NINTENDO Wii TARGETS ITS WAY TO SUCCESS

I just returned from Fort Pierce, Florida after visiting my retired parents over the holidays. They are both aged 70 +, live in an active seniors only community, and are the proud owners of a Wii (Nintendo video game) . We had several bowling tournaments during our visit and the women usually beat the men.  They often invite their friends over for Wii parties.  Mom is also the family boxing champion and frequently knocks Dad out.

The Wii is the year's game console champ. Much of their success is due to their targeting of seniors and other niche markets not typical of the traditional gaming industry.  Do you  know any seniors or nontraditional gamers that have played on the Wii?   How did seniors discover the Wii?

Seniors are initially intimidated by the technology but once they get their hands on the Wii and play the games they experience how easy it is and they love it. They also enjoy the exercise they receive while moving and having fun in a social setting. Great advertising showing seniors at play combined with positive word-of-mouth due to the pay-off with a fun hands-on experience made Wii a hit with seniors. Wii even targets seniors with demos and games at events with the American Association of Retired People (AARP) .

Nintendo does a great job of niche marketing. They were known for targeting families with children and females but the addition of targeting the untapped senior audience was pure genius. Nintendo has successfully avoided going head-to-head with Sony and X-box for the young male audience and created a niche for seniors and families with children.

The Wii brand name also sounds fun and less technical and the innovative motion sensor technology gave Nintendo a unique way to rebrand the video game category as something easy, active and more fun for everyone. Just plug and play. The video game category previously, particularly the Sony and X-box systems, was very intimidating to seniors and the complicated controllers and games were not very senior friendly. Wii has changed the emphasis from the individual gamer to a more fun and friendly social setting.  Wii's success is evident but what can their marketing do to maintain their momentum with seniors and nontraditional gamers after the initial novelty wears off? 

I look 4WARD to your feedback.

Keep "Digging For Worms