The gaming world is buzzing about the release of Nintendo's revolutionary (and I do mean that in the most non-hyperbolic manner) Wii entertainment system on November 19. I tried this out at the Javits Center in New York in June and was knocked out by its easy intuitive play, natural feel and pure, outright fun. I hope it sells a zillion.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is taking a huge stride (note I didn't say "gamble") with this system, which goes after regular folk and eschews the industry's traditional hard-core gamer audience. Here's how he explains the relationship between Wii and them:
"(Wii) was unimaginable for them. And because it was unimaginable, they could not say they wanted it. If you are simply listening to requests from the customer, you can satisfy their needs, but you can never surprise them."
Surprise is greater than satisfaction. A mantra for the age of Pow!
(Ironically, this comes as no Surprise to me, as this type of thinking is common amongst entertainment/tech enterprises in Japan. My company, Airborne Entertainment, is majority owned by a Tokyo company called Cybird, and we've been exposed to this more emotional, people-centered approach for 18 months now.)