Perrin Kaplan: Gamers Bored Before Wii, Only They Didn't Know.

And now for my bad deed of the day.

Next-Gen had the chance to grab a few interesting comments made by outgoing NoA Marketing VP, Perrin Kaplan, after Nintendo was named "Marketer of the Year".

"A major insight that Nintendo had early on was that they saw that gamers were getting bored, even though they didn't know it yet."

Robert Matthews (NOA Senior Director of Consumer Marketing) quickly backed up this comment by saying:

"Just look at the way people consume entertainment today. The idea that you would spend hours playing videogames is just not real anymore."

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I'll admit that I was getting bored with gaming a few years ago. I even stopped playing games for over a year because of it. However, the first time I played a DS at Best Buy, I was hooked on gaming again. Wii has also helped keep me glued to those consoles. Everything just feels fresh and new again with these consoles.

Damn, and here I was having a great time enjoying games. If only they'd let me know earlier.

On a serious note, I would say that the statement rings true concerning Japan, but I'm not so sure about the rest of the world where gaming has only continued to grow.

With a quote like that, it seems to me that Mr. Kaplan is applying for a job at Sony.Robio_basic

This is precisely what I love about Nintendo: Gamers don't know what they want- we have to tell them. :roll:Vampyronight

Like I've said before, with the Wii's demographics, no one should be shocked an horrified that makers of boring, time consuming games (which encompasses anyone making console games pre-Wii) are so slow to offer up such games on the Wii as opposed to the minigame collections Kaplan clearly states Wii owners are interested in.

I completely agree with Kapan that its not about marketing. If Nintendo merely offered Zelda as opposed to Wiisports, Warioware, Mario Party 8,Brain Training and who knows what else,the Wii would be the GC2, not the phenomena it has become. The massive casual market was clearly underserved.

[QUOTE="Robio_basic"]With a quote like that, it seems to me that Mr. Kaplan is applying for a job at Sony.Skylock00

Well I'll have you know Mr. Smartypants, that I was referring to her husband. It's a well known fact that she's trying to get him a job at Sony, I'll have you know.

. . .yeah I think I covered myself nicely.

I knew it. But it wasn't the wii by any means that aleviated that boredom. It was the DS TBH.

On a second note, thank god nintendo shed kaplan and harrison.

Yeah I was getting bored and then they went ahead and released Gate of Thunder on the VC and now I can't stop jumping off the walls every time my ship explodes!

Last gen was a complete snooze fest. God of War boring, Halo was boring, Paper Mario was boring, MGS 3was boring, Metroid Prime 2 was boring etc...There were so many boring games that I almost gave up on gaming. This gen continues to bore me, I don't even touch my 360 anymore because I think every game is pretty freaking boring, including XBOX live arcade games. I don't even make eye contact with it anymore.

If it wasn't for the Wii, I would have probably given up on gaming. I don't consider my self hardcore or casual, nor do I consider anyone on these forums, "hardcore."

Yeah I was getting bored and then they went ahead and released Gate of Thunder on the VC and now I can't stop jumping off the walls every time my ship explodes!

Last gen was a complete snooze fest. God of War boring, Halo was boring, Paper Mario was boring, MGS 3was boring, Metroid Prime 2 was boring etc...There were so many boring games that I almost gave up on gaming. This gen continues to bore me, I don't even touch my 360 anymore because I think every game is pretty freaking boring, including XBOX live arcade games. I don't even make eye contact with it anymore.

If it wasn't for the Wii, I would have probably given up on gaming. I don't consider my self hardcore or casual, nor do I consider anyone on these forums, "hardcore."

Spirit_of_87

Good, I'm not the only one who missed the Nintendo memo. Phew.

Hey Nintendo, tell ya what? If I need some more Brain Training, Pokemon or last gen port games I'll be sure to hit you up. You know, if I'm bored n' stuff.

I always thought Kaplan said some weird things, especially about the Wii. She's the one who said that Wii will have a DVD player, which was flatly denied by Nintendo. She also claimed the Wii would be region-free, which was also flatly denied by Nintendo.

I wonder why she said all those things to force Nintendo to publicly deny those claims just to save face. How did she stay on that position for this long?

Sure I was bored, especially with stuff like Mario Party.nopalversion

I love how some of these executives make sweeping generalizations about sweeping generalizations.

I think that diversity is the key. Not just with video games, but life. I don't want to replace one thing for the other when I can have both. I haven't stopped watching horror flicks just because I dig action movies. I didn't stop reading Stephen King when I got into the Harry Potter books. I haven't stopped listening to rock even though I can dig a little jazz. And I'm sure as hell not going to replace conventional games with non-conventional experiences, eventhough I'll play (and enjoy) both.

EDIT: That's the mistake that all these companies make -- that something is mutually exclusive to another. **** that noise, Jack. I am the ultimate consumer in this sense because I want it all, right now. Don't start telling me what I want; I'll let my wallet do the talking and my palate sort out the rest.

The most recent business model of success came from the PS2, and it showed that gamers really don't want to be stuffed into categories. They want the best of everything. As soon as a company starts placing importance on one group of gamers over another, they're on the path to self-defeat. Follow in the PS2's footprints -- it'll lead straight to the goldmine. Start believing that your system is a mini-game machine, or a shooter platform, or a sports platform and you're doomed. If you want to attain market dominance, anyway.