Console Hardware - The Video Game Industry: Formation, Present State, and Future - page 138

8 ConsoleHardware
The Development of Nintendo Wii
Mirko Ernkvist
This chapter focuses on the innovation process of console hardware with a
case study of the market-expanding Nintendo Wii. The historical condition
that enabled the company to break existing conventions of how a console
should be designed is analysed. It is argued that the Wii's development
was inherently shaped by Nintendo's deeply held cognitive views that sup-
ported ef orts to question established product attributes, continue innova-
tive search in areas that were not yielding immediate results, reuse previous
knowledge and overcome doubts towards the innovation. Results suggest
the value of the approach for innovative opportunities in the game industry
requiring repeated, intuitive experiences.
INTRODUCTION
When Nintendo released its Nintendo Wii at the end of 2006, it represented a
discontinuous break with several of the experience-based design heuristics of
how a video game console should be designed in terms of technological per-
formance, controller interface, game software and users. The technological
functionality of Wii did not provide the leap in processing and graphic power
that had characterized earlier video game console generation shifts ( Table
8.1). The Wii remote controller was a discontinuous shift with traditional
complex controller interfaces. With its intuitive motion-sensing capability it
enabled players to interact with the game through gesture recognition and
pointing with the use of accelerometer and optical sensor. In terms of game
software, Wii enabled a broadening of the defi nition of what traditionally
had been considered video games and enabled the introduction of new game
genres. In term of users, the ef ort to expand the market to reach new user
groups and lapsed players was the focus at the onset, despite that some of
the company's most dedicated user base perceived it as an ef ort to abandon
focus and resources with its traditional core fan base.
At the end of 2010, Nintendo Wii had reached accumulated sales of 84.6
million units, compared with around fi fty million units for the competing
system Microsoft Xbox 360 and 47.8 million units for Sony PlayStation 3
( Table 8.1).