Why is the 3DS struggling?

Let's face it, the 3ds is struggling. Nintendo slashed the price by nearly 40% in July amid poor sales. This has taken the industry by surprise due to Nintendo's usual dominance in the handheld market. In my opinion, there are various reasons behind its poor performance.


Market decline?
With mobile devices such as the Iphone becoming more and more powerful with every new version, developers are flocking to support the device. Combined with the hugely popular 'appstore', consumers have a huge choice in regards to what games to buy. Consumers do not need a separate gaming device now that their smartphone can do it all. The handheld gaming market is starting to become a smaller niche. The 'PSP vita' in my opinion will suffer the same fate. There is no doubt that it will have great games and appeal to the hardcore audience, however where is the value for the casual gamer? Why spend hundreds of pounds on a gaming device when your phone can satisfy the causal gamers desires? There are signs that Sony are becoming aware of this. Sony Ericssons 'Xperia play' combines  a gaming device with mobile phone functionality.

     ( Sony Erricson Xperia Play)


No Support

Another reason why the 3DS is faltering is because of the lack of 3rd party support. Unfortunately it is somewhat of a catch 22 for Nintendo. The poor launch sales means that developers will shy away from developing the 3DS until sales improve. The only way sales will improve is by producing great games. The simple fact is, the 3DS install base is just not large enough. Having said that, Nintendo getting 'Monster Hunter 4' onto the 3DS will prove to be a huge system seller in Japan.


Just another Gimmick?

There is no doubt that the entertainment industry is ramming 3D down out throat. The trouble is, the consumers aren't buying it. Box office takings for 3D films are declining along with disappointing 3Dtv sales, shows that consumers are not taking to 3D as once predicted. Although the option to turn of 3D is available on the new Nintendo handeld, does it really warrant spending money on a new handheld just for improved graphics and a 3D option?



Conclusion

It is clear to see that Nintendo rushed the 3DS. The lack of supporting titles after the launch has made 3DS sales stagnate. Nintendo should have waited until there was significant support from third parties, with games ready to be released in the months after the 3DS launch. There is still time to rectify the situation, however you have to wonder if the market is still as big as it once was. Apple are set to announce their new iPhone and it will be interesting to see if one Apple's main focus is promoting it as a gaming device.

Putting the customer first.

Many organisations realise the importance of building and maintaining a relationship with the customer however, for many organisations it’s generally superficial. They would love to maintain a relationship with the customer as long as you keep buying. Once that stops they aren’t interested. In some respects this is understandable. It costs organisations time and money to manage a relationship with the consumer so why should they do it? The answer is in the long run it still pays to do so.

We live in a networked society. Everyone is connected with each other. as such information gets spread very quickly. If a customer has had a good experience chances are they are likely to share it. If organisations can build an ethos around relationships then the holy grail of loyalty can be achieved. I am not talking about talking to a customer once in a while to make sure the product or service is okay or even setting up a forum so customers can chat about the brand or general topics. No, it has to be intertwined with how the company is run. This means treating employees like they are part of the family, and making sure you don’t squeeze suppliers so they can barely stay afloat.

So how do organisations put their customers at the forefront of everything? It’s certainly easier for some industries to implement. Industries which are heavily customer driven for example, a video game developer could engage with the consumer much more easily than a company selling wood varnish. Valve software who develop games such as Half life and Portal 2 are a company that I have studied and highly admire the way they are respected by all stakeholders. They always release a product that exceeds customer expectation (an important thing to remember) and they give of the sense that they are not in it for the money but they are in it to do something they love and therefore share their love for developing video games with customers. Public companies struggle to achieve this as they have shareholders who will always want the company to focus on short term profits.

When starting a business money should not be your main motivation. The main goal should always be how my product or service can bring joy to masses of people.

 Giving your customers a chance to feel part of the brand will create a brand community and will lead to the Holy Grail, brand loyalty.

Too many organisations either neglect their customer altogether or just make it seem like they care as it’s the status-quo. Organisations who really do put the customer first and I don’t mean by just saying you do on your website will be successful in the long run. Actions really do speak louder than words.

What are your thoughts about putting the customer first? Let me know in the comments below.

Bridging the gap between Video Games and Movies

Its hard to say that video games can catch the audience's attention the same that movies do. Sure they can be more addictive and can last longer but ask yourself when was the last time you cried or even felt emotional through a Video Game? Personally, despite playing through some of the most interesting engaging stories in a video game I have yet to feel a tiny bit emotional. Your main ally dies? so what. Video games however much they try just can not match Movies when it comes to emotional attachment to the story or the characters.

LA Noire's Facial Animation.

Video games have massive potential to appeal to the audience who see video games as a waste of time. This is mainly because there has yet to be a video game that can capture the audiences attention the same way movies do. All that is about to change. New technology ushered in by Rockstar studios has allowed full facial animation of a characters face which means every little facial movement can be captured and put in the game. The first game to use this is LA Noire, a crime thriller. Sure, the animations might not be ultra realistic and the characters faces might seem a bit odd but this is just the start. This game has the potential to bridge the gap between video games and movies in terms of story and audience engagement . As the technology develops and more studios start using it video games stories might become as enthralling as a Hollywood blockbuster instead of a mediocre B movie.

The video game industry have realised the need to have a good story in almost every genre, most recently the sports genre. The next Fight Night game from EA has a significant story element to it which has never been done before. You can tell by the level of excitement for this game that incorporating the story element into sports games is a new and highly popular idea. Why stop at boxing though? the next Fifa game should have a story that pits you as a young and upcoming youngster who overcomes problems to play football professionally. I believe Fifa's 'be a pro mode' which lets you create a player and play him throughout his career  is the first step to this. If the Fight Night game sells well, who knows it may just catch on.

Fight Night Champion

I do not think it will be a long time until we see A-list actors not only providing voice overs for video games but actually acting in them by capturing their facial animations. Imagine if Natalie Portman can give the same performance she did in Black Swan with a video game. Okay, so that might be a long way off but it is possible. When that happens I truly believe Video games will match Movies.

Is Amazon’s black Friday a moment of genius or a massive con?

Black Friday is an American import which signals the start of the Christmas shopping period. It is called black Friday as it’s the day when companies go from in the red to into the black in terms of their balance sheets. This American tradition has brought its way to the UK this year with Amazon’s black Friday. This week long sales promotion boasts sales of up to 70% off certain items and with Nintendo Wii’s selling for £50 there has been a huge buzz around the sale.

The way it works is Amazon display’s on average three products an hour. After the timer gets to zero consumers are allowed to add the product to the cart, the picture below helps illustrate this:

The consumer does not know the discount of every product so when the timer reaches zero there is a massive rush to buy. Amazon have been very clever with this concept as they have made it somewhat of a game. If a person ‘wins’ a product they feel a sense of achievement and are encouraged to keep on looking and more importantly buying these deals.

The whole premise of Amazon’s black Friday deals are that they are offering huge discounts. On Friday the 19^th of November various newspapers promoted the fact that on Monday at 9am 'Take That' and 'Susan Boyle’s' album would be selling for only £1. Needless to say these products sold out in a matter of seconds however with deals that good surely every product will have those discounts? Well no, many of the products on sale don’t have great discounts. In fact Amazon raised the price of a few products a month before the sales went ahead so that they can be seen to offer a greater discount when they sell it on black Friday week. Furthermore, the discounts are against the RRP take into account that many online retailers sell well below the RRP to gain a competitive advantage, the discounts don’t sound so good. This hasn’t stopped consumers buying these products though, the buzz of getting that product when the timer ticks down to zero is highly addictive, Amazon have got this sales promotion spot on.

Another thing to mention is that Amazon have discounted various products across the site which are not of limited quantity or time restricted. People will spend hours on the amazon website this week due to the promotions and media buzz around this event. With more and more individuals Christmas shopping online Amazon are making sure that they can entice customers to shop with them this Christmas as they are seen to offer the best discounts.

It’s the usual trick of offering a few products at loss making prices to create buzz to hook people in. Expect Amazon to do this every year from now on and for other websites to follow suit. Black Friday could be a new phrase we hear every year on the run up to Christmas.

James Foti

Kinect's Huge Marketing Push

Microsoft as predicted are really pushing sales of Kinect this Christmas. As the hardware is released this week you will see numerous ads on Tv, Magazines and Billboards not to mention online ads such as the one seen on youtube right now.

The added touch of having the product shown and endorsed by the likes of Oprah and Ellen Degeneres will have worked wonders in getting those 'soccer mums' to buy the Kinect. This bring me onto the playstation Move, Sony are definitely targeting this product to the hardcore more than the casual now. Their marketing budget wasn't nearly enough to stop Kinect this Christmas. This doesn't mean the move wont be profitable, the sophisticated hardware is likely to prove popular with the hardcore but don't expect the same level of success as the Kinect.

How do you fix a problem like video game piracy?

Video game piracy is a beast that the industry just cannot tame. Many different techniques have been implemented to try and tackle this problem yet none seem to work. With pirated video games becoming more easily accessible by the day, it poses a massive hurdle for the industry and one that the industry is determined to crack. This article aims to examine the ways in which the video game industry tries to combat piracy and to see if those methods are effective.

The main thing that Video game publishers and developers must realise is that in their attempts to combat piracy they must punish the pirate without punishing the consumer. Many companies incorporated anti-piracy software onto the’ install disks’. Consumers were getting the sense that they were being punished for the actions of the pirates . EA games tried to do this with the game ‘Spore’, they added DRM software onto the disk. It backfired and the game went on to be one of the most pirated games ever. It turned out that pirates could bypass this software protection while consumers were forced to live with it. Publishers therefore must reward the consumer for purchasing the game.This can be done in many ways. They could offer money off the sequel of that game when it comes out, offer free downloadable content or offer free merchandise with every order. One of the main reasons for piracy is that people demand more for their money. More and more games are being released every year and the consumer only has a certain amount of money available to spend on video games. By offering a better value proposition the consumer is more likely to purchase the game rather than pirate the software. Punishing the pirates can be done through numerous ways but the traditional way of fining the odd pirate just does not work. Video games must play to their strengths; just recently EA games unveiled ‘Online pass’ which allows the consumer to enter a code to access the online play, a code is given to anybody who buys a new copy of the game. The importance of this is that people who pirate games will not be able to use one of the most important features in today’s games, online play. Of course people could still pirate these games and use the online feature by only paying $10 to acquire a code; this will allow publishers to get extra income from pirates who would not consider paying for any part of the game. As another bonus EA games will receive extra income from the used games market. Other publishers such as Activision must take note:, Call of Duty is famous for its online experience. If the consumer can utilise this same method you will see people purchasing the game rather than pirating it so that they can play online.

Another way to combat piracy is to simply make a good quality game with increased longevity. As stated earlier, consumers will not see the value of paying full price for a game that might be great but only lasts 10-12 hours. By making a game of good quality and longevity the consumers are going to see better value and will be more likely to buy the game. If individual’s were to evaluate a video game and realise it was not worth their money they are more likely to pirate the game instead of before when they would not buy it and consequently never play it, this is due to the convenience and easiness of pirating in modern times.

 Another point to consider for developers is which type of hardware they should develop for. The Sony Playsation 3 is notoriously hard to crack and therefore pirated games can’t be used on that system. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 and the Wii can be cracked by any individual who has access to the internet and a decent guide on how to crack the system. The PC needs no cracking at all and has become the pirate’s choice when choosing to pirate a game. Developers should work with these hardware companies to make sure that they are hard to crack or they could look at just developing solely on the playstation 3 as long as this trade off is a viable one.

The final point that could help combat piracy is by becoming a publisher or developer that listens to the community. By having a community that respects the organisation the chances are, it is  more likely to buy the game and discourage piracy. Companies can do this is by regularly communicating with people on forums, listening to their key consumers and offering incentives. These incentives could be  access to Beta’s or money off codes for being a member of the organisation’s forums or websites. More people will pirate a game if they feel the developer or publisher disregard the consumer’s desires or neglect them altogether. The developer’s ability to keep connected with their key audience is a very powerful tool and should be considered by publishers who have a poor relationship with their consumers. The knock on effect could lead to greater sales and thus profit margins. If all else fails developer’s 2D boy allowed consumers to name their price when purchasing ‘World of Goo. Although a lot of people chose to pay one penny for the game it was still a huge success. It could be said that would be pirates who had a chance to pay what they liked for the game would do so instead of pirating it.

In conclusion, there really is no sure fire way of stopping piracy. The old method of fining people randomly for downloading Illegal software is outdated and does not work. Publishers have to be creative and think outside the box, with people having less disposable income more and more will turn to piracy as a way of fulfilling their gaming desires. By using some of the methods stated in this article developers and publishers could start to see piracy for their game falling and their profits rising.

James Foti
Contact me: jamesfoti1@hotmail.com

New Article Title

Work has begun on my new article called: How do you combat a problem like video game piracy.
It should be done before the end of the week.