3 Girls & 2 Guys Discussion-606 Chelsea Gray, Chelsy Krahn, Nykita Winfrey, John Wiener, and Daniel Wilde

The Nintendo Wii The Nintendo Wii debuted in 2006 with features that were revolutionary to the gaming industry. These features include wireless motion-senstive controllers & built in Wi-Fi capabilities. These features have helped make it one of the best selling gaming consoles in the world.

Nintendo’s Mission Statement   “At Nintendo we are proud to be working for the leading company in our industry. We are strongly committed to producing and marketing the best products and support services available. We believe it is essential not only to provide products of the highest quality, but to treat every customer with attention, consideration and respect. By listening closely to our customers, we constantly improve our products and services.”

Demographic Environment New family structures have led to changes in daily activities such as eating habits 13.7 million single parents in 2009 (US census bureau) Developed the “Wii Fit” Ability to track body weight Workout options for all ages The changing family structure in America has led to using alternative methods of daily activities, such as eating habits. Many families have now become single parent homes, which most likely means less time in the home & more money constraints. Fast food restaurants have become an incredible convenience to these new modern families. Although the fast food option is convenient & inexpensive, it isn’t always the healthiest option. With this new lifestyle comes the issue of health problems. It is known that in the US there is a huge problem with obesity, because of this problem Nintendo developed “Wii Fit”. “Wii Fit” is an additional component to the “Wii” that helps consumers to develop a new and fun way to workout.

Economic Environment Recent stance of economy more efficient spending Wii provides many entertainment possibilities Wide variety of games, especially with additional accessories Stream videos from “Netflix” Ability to access the internet With the recent stance of the economy, Americans have been cutting back and spending their money more efficiently. The Nintendo “Wii” offers so many different forms of entertainment. Not only have they created a wide variety of games by creating multiple accessories, but their main features allow the “Wii” to be multifunctional. By having WiFi capabilities as a main feature you enable your consumer to surf the web & stream videos from “Netflix”. Because consumers can use the system for so many different things, it is looked at as a good investment for any home.

Technological Environment “Some people put there money on the screen but we decided to spend our on the gaming experience. It’s an investment not simply to improve the market but to disrupt it.” –CEO Satoru Iwata There is one thing we all know about technology, and that is that it will all phase out and it will do so quickly. Technology companies are always coming out with an updated version of a product or a brand new product all together. Nintendo’s CEO knows this and that is why they have decided to focus on the gaming experience as a whole instead of specific games. They’ve made it their goal to create innovative products that will change the way we think of gaming. By focusing on the gaming experience, they’ve created a way to cope with the fact that technology is constantly changing and improving.

Micro Environment High activity game Remotes became a safety hazard because they were flying out of players hands and into TV’s Development of controller wrist strap with lock & silicon jacket Numerous warnings throughout game The idea behind the “Wii” was to have a game that you were truly able to get involved in, but what comes along with having such a highly active game is safety hazards. Reports stated that remotes were either falling off or breaking during intense movements, causing a safety hazard. Nintendo took numerous actions to prevent this safety hazard, including the development of a better wrist strap, a silicon jacket & safety warnings. The original safety strap for the “Wii” controller was one with a sliding piece to tighten it on to your wrist. When reports were coming in about the effectiveness of this piece, the new wrist strap was developed. This new strap uses a lock to help ensure that the report will stay on. The silicon jacket helps maintain a good grip on the remote, and if it is dropped it also adds protection. Another added safety component is a warning used throughout numerous points in the game to make sure that the remote is securely attached to the player’s wrist.

Competitors Xbox 360 Kinect No controller necessary Use of feet and voice recognition Multiple players It follows you around the room. Scan objects into the game No need to spend money on extra Wii controller’s, the player’s body is the controller. This is done via camera, sensors and a microphone built-in to the Kinect bar, which then track their body’s movements. No controllers means no batteries means more opportunities to saving money. Gives the players the choice to play football and actually kick the ball with their feet. The Kinect will recognize each player individually, so while one person drives a car say, another can perform the pit stops. The Kinect will be available to the pubic in November of 2010. This will compete with holiday sales for the end of the year.

Competitors "We're not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games. The thing we're thinking about most is not portable systems, consoles, and so forth, but that we want to get new people playing games.“–CEO Satoru Iwata Most important, CEO of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata isn’t worrying about fighting with other companies; he and his company want to focus on the customer. By keeping the customer in mind, they just want to put the center of attention on getting more games in the market for their customers.

Summary Many environmental factors make help to make the Nintendo “Wii” what it is today Macro Demographic Economic Technological Micro Safety Concerns Competitors Not only has the many different environmental factors challenged the Nintendo “Wii” but it’s also made it what it is today. Without these different factors the “Wii” would be lacking many of the different elements that it’s known for. By continuing to come up with innovative designs and technology, they will continue to conquer these different environmental factors.

References www.nintendo.com Business Source Premier (EBSCO) www.wikipedia.com www.census.gov