Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published by:
Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Length: 24 pages
Data source: Published sources
Topics:
Wii; PlayStation; XBox; Nintendo; Sony; Microsoft; Disruptive strategy; Video game; Christensen; Creative innovation
Abstract
In April 2008, Nintendo was ranked seventh in the annual BusinessWeek-Boston Consulting Group ranking of the world''s most innovative companies. The award recognised the company as an innovative design powerhouse that had challenged the prevailing business model of the video game industry with its new video game console, the Wii. The video game console industry traditionally went into a new cycle every five to six years. In 2006, when the newest generation of video game consoles was introduced, Microsoft and Sony had continued with their previous strategies of increasing the computing power of their latest products, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. This time, however, Nintendo had planned something different. The company believed that the video game industry had been focusing far too much on existing gamers, and completely neglecting non-gamers who could well be the source for future growth. Armed with this insight, Nintendo had developed a radically different strategy by producing the Wii, whose processing power was dwarfed by that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Nevertheless, it soon became evident that Nintendo''s Wii was a runaway success. How has Nintendo achieved this success? Has the company really disrupted the video game industry? What course of action is available to Nintendo''s competitors?
Location:
Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published by:
Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Length: 12 pages
Data source: Published sources
About
Abstract
In April 2008, Nintendo was ranked seventh in the annual BusinessWeek-Boston Consulting Group ranking of the world''s most innovative companies. The award recognised the company as an innovative design powerhouse that had challenged the prevailing business model of the video game industry with its new video game console, the Wii. The video game console industry traditionally went into a new cycle every five to six years. In 2006, when the newest generation of video game consoles was introduced, Microsoft and Sony had continued with their previous strategies of increasing the computing power of their latest products, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. This time, however, Nintendo had planned something different. The company believed that the video game industry had been focusing far too much on existing gamers, and completely neglecting non-gamers who could well be the source for future growth. Armed with this insight, Nintendo had developed a radically different strategy by producing the Wii, whose processing power was dwarfed by that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Nevertheless, it soon became evident that Nintendo''s Wii was a runaway success. How has Nintendo achieved this success? Has the company really disrupted the video game industry? What course of action is available to Nintendo''s competitors?
Settings
Location:
Related
Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published by:
Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Length: 12 pages
Data source: Published sources