenoblade Chronicles was until I talked about it, and Shulk got into Smash. That was a critically lauded game with a great localization effort by a recent Nintendo acquisition with a mastermind behind the helm. They should have shoved that thing into everyone's faces until people living in the Amazon jungle knew about it. Disney would have, that's for sure.
That's what Nintendo needs to learn from Disney - take risks, support them, and then make sure everyone knows about them.
And yes, they need to take some risks. Not on the scale of what Disneyland was, but at least something. And after they take a risk, they need to support it. We've got under-produced amiibos, games not getting localized, new IPs getting made and then not advertised or featured well... Disney supports it's new ventures so much better - not just monetarily, either. They talk about them, try to show them off like they're the latest and greatest thing, and really promote them. Meanwhile we've got people who consider themselves pretty big Nintendo fans (I'm speaking from my personal experience with my friends irl) and have no clue what the hell Xenoblade Chronicles was until I talked about it, and Shulk got into Smash. That was a critically lauded game with a great localization effort by a recent Nintendo acquisition with a mastermind behind the helm. They should have shoved that thing into everyone's faces until people living in the Amazon jungle knew about it. Disney would have, that's for sure.
That's what Nintendo needs to learn from Disney - take risks, support them, and then make sure everyone knows about them.
ZombiePlatypus
Member
Damn that's true. Zelda, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, & Birdo really need to get the Disney Princess treatment.
Haha, Birdo. I wonder how they could reinvent that character in a way that would appeal to young girls.
In terms of marketing a product to a young girl demographic, yes. But I cringe whenever I see this because, as the dad of a young girl, the Disney Princess line is so damn sexist and infantilizing of the Disney Princess characters. And because "If You Can Dream" may be the most cynical and worst Disney song ever made. AND because once you get Disney Princesses, you're on the road to the Disney Princess Toddler line, which is just terrible (and doesn't make any sense! Many/most of those characters were not princesses when they were toddlers - respect your own damn IP Disney).
But if Nintendo wants to make Zelda, Daisy, Samus, and Rosalina into strong capable characters, and market those heavily to the young girl demographic, more power to them.
Also, LOL at people saying Nintendo should make something like a Fire Emblem anime. "Let's take one of niche IP's and turn it into something that only another small niche of consumers in America watches." If Nintendo's going to make shows, here's what they do - throw some money at the showrunners for something like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - that's already the level the Mario characters operate at anyway. Make a Super Mario Club CGI show to get young kids invested in your characters. Get the Avatar dude to make a Zelda show for tween boy set. Indulge your older fans by doing some shorts akin to those GI Joe Resolute web shorts, or to the Animatrix stuff. And for the love of God, give up the creative control, because Nintendo sucks at developing and promoting the characters anyway.
To build on this, some of Disney's biggest franchises for the last year or so have been Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy and Big Hero 6. All of these were either obscure or nonexistent a few years ago. The reason why they're big now is because Disney put big investments in making their films and supporting throughout their marketing. These are techniques that everyone should have been copying, not just Nintendo as it's the trick to being able to keep up with the times.
That's a great encapsulation of this thread. The problem is that Nintendo doesn't seem to want to do any of that. Their reluctance to make anything for the dudebro gamer is a good indication of their problems. Even if they hate this demographic, a platform holder cannot just ignore it.
That's a great idea. I don't know why Nintendo hasn't ever tried to do this.
These are good ideas, but I feel that Nintendo needs to do something even more high profile. Not only that, but to do so with new IP that can change the public perception of what Nintendo is and what the company stands for. Something like the Wii *** brands were a start, but they need to do something even bolder.
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