It's All About the Wii

At this point most of our regular readers know that I love my Wii. I am not a game console guy, have never had the inkling to buy a PlayStation, Xbox or any other system, and don't really like first person shooters. When people talk about waiting in line for game systems I have been known to mock. In fact, when they announced the name of the new Nintendo console would be "Wii" I openly questioned if those crazy marketing people knew what they were doing.

Turns out they did.

Check out this article at Ad Age. Ad Age recently voted Nintendo Marketer of the Year for the roll-out of the Wii and the DS. They built the console with the soccer mom as the target audience, ignoring the traditional gamer (young males). A brilliant strategy excellently executed.

This ties in with a point I made about The Sims a few years back. Something you might not know about Kristin and I is that we are HUGE Sims fans. We purchased all seven of the original Sims expansion packs and have purchased the majority for The Sims 2. In our pre-Clara days we used to play Sims on our computers (individual computers, Oliver's key to a successful marriage) for hours at a time. One Saturday we played for fourteen hours straight.

The Sims is the top selling PC game of all time. This is largely in part due to the fact that the game was adopted by non-traditional gamers, namely girls older players. It is interesting that both The Sims and the Wii found the success outside the traditional gamer demographic. A person far more insightful than I would be able to say what this evolution in computer and console usership means about society as a whole. Is it that the wider public is more accepting of electronic entertainment? That marketers and product designers have increased sophistication? That society is lazier and doesn't want to leave the house?

I'm not sure. But I do know that both scored well with our household and that if you're thinking of buying a Wii, stop by. I'd love to give you a tour. Just be prepared to hear "Wii would like to play."