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Iwata on spreading game information to all sorts of consumers, working on this with Wii U
When it comes to the decision making process of which video game software to purchase, a huge gap exists between each individual as to the amount of effort one will put into seeking the relevant information. There are consumers who very actively search for game-related information. They are so knowledgeable about video games that I sometimes wonder if they have more knowledge than us working in the video game industry. On the other hand, there are a number of consumers who have virtually no video game knowledge. When Nintendo DS was quickly expanding its sales, it was not rare to encounter people at the video game outlets who came there to purchase certain software but all they could remember was the person who appeared in the software’s TV ad. In such a situation, where we are dealing with wide variety of consumers, I could not agree more to your opinion that the need for effective matching is, and will be, of significantly increasing importance. Anyone who can invent the most appropriate matching mechanism will take a great advantage in the digital platform business from now, I think. About this challenge, Nintendo does not have any concrete answers today. Of course, by now, Nintendo has been able to gather a number of data through the activities with Club Nintendo and, with the consumers’ consent, we gather their play records on Nintendo Channel. As a result, we are starting to see a number of such relationships as, "those who have played with this software are also actively playing with that software" or "those who find this game satisfactory are giving high marks to that software as well." As you know very well, at Amazon.com, we often see, "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought…" and you must have clicked the "Purchase" icon without the prior intention to do so. I have done so myself. When I think about how that kind of recommendation should be in our video game field, my opinion is "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought…" is not sufficient. Rather, such messages as "Consumers who liked this product very much also gave a high score to that product" should be more useful information for our potential consumers. So, the issue is how effectively we can deliver such information to them. Another thing is, people who are actively gathering relevant game information do not mind going through several processes in order to reach the very information they really wanted to know. But for the other people who do not act so proactively, the information which they cannot access in the first trial is as if it does not exist at all. Even if just one process is required, the relevant information cannot be delivered to a number of our potential consumers. With that understanding, we are making efforts. This thinking is also very important when we launch our products outside Japan or in the countries where we were not able to sell our video game products. As for the Wii U, we have been making preparations and are ready to make some proposals with which the consumers can at least say that Nintendo has taken the first step to make a new proposal in its endeavors. As I said before, it is not too much to say that anyone who comes up with an effective mechanism to this challenge will have a great advantage in the future of digital business. This challenge is so important. We should not forecast any one attempt to find the concrete and final solution. A number of you may have the impression that Nintendo can show its strength in the packaged software business, where the company does not need to take care of its products a lot after releasing them in the market, and that we may not be good at continuing efforts after the product sells. But in the network business, the fact is, "endurance makes you stronger." In the network business field, how we can take advantage of the data we obtain every day will be critical for the next steps. In the near future, I would like to establish the style of what Nintendo can do in this regard. - Satoru Iwata
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