Gotta Go Fast

Key Takeaways

Competitive positioning played a huge role in defining Sonic in the console wars, but lost relevancy over time

          “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad”

     Gimmicks only can retain interest for so long

                                                              

(What started it all. Credit: Sonicstadium.org)

In 1991, the name Sonic the Hedgehog meant something. Sonic was the one character that could stand up to Mario. The one character who ran so fast it was unlike anything gaming had ever seen before. The one character who proved that there was room for more than one console in mainstream society. In 2016, the name Sonic the Hedgehog is a disappointment. Drowned by a disaster of failed products, overexposure, and loss of attitude, Sonic isn’t the same character he used to be, and yet, many individuals still purchase his games. While his latest entry, 2014’s Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, was the biggest commercial failure in the character’s history and a critical disaster it still managed to sell 320,000 copies on a poorly selling console, so there still is a market for the blue blur. The 2011 iteration Sonic Generations was a massive hit, selling 4.1 million copies of the game worldwide, so favor has not truly fallen off for a good game in the franchise. Yet, given a push to either go mobile or produce unfinished games, Sega seems to have no interest in managing the quality of what made the company a household name, and the only question left to ask is will there ever be a true revival for the fastest thing alive.

                                   

(Gaming’s fiercest rivalry. Credit: crit-hit.net)

Back in 1991 Nintendo ruled the gaming world. After singlehandedly reviving home gaming after the 1983 Atari crash in the late 80’s, Nintendo had become a juggernaut. Revolutionary quality control and a tough stance on royalty payments made it nearly impossible to circumvent Nintendo’s grasp, and frankly, most developers needed to be on Nintendo’s console to generate a profit. However, with so much potential profit at stake, challengers were destined to appear, and sure enough, some did, including Sega. Originally founded in 1940 as Standard Games, Sega’s origins were in slot machines, photo booths and arcade games. Following the 1983 crash, Sega shifted priorities towards a home gaming console as well, and after a few consoles that did not tract well Sega released the Sega Master System to directly compete with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. Buoyed by a subjectively weaker mascot in Alex Kidd, the Master System was a distant challenger against the behemoth NES. In an effort to differentiate Sega released the Genesis in 1989, which featured 16-bit graphics and enhanced sound to showcase its innovation over Nintendo. Furthermore, with aggressive marketing campaigns including ads saying “Genesis does what Nintendon’t” and “Welcome to Next Level”, Sega assumed a competitive positioning approach to take the fight to Nintendo. Regardless, the Sega Genesis failed to truly catch on in the early going of the console, and it was not until Sonic the Hedgehog burst onto the scene that Sega became a mainstay in the industry.

In preparation for the arrival of the mascot, former CEO Tom Kalinske and Marketing Director Al Nilsen came up with an idea to put Sega’s console and new mascot to the test. The duo, along with the top notch Sega marketing team, created a marketing plan to put the Genesis and the newly released Super Nintendo side by side in malls across North America demonstrating both system’s marquee games: Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog and Nintendo’s launch title Super Mario World. Undoubtedly a bold move, it paid off as consumers were able to marvel at the speed of Sonic against a familiar Mario game that may have been considered underwhelming in comparison (Harris)[1]. Speaking with Kalinske recently, he had the following to say about the emerging marketing strategies for Sonic:

I was pretty ferocious about going after Nintendo. It’s kind of nice when you have this one enemy to go after and form a strategy around. It’s singular in nature. We’re going to do everything we can to harm our competition and we’re going to do the best things we know how to do ourselves to make sure we make a great product, but it’s sort of fun to be on the attack mode all the time. Whether that’s in advertising or in PR events or you know the brilliance of [Al Nilsen] doing  a shopping mall tour where we introduced the Super NES before they introduced it, where we had teens come in and play Super NES and also play Genesis and the say “OK, which one do you like better?” We won those about 80 percent of the time. (Interview with Tom Kalinske, 4/26)

                                             

(Sonic on a Nintendo console – good business move, but still gives me chills. Credit: Deviantart.com)

Furthermore, Sonic had attitude, in the way the character’s eyes darted forward, wagged his finger on the title screen, and mischievously smirked throughout the game. As Kalinske stated, “When we smoothed him out we made him a friendlier character that everyone could identify with, but you also might have noticed, he was kind of a smart ass. Part of this was the original plan was that he was the smart ass kid next door who you really liked but he got away with a lot of stuff but he was still fundamentally a good guy.”(Interview, 4/26)  Meanwhile, Mario was a pleasantly plump plumber hoping to rescue the princess yet again. Sega’s North America team drew a line in the sand and put users to the test. Consumers responded wholeheartedly in their favor, and a war began. Also helping launch Sonic in the war was his television programs, again due in large part thanks to Kalinske who worked to create both syndicated and network television programming, which was unheard of for a children’s show. This strategy only proved to give the character greater potential and a substantial amount of marketing in the industry.  Looking at the Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Theory, it appeared that the console’s lifecycle jumped from the Innovators to Late Majority stage as quickly as the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as it sold over 6 million total copies, the majority of which came in 1992. The sales figure was largely unheard of for a single game, and vaulted the company as the definitive market challenger. Thus, the console wars of Sega and Nintendo raged throughout the 90’s, with Sonic games becoming marquee moments in the industry along with other Sega franchises to combat the market leader. It was only after the rise of the PlayStation that Sega began to falter. A strong new entrant plus the fledgling Genesis and weaker later consoles (Sega CD, Sega Saturn) started to erode at the base. While Sega launched the Dreamcast on 9/9/1999 in North America with a more modern looking Sonic in Sonic Adventure, Kalinske had already left, and so too had most of its core user base for Sony. As a result, the Sony PlayStation 2 dominated, and while Nintendo was able to claim stake in the hardware market, Sega retreated out of the hardware business and focused solely on software.

                                

(What exactly is happening here? Credit: equityarcade.com)

While difficult to stomach, leaving the hardware market for only software was still a smart business decision for Sega. Sonic was put on multiple platforms, including bitter rival Nintendo’s GameCube, leading to strong sales despite the lack of exclusive hardware. However, it was arguably around this same time that the quality of Sonic games began to drop. While there were certain outliers on Sega platforms (Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic 3D Blast [more mediocre than outright poor]), heavily critiqued games began to become the norm. While not all games were definitively poor in quality, Sonic’s difficulty transitioning from a two dimensional plane to 3D lead to a lot of hardship. Replicating Sonic’s speed became extremely difficult, and as a result the franchise focused on gimmicks to improve replayability, such as in Sonic Heroes when a user can play as a certain team of three characters or in Shadow the Hedgehog where Sonic’s modern rival Shadow used guns to defeat enemies along with jumps and a homing attack. Regardless of the gimmicks, the core gameplay of these games was flawed, and thus received mixed reviews. Still, the games managed to still sell over 1 million units in total, so the fan affinity still existed. It was not until the 2006 attempt of reviving the character, Sonic the Hedgehog, did the character truly fall apart. In an effort to meet the famous holiday demand, Sega and Sonic Team rushed the reboot of the franchise to make it to market prior to Christmas. The decision to rush the game ended up being a disastrous for the company. To quote Mario designer Shigeru Miyamoto, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad” (Parkin, 1). While the revival still managed to sell a few million, the urgency in development left a game that was littered with bugs, poor physics, and a rough framerate. Couple this effort with an awkward and convoluted storyline involving time travel and a human princess kissing a hedgehog and you have both a catastrophe in the eyes of the fans and from most major publications.  From this point onward, most Sonic releases have come with a lot of skepticism.

 

  (Sigh. Credit: sonic.wikia.com)                     (The best Sonic game in decades. Credit: tumblr.com)

Despite this major setback, Sonic has continued to live on. Sonic Unleashed, another game mired in mediocrity, saw a return to form when it came to speed and platforming, but was weighed down by monotonous “werehog” sections, where the titular blue blur would transform into a werewolf version of a hedgehog and go through long action segments. The game sold well, but again received complaints both from fans and critics. It wasn’t until Sonic Colors that fans began to believe in the hedgehog again. With an even larger focus on speed and platforming, partnered with an excellent soundtrack and strong level design, the game galvanized the critical and commercial establishment. As a result, when Sonic Generations hit the shelves in 2011 it became a mega hit. The game celebrated the early years of Sonic and the more modern times with an updated stage set from some of the franchise’s most iconic locations. Critically praised and a huge commercial success, Sega then looked to capitalize by selling Sonic games exclusively for the Nintendo Wii U, a console having  difficulties making an impact in the marketplace. When 2013’s Sonic Lost World failed to meet expectations, Sega decided to remake the mascot entirely in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Taller than before and with bandages over his hands and legs, Sonic looked extremely different from both his classic and modern style. Worse, after eight years Sega repeated history by rushing out a product that was not ready for the market. As a result, another buggy, boring game was released, only this time fans responded, making it the worst selling game in Sonic’s history. Sega has since turned primarily to mobile platforms for Sonic, including one game (Sonic Dash) similar to the popular Temple Run franchise. While these mobile games have found Sonic fans (Dash has been downloaded [for free] over 100 million times), they lack the depth that canon installments had previously, and have left longtime Sonic fans feeling alienated.

                       

(Another unfortunate result of Sonic’s quality issue – internet memes. Credit: twitter.com)

The question left to answer then becomes what went wrong for the fastest thing alive, and unfortunately it’s difficult to fully answer. First and foremost, it’s worth noting that Sonic has not had the same appeal in Japan that it has had in the West. While Japan may be smaller than both Europe and North America, zero of the franchise’s games have sold 1 million copies in the land of the rising sun (www.VgChartz.com). Whether there were marketing issues or not enough interest in the character, the blue blur seemed to never catch on, and there is reason to believe it led to alienation between Sega of America and Sega of Japan. Regardless, it was not good for there to be internal strife between departments, as it led to some dysfunction over time.

                                                         

                                                                          

                                        (Sonic’s new home, mobile platforms. Credit: Wikipedia.com)

Today, Sega seems less concerned with making a good Sonic game and instead seems more interested in just releasing a new Sonic game regardless of quality. In today’s era of gaming it is no secret that Sega has had consistent financial troubles over the years and has been forced to lay off staff and shut down offices, resulting in subpar games looking to make money off of the mascot’s brand recognition. While there may be frustration mounting with the mobile game cash ins, there have also been outstanding ports of the original Genesis games to either iOS or Android, meaning there could be a market for the character on the platform (along with his natural home on the console). At the end of the day, there are still legions of Sonic fans, and as Blake Harris, author of Console Wars stated in a recent interview “[there is] something about the Sonic IP, the Sonic character that has allowed him to endure over time. Something that made Sonic familiar enough [to multiple generations]. Everybody wants to see Sonic succeed.” (Personal Interview) Harris also stated that Sega should not neglect the mobile market, especially given the casual demand for the product. Kalinske as well shared his thoughts on Sonic’s potential in mobile, stating “Because so many people are using tablets or iPhones today, no question about it, you have to do something there. But I also would have Sonic still on consoles, and I would have him on more than just the Nintendo consoles.” (Interview, 4/26)

                                            

  (Would you believe it if this was a Sega game? It’s actually fan made. Credit: GBAtemp.com)

It is worth noting that fan involvement in the blue blur is really something to marvel at. Individuals such as LakeFeperd have created fan games that have extremely impressive quality. In fact, there is an annual Sonic Amateur Games Expo every year where creative fans show off their personal game interpretations of everyone’s favorite hedgehog. Youtube users like SomecallmeJohnny have dedicated nearly hour long videos discussing the merits and flaws of certain games (the specific reviewer has nearly an hour long video review of the Sonic 2006 reboot, quite comprehensive to say the least). This kind of passion is not seen in many franchises, so whether it be a casual or a hardcore fan the love for Sonic is truly prevalent.

Nevertheless, Sonic has been relegated to nuanced roles to try to both attract new fans and bring back old ones, and although that strategy has worked previously, it seems to be waning.  Forbes write Paul Tassi simply states that Sega should “Go back to Generations and figure out what you did right, and just keep doing that. Sonic is fine as a mascot, and no makeover will change him for the better. It's the content of his games that need to be better.” Once again, content is a critical part of the equation. Looking specifically at the marketing though, the competitive marketing approach only worked to truly kick start the fight between Nintendo and Sega, but by the time modern Sonic became a staple competitive positioning was no longer relevant. Sonic was a household name, and the attitude that was once revolutionary had begun to dissipate. Unfortunately, it seems that image based positioning of marketing games became gimmick focused, much like the games themselves. At the end of the day, Sonic is about speed, fantastic level design, upbeat tunes, and an overall sense of wonder. There are not many franchises that make you sit back, eyes wide, mouth agape, mumbling “Woah” but the 25 year old Sonic the Hedgehog series can do just that. If Sega can figure that out once again, it can revive Sonic, I guarantee it.

Sources:

Harris, Blake, Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. It Books, 5/13/2014

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/02/12/sonic-boom-is-the-worst-selling-sonic-title-in-history

Parkin, Simon, “Shigeru Miyamoto: A rushed game is forever bad”. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/apr/27/shigeru-miyamoto-rushed-game-forever-bad, 4/27/2012.

3/23 Interview with Blake Harris, 3/23 Interview with Paul Tassi

WWW.VGChartz.com

4/26 Interview with Tom Kalinske

---

[1] Super Mario World is an outstanding game, it just might have been a little too familiar in comparison to the brand new product from Sega

Random Battle

Key Takeaways:

• Japanese RPG stories were once the strength of the genre, but as other genres improved with technology, JRPGs became less original and refuses to evolve
• Western RPGs offer more opportunities and are easier to enter than their JRPG counterparts
• Lack of true character innovation and depth has hurt JRPGs
• Suikoden 2 is a great game

                                       

                                        (Suikoden 2, a hidden jewel. Credit: Playstation.com)

Seeing the credits roll after completing the 1998 Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG) Suikoden 2 was an overwhelming sense of relief. After over 30 hours of gameplay the final battle was not overly stressful but instead a marathon fight against a foe that had little buildup. Regardless, the game was a lot of fun overall. An engrossing storyline partnered with various genre commonalities and over 100 characters to meet and recruit to your army leaves a lot to for the player to enjoy. In fact, the reason that I picked it up was due to the sheer number of online outlets lauding the game and Konami for releasing it on the PlayStation Network so that the masses could either buy it again or try it for the first time. Personally, I was never a fan of RPGs until I first encountered Pokémon, but have enjoyed delving into the depths of various series since my introduction. Since Suikoden 2 had slipped under my radar, I figured I’d try it. I really enjoyed it; however, I have critiques, but overall it was a great experience. Nevertheless, some issues within the JRPGs that have not been resolved or refined have begun to hurt the foundation of sales and progress for the subgenre. As a result, Western RPGs have moved into new areas with new stories and options, catapulting their popularity in a short period of time. Overall, with similar tropes among games and an inability to change, the JRPGs are beginning to fade while the willingness to explore has allowed the Western RPG to flourish.

                                  

                              (This guy is a tank, great battle. Credit: lordyuanshu.com)

Suikoden 2 is a great game, but for all the wrong reasons. It had great music, presentation, customization and storyline; however, the gameplay can be fun and tense at best, and frustrating and monotonous at worst. A turn based RPG, enemies randomly draw you into battle without warning (a common mechanic in JRPGs) followed by the player commanding a six character party on whether to attack, defend, use an item, rune (magic attack or support spell), run, bribe, or change formation. There is one final option as well – Auto. What this means is that the game will play itself for you, meaning the characters who use a basic physical attack can choose a randomly selected character to strike. I have never hit the Auto button more times in my game-playing career than I did in Suikoden 2, and that’s not a compliment. Couple the battle system around army segments that feel like a watered down Strategy RPG based on luck and you have an average gameplay product. Still though, why did it sell a measly 680,000 units globally? Suikoden 2 is more of a hidden gem that unfortunately got lost in the shuffle in the midst of a bunch of other great JRPGs. Unfortunately as time prevailed, the JRPG genre’s sales as a whole declined.

                              (A comical yet key issue with JRPGs. Credit: Quickmeme.com)

The JRPG continues to use the same storylines and character types in 2016 that it used in 1996. For an industry that is constantly evolving that is unacceptable. First of all, a JRPG depends on its storyline. If the story is not compelling it likely will not be successful. Furthermore, it is difficult to market a story as the rationale to purchase the game in the West, considering the Western market is more known for a more action-oriented gameplay culture. Plus, as gaming technology has evolved, so to have the stories in different genres, increasing the competitive landscape for traditional JRPGs. Success stories include Pokémon’s focus on the collectability of creatures as it was a brilliant stroke of image based positioning, but using an image based approach to target story hungry segments is difficult when the stories begin to blend. The Final Fantasy (FF) series is known for its outstanding presentation, Kingdom Hearts pairs characters from Square Enix games with characters from the Disney Universe, and Fire Emblem deals with the hardships of war in feudal times. At times though, the characters’ themselves are derivative: a group of young adults, typically led by a Caucasian male with a spiked up hairstyle from humble beginnings is somehow recognized by a higher power to lead himself and his comrades to victory against an unbeatable evil. While this might have worked during the Super Nintendo and PlayStation era, it does not hold up over time. Players and critics are aware of the commonalities and long for something more (not to mention the lack of strong female lead characters alienates an entire segment). As Clordia Wang notes in her article “The ‘Jaded’ RPG: The Fall of Japanese RPG” the lack of story and character evolution has hurt the genre:

The Japanese game makers simply overlooked an important fact that what worked before may no longer work today. Players are also growing up, there is bond to be a day that they will be getting tired of playing as teens. In fact, the generation which grew up in JRPG’s prime time in the 90s -- those who played FF7 when they were young, should have reached their 30s or 40s by now. Most of them should have their own families and business. It is difficult for them to still project themselves through a character who looks and acts like a high school student with the immense gap of recognition between them and the characters.

                          (Any idea what's going on? Excellent game though. Credit: Google.com)

Moreover, if the game is a sequel it may become even more isolated. Speaking again with Forbes writer Paul Tassi on the differences between JRPGs and Western RPGs he stated that “… a lot of modern mainstream western audiences find JRPGs a bit too inaccessible for their tastes. That is a generalization, but for that audience, it's probably a lot easier to get into [the game] Mass Effect than it is a more complex, localized JRPG.” He’s absolutely correct. As an example, my brother was able to jump 2014’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim without having played a previous iteration. Meanwhile, I know that if I had jumped into Suikoden 5 I probably would have missed out on interesting notes that I would have only understood had I played the previous games. Even having played the second game in the series I know that I probably missed some insight that was relevant from the first game. 

The other key issue with JRPGs moves beyond inaccessibility and into inflexibility. One of the great features of Western RPGs is that the player is able to craft the experience he or she wants. The player can follow side quests and ignore the primary story, utilize different negotiation options or just explore the world created. In JRPGs, there is typically one path to follow, and while there is typically something else to achieve, the side quest does not have the depth seen in the Western RPG. Thus, the player is left with only one way to feel that progression has been accomplished, and it is by following the main campaign. In the 20 years since the peak of the JRPGs little has changed. Console Wars author Blake Harris states that “Japanese developers are less flexible than Western developers and seem to be less accommodating.” This concept still seems to ring true after all these years. The most difficult issue to process is that the Japanese gaming industry is allowing their demise to happen, while Western developers are creating strong brands to overtake their Japanese counterparts. In this era of gaming the Japanese refuse to truly alter the formula necessary on franchises that once worked and instead leave them to wither over time.

                                 

                         (Look familiar? Two steps forward...Credit: Gamerant.com, Giantbomb.com)

In conclusion, 2016 will bring two JRPGs from iconic franchises: Final Fantasy XV and Persona 5. Both have ravenous fan bases (especially Final Fantasy). Both may bring something unique compared to their predecessors, or they may not and stay true to previous iterations. Final Fantasy XV has been in development for several years, so the stakes are extremely high, making this a potentially pivotal moment for both the franchise and the genre. Square Enix has been uniquely marketing its brand, as it recently partnered with Louis Vuitton to promote the Final Fantasy character Lightning as a model for the latest ad campaign, a tactic that may begin to draw more players in the for the latest installment. That being said, Final Fantasy XV’s protagonist appears to be a young adult with spiky hair, so who knows how far things will progress after all.

Sources:

Burch, Anthony, “Bioware co-founder: JRPGs suffer from ‘lack of evolution’”, http://www.destructoid.com/bioware-co-founder-jrpgs-suffer-from-lack-of-evolution--155782.phtml, December 18^th, 2009

Lidbury, Olivia, “‘I am proud to be chosen’: Final Fantasy character Lightning on being welcomed into the Louis Vuitton ‘family’”, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/people/final-fantasy-character-lightning-on-starring-in-louis-vuitton-c/, January 12^th, 2016

Wang, Clordia, “The ‘Jaded’ RPG: The Fall of Japanese RPG”, http://gamasutra.com/blogs/ClordiaWang/20141208/231757/The_Jaded_RPG_The_Fall_of_Japanese_RPG.php, December 8^th, 2014

3/23 Interview with Blake Harris, 3/23 Interview with Paul Tassi

WWW.VGChartz.com

Gotta Catch ‘Em All – Empire Version

Key Takeaways:

Patience is key when launching a unique product in a new territory

Multimedia blitz – go big or go home, and have great mascot on your side

Image based positioning approach suited the game

                                          

                      (2016 is the 20th year anniversary for the franchise. Credit: mibqyyo.com)

Everyone knows Pikachu. The yellow electric rodent that is the face of the Pokémon franchise is now as iconic as Mickey Mouse. As of this writing, the main Pokémon series has sold over 200 million copies since its beginnings in 1996. With spinoffs, that number grows to a staggering 279 million copies sold. Video Games are only the beginning, as the Pokémon franchise has also found its way into television, movies, trading cards, merchandise, etc. Most game creators can only dream of the unbelievable success this franchise has found. The only questions left to answer are why and how did this seemingly niche franchise that began its life late in the Game Boy’s life cycle take off to a level nearly unparalleled within the industry.

Pokémon started its development in Japan in 1996 when lead designer Saoshi Tajiri sought to create a game that embodied his childhood experiences of capturing bugs in his backyard. Over 6 years, he and his team at GameFreak (which later became The Pokémon Company) created 151 unique monsters to capture, train, and battle against opponents. The first game was an immediate hit in Japan, with 10 month sales figures upwards of 10 million units, far surpassing previous expectations of 100,000 to 200,000. To capitalize on the popularity, trading cards of all the different monsters were released and a Japanese anime was developed chronicling the trials of a young boy aiming to become a “Pokémon master”. While the television program educated viewers on the world of Pokémon, the trading cards acted as both a game and a collectible, targeting multiple segments. Despite the enthusiasm in Japan, Nintendo of America was patient in deciding whether to bring the game and media to the U.S.; however, once it became evident through sales that the franchise had significant potential, it was localized and released in the States. Immediately it was a hit on all fronts, reviving the Game Boy, becoming the #1 rated children’s show and selling millions of cards. Since then, the number of Pokémon has grown and each iteration of the game continues to sell millions of copies when released.

                               

                                       (Gotta Catch 'Em All! Credit: Wallpapercave.com)

In order to market the concept, Nintendo focused on the collection aspect of the games, specifically that there were 151 unique characters to catch, train and bond with over time. Nintendo marketing was also where the famous tagline “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” originated. Given that Pokémon is more of an intellectual game, with strategy and timing playing more of an element than immediate action, the approach was sound considering children were the end users who may not have been exposed to this type of game. The image based positioning model cajoles users into an exploratory mentality, one where they will not know who or what is around the next corner or in the next area. Considering the game has some inherent complexities for children, this was a shrewd way to introduce the product. From there, the game could educate the users further. In addition, game introduced children to a new social faction, as Console Wars author Blake J. Harris noted in a recent interview “[Pokémon] was a whole other world that kids understood, 151 characters that they all knew the names of and created a new way to socialize” (Personal Interview, 3/23). In essence, the game and multimedia push with the television show and trading cards created its own social network. The intrigue to finding and training new Pokémon along with heightened social capabilities such as online play and trading has further developed brand loyalty among long time users.

                                  

     (Ash attempting to catch a Pokemon from the TV Show. Credit: Instantreplay.tumblr.com)

The decision to be patient with bringing Pokémon to the West paid off as well. Not only was Nintendo able to gain substantial data on how the product performed in Japan, but it also blitzed all forms of media when it was ready to launch. With the game, television show, and trading cards, it was virtually impossible to escape Pokémon in the late 90’s and the familiar face of Pikachu. The shocking companion was thought to be a good fit for his appeal to multiple demographics, and as Harris noted “The reason [Nintendo] chose [Pikachu] is simply that he looks the best to kids” (Personal Interview, 3/23). Pikachu has a wide ranging appeal. Not only is the character’s cute nature and aesthetics appealing to children, but Pikachu also has power and ferocity necessary to gain older fans as well. Patience and an enduring mascot also were key strategic decisions that laid the groundwork for success by the franchise and still are seen today with latest releases.  

                                                    

                                        (Who wouldn't want one? Credit: Pokemon.wikia.com)

Finally, a combination of strategic partnerships and brand loyalty has made the Pokémon franchise successful over the last two decades. At the beginning of its inception, Nintendo of America’s licensing agent, 4Kids Entertainment, was well aware of the success in Japan for the franchise and helped find strategic opportunities to grow the brand, including partnering with fast food restaurant chains to distribute toys and finding enticing merchandise opportunities (Fournier, 4); however, Nintendo historically was strict with its licensing rights and thus did not overexpose the brand to a surplus of outlets, choosing quality over quantity to protect brand equity. The games themselves, while similar in nature, offer enough deep customization and strategic analyses for advanced players coupled with a user-friendliness for newcomers. As Forbes video game industry journalist Paul Tassi stated, “Its gameplay was always accessible, its concept was always fun, which is why it could keep attracting new fans”. Furthermore, Tassi pointed out that there was a deficiency of true competitors to the brand, “Brand loyalty was created through iconic characters, but also because nothing better ever came along. Nintendo kept improving on an already great formula, and there was never a reason to give it up.” In essence, Pokémon has had a monopoly, as there were very few games similar before it, and nothing truly replicated it afterwards. The Digimon franchise attempted to take market share, but it never truly came close to what Pokémon accomplished.

                                           

                               (Pokemon are still everywhere. Credit: www.business2community.com)

In conclusion, the Pokémon franchise has succeeded due to multiple marketing and strategic choices. An outstanding image based positioning model coupled with a likable mascot and patience to create a strong go to market strategy has in turn led to long term success for Nintendo and its partners. That being said, something not to be overlooked is the content of the game. Pokémon is fun for all ages and individuals. Anyone can enter the unique and detailed world and has the opportunity to create whatever experience is desired. Whether it is cultivating a perfect team of monsters for battle or simply collecting all of the Pokémon, each individual’s gameplay experience will differ in some capacity, and the game embraces that concept. Since the inception of the first game, there are now 721 confirmed Pokémon in the wild, so the possibilities are endless. Pokémon is still a juggernaut in gaming, and with accessible gameplay alongside deep strategy elements, it will continue to endure over time.    

Sources:

Fournier, Susan, “Pokémon: Gotta Catch ‘Em All”, Harvard Business School, June 19, 2001

Barder, Ollie, “’Pokémon’ As a Series Has Sold More Than 200 Million Copies Globally”, March 17, 2016, http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2016/03/17/pokemon-as-a-series-has-sold-more-than-200-million-copies-globally/#12f9753e6601

3/23 Interview with Blake Harris, 3/23 Interview with Paul Tassi

Introducing Inside the Gaming Suite

                        Welcome to Inside the Gaming Suite

Hello and welcome to Inside the Gaming Suite, a weekly study of the Marketing and Strategic successes, failures, and everything in between within the Interactive Entertainment industry. As part of an independent study at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, I have chosen to look into the details regarding some of my favorite franchises to see how they became what they are today, regardless of whether the turnout was good or bad. I hope to utilize this research to get a better understanding of trends within the gaming industry, and develop ideas about where the specific franchises/genres will grow in the future.

                                          

                                             (Credit: Nintendofandj.deviantart.com)

                                                                 Who am I    

                   

I'm Jay Romano, a lifelong gamer and loyal watcher of industry news. I find the gaming industry to be one of the most successful and exciting industries in the world today. The industry continues to evolve with each passing year, and I find it fascinating to see which companies have forged ahead while others  have been left behind. Most importantly though, at the end of the day I became interested in the industry because I love gaming. I was raised on the NES, Sega Genesis, and SNES, so some of my interest may skew towards the older generation, but I do my best to keep up with the times. My favorite game is Mega Man 9, and I tend to enjoy the following genres: Action, RPGs, Platformers, 3rd Person Shooters, Survival Horror, and Puzzle. 

Throughout this study, I implore you to comment with your thoughts and opinions on each subject. I think it would be really fun and interesting to get a good discussion going, so please feel free to reach out. Once again, welcome, I look forward to writing for you soon.

Best,

JCR