How Nintendo Makes Use of Social Media

     Nintendo is one of the biggest video game companies in the world. Different from its peers like Xbox under Microsoft and Play station under Sony, Nintendo always persists in developing games without violence and sex. For the North America market, its well use of social media wins it a lot of fans and brings it stable profits annually.

     As a successful video game company, Nintendo knows that it cannot rely too much on ethos to persuade the audience to buy its games. Customers will buy its games are mainly because they are playable and of high quality. In terms of games, video always speaks louder than image. So, Nintendo put a lot of efforts on operating Youtube page, the contents of which are divided into several sub-channels. For example, On “Game trailer” channel, the audience can watch the game trailers, the visual images of which give them a direct feeling of the game. Through my survey, I also find that one of Nintendo’s strategies is to make a connection between a virtual world and a real one for the customers. On “Nintendo Minute” page, which is a talk show channel, informs the audience of Nintendo’s offline activities, new released games and video game accessories.

     On Nintendo’s Facebook page, it also makes a good interaction with the audience. It often posts some creative portraits made by the customers, most of whom are below 12 ages. This behavior really leaves a goodwill message to its audience saying that Nintendo cares about children’s happiness. Also, it increases the company’s credibility because it implicitly responds to Nintendo’s anti-violence belief. Nintendo’s another intention of using social media is to know its audience. From my survey, I find that posts related to Mario often have more “likes,” which gives Nintendo a direction on what games are more popular.

      Nintendo’s official website is very concise, which makes the customers feel convenient to find what they want. Besides providing multiple payment methods for the customers to buy games, Nintendo also offers “Play demo for free” option, which comforts them before they truly buy the game.

     From above, the audience can see that Nintendo creates a positive Internet circulation. The customers can watch its Facebook to know new released games, and then they can go to Youtube to watch how it looks like. Even before they buy the game on their website, they can still play free demo to see if they really like it.

     Nintendo is devoted to maintain the relationship with its customers. It can be proved from the news that Nintendo’s CEO Iwata announced that Nintendo’s properties could be officially used for fan projects. For Nintendo, Customers are its important friends. It creates a great environment for them to enjoy in Nintendo’s big family. That’s why people can find tons of interesting stuffs created by the customers themselves on Pinterest. Considering the result that they are voluntarily advertising for Nintendo, the “fan art” of it can be seen as another big success of Nintendo’s social media strategy.

     I also found an interesting article, the author of which made a research on what video games people would like to add on their Christmas wish lists. The collected data showed that 43 percent of the customers from 10-12 ages would choose Nintendo’s Mario game as NO.1 of their lists. The survey proves that Nintendo takes children as their first customers. Due to the accurate market analysis, Nintendo’s customers are relatively stable and keep increasing.

     In Cunningham’s blog, he wrote an article on the history of Nintendo over the 30 years. The article is a valuable secondary source, which informs people of how Nintendo keeps innovating and creating good games. That’s why it still stands at top while some peer Japanese companies died.

     On Feb 12, 2015, Nintendo officially broadcasted news about its next step, which is to develop a smartphone app for Mii characters. As Iwata said, “Nintendo is looking to develop products that will allow customers to identify with Nintendo products and make people pay attention to Nintendo games.” If it comes out, customers can use their own facial icons in a game world. It is really a big move, which shows that Nintendo tries to use pathos in designing their games. Nintendo widely uses social media to keep the audience update of its newest progress.

     In conclusion, based on the quality of games, Nintendo successfully uses social media to promote its games. Having won the hearts of the customers, Nintendo consolidates its positions in the North America market.

Works Cited

Lamoreux, Ben. “Nintendo Properties Can Officially Be Used for Fan Projects.” Gamnesia 17 November 2014. Web. 13 Feb 2015.

Campbell, Evan. “Nintendo President Satoru Iwata Teases Mii Smartphone App.” IGN 12 Feb 2015. Web. 13 Feb 2015.

Cunningham, Andrew. “The NES turns 30: How it began, worked and saved an industry.” Arstechnica 15 July 2013. Web. 13 Feb 2015.

Harrington, Lindsay. “Game Crazy Reveals Which Video Games Top Kids’ Wish Lists This Holiday Season.” Bloomberg 27 October 2009. Web. 13 Feb 2015.