Its a combination of interview and historical piece (lots of links to old interviews but doesn't look like anyone still working at Nintendo spoke directly to the reporter about the article) and is a very interesting read. Full credit to the neogaf for the find.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=653527
http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2013/08/15/the-struggles-of-marketing-the-gamecube/
During the GameCube era, Nintendo of Japan became confused by North Americas obsession with violence, epic cinematic stories, and photo realistic graphics. Games such as Halo 2 (sold 8 million units) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (sold 17.33 million units) were stealing attention away from Nintendos first party GameCube software.
In meetings it was clear [Nintendo of Japan] could not understand why the brand had fallen so far here in North America or comprehend why the mature titles, and more powerful consoles, were so successful. Nintendo represented fun, in the purest sense of the word, they always have. When you play Nintendo games you laugh, you yell, you smile, and you jump around. You have FUN. Someone, sadly I forget who, would later quote in one of those meetings that Consumers dont want fun anymore; they just want to kill people in HD. It was actually kind of true, and with the cultural differences between Japan and the US, it was easy to understand the confusion, said Mercury in 2011.
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According to an NPD sales chart created by GamePro magazine (which you can see by scrolling below):
- GameCube sold 2.2 million units in North America during the first 10 months of launch. (Source: Joystiq)
- PlayStation 3 only sold 1.7 million units in North America during the first 10 months of launch. (Source: Joystiq)
- In both console generations, GameCube and PlayStation 3 were competing in a competitive market where three consoles fought for market share.
The difference is that PlayStation 3 miraculously turned around its gloomy situation by eventually selling between 75 to 80 million units worldwide. GameCube would only sell 21.7 million units worldwide by the end of its six year run.
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In an attempt to appeal to the PlayStation and Xbox crowds, Nintendo established deals with companies like Maxim and Heineken to reach the 17-to-25 year old males. Mercurys promotional teams would show off products like the Game Boy Advance SP at porn industry parties and night clubs. To fight the kiddy/toy image that GameCube was facing, Nintendo created promotional campaigns like Cube Clubs, Nintendo Fusion Tours, and the Who Are You? campaign to bring public awareness of their products to older demographics.
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Toward the end of the GameCube era, Nintendo lost confidence in their own fans. Nintendo was losing market share with each new console launched.
Pride turned to arrogance. Ugly arrogance. Nintendo started to develop contempt for the gaming community. They felt as if they were being betrayed by the gamers they created. The marketing teams started to look at gamer focused strategies with ire and spite. says Mercury. The hardcore Nintendo audience was equally cast aside. Why bother? Theyre going to buy anything we put out anyway.
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The article ends with a ton of links to interviews with Nintendo execs (and select quotes from those interviews). Below is the most hilarious.
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Reggie talks about the lessons Nintendo learned from GameCube.
First, weve got make sure that the titles in the first six months are strong and can drive sales. Weve also got to make sure the console is attractive visually. And weve got to deliver on the right consumer needs.
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