Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
18,000
16,000
a
14,000
5
u
I
12,000
2
S
10,000
|
w>
8,000
o
a
|
•Console hardware
Portable hardware
6,000
Total video game
hardware (portable and
console)
3
O
e
"
4,000
2,000
vdi>-coooT-icNjro
^Lnor-.ooc^o
C^( ^C^OOOOOOOOOOOT- I
G^tT-O^O^OOOOOOOOOOO
HHHHCNNt
0
Mt
NNt
MNNNNM
and console).
Source: CESA (1997-2011).
high level of technological performance attributes and dominating techno-
logical standards in their products (Asakura 2000).
While the U.S. and European video game markets were growing rapidly
with an increasing strength of U.S. third-party publishers, the Japanese
market for game software and hardware had started to decline in the years
following the end of the 1990s (
Figure 8.2
and
Figure 8.3).
The decline was
most notable for the console game segment of the market. It had many of
the characterizing features of the process described by Dymek in
Chapter
2,
whereby players had abandoned the console game market after a lengthy
downward industry spiral of subculturization.
Nintendo's cognitive frame had a signifi cant infl uence on how it
responded, interpreted and acted on these external markets signals. Presi-
dent Hiroshi Yamauchi interpreted the market decline as a result of how
the technological performance race in the industry had brought a lack
of variety to the market; original game ideas had suf ered as focus had
shifted to technological performance attributes such as improvement in
graphics with increasing development costs as a result (Nihon Keizai
Shimbun 2001; Mainichi Interactive 2002). When Satoru Iwata became
the new president of Nintendo on March 31, 2002, this interpretation of
the market situation was the starting point for the new product develop-
ment strategy. The new president analysed available market data closely,
citing the need to take a more scientifi c approach in the ef orts to analyse
Search WWH ::
Custom Search