N +

What's in a name?

With Nintendo reportedly paying a hefty sum for wii.com, Apple licensing out i[your product name here], Colin McCrae's latest racing game being called DIRT: Colin McCrae Rally in the US (because his name is less recognizable than dirt here?) and Colin McCrae: DIRT everywhere else, and recent rumors that the Game Boy line may not see another system, I decided to explore the latter on a level not often focused on: consistancy.

'Game Boy' has, over the past two decades, been the quintessential term for portable gaming. Having worked a few years in gaming retail, I was privy to those marketing materials Nintendo sent out monthly to remind the world we're all spelling Game Boy Advance wrong. Similar to this digital document on the correct usage of the Wii logo I got at E3 last year (in a press kit).

It's not just Game Boy anymore
Gameboy
Game boy
GameBoy
Gameboy Advance
GameBoy Advanced
Game Boy Advanced
GB
GB Advance
Game-boy
GBA Correct!
Game Boy Advance Correct!

The Game Boy line has sold a million gizjillion systems to the hands of every human on earth, even dead people and still-soggy babies, also aliens and some apes. But Nintendo has recently mentioned some hard to swallow phrases like how there is a slim chance the Game Boy brand will see another system. Looking at this sales chart below, it's easy to see why they feel the need to focus on what's working._{Nintendo system sales compared over the past few years in the US. Note how important holiday seasons are.}
Supporting both GBA and DS from a supply side, marketing, and from a software support and publishing perspective Nintendo would be dividing their resources. Subsequently, splitting their fanbase and lowering potential DS sales. Nintendo DS enjoys a commanding lead as the number 1 video game system overall, releasing another Game Boy system (as much as it would please myself and some other die-hard fans) would only take some sales away from DS.

If we look at the way people search for Game Boy Advance worldwide, we can see there is a problem._{There are many different ways to search for Game Boy Advance.}
This is a great example of the struggle companies deal with in terms of inconsistancy in branding, often a problem for popular global devices (do you think every country knows the significance of the moniker 'RAZR' when describing Motorolla's thin phone?). The trouble is that many people call it something different because of thier language or a language barrier. The most popular term is GBA, naturally, but as you can see from the chart to the right, certain countries use this far more than others. One very positive thing is the relative use of these terms is [almost] proportional, with very little deviation; a sign of strong control of marketing materials and brand awareness. In other words, GBA is a matured mass market product and no one term has unrelated peaks or valleys in terms of use.

Nintendo (like any other company) goes to great lengths to ensure people call their device by the proper name. Consistancy in branding helps to make the user experience a standard from store to store, so the company can rely on certain constants existing at the point of sale and focus on much more important aspects of mass market production. With certain controls in place, the consumer can begin to form a database of information on a product that gels with what they expect to see, and can spread the information effectively to others. Knowing this also makes certain aspects of reporting easier. We can rely on these constants to help draw these somewhat clear trends in the Game Boy line. I say somewhat because despite the effort made, years in the market, and popularity, when you have a system that has sold more than 45,000,000,001 systems (see: Look Around You - Maths), you're going to lose out to the inconsistancies that arise from major mass market appeal.

This last chart shows the steady increase of Nintendo DS related news is proportionally inverse to the steady decline of people searching for the most popular term for the Game Boy Advance over the same period of time, that term taken from the chart above: GBA._{The purple 'nintendo ds' line was added to show the second most popular search term for Nintendo DS, other than just 'DS.'}
So as we dry our eyes and wish the Game Boy line many "Special Editions" in future Nintendo related design (see: Famicon Game Boy micro for Famicom legacy proof, and NES GBA SP), we can at least be sure that Nintendo is riding the larger wave to success, and further, our personal entertainment and pocket dollars should have their fate spelled out as long as the Big N continues to prove why they're back on top. Just as 'playing Nintendo' was the term for playing anything back in the day, I think people will continue to say 'Eddie dropped his Game Boy in the toilet' even if it's a DS, NeoGeo Pocket Color, or god help me a PSP, for years to come.

_{No, I've never dropped anything in a toilet... *looks at Neeecole*}

The NPD Group has announced the sales figures for consoles in th US for February 2007, and it makes for some good reading if you're a Nintendo fan.

1. Nintendo DS 485,000
   
2. Wii 335,000
   
3. PlayStation 2 295,000
   
4. Xbox 360 228,000
   
5. PlayStation Portable 176,000
   
6. Game Boy Advance 136,000
   
7. PlayStation 3 127,000
   
8. GameCube 24,000
   
9. Xbox 480

The top two selling consoles are made by Nintendo, and even the GBA is beating the PS3 in terms of numbers sold. OK, there may be a slight difference in price between the two, but it still made me smile. It's probably due to their great advertising.

via GoNintendo

Japanese Hardware sales for the week of December 11th - 17th:

• DS lite: 319,708 Up 10,078 from last week [3.25%]
  
• Wii: 108,237 Up 22,798 from last week [26.68%]
  
• PS3: 70,942 Up 20,771 from last week [41.40%]
  
• PSP: 48,962 Up 20,032 from last week [69.24%]
  
• PS2: 37,730 Up 7,270 from last week [23.87%]
  
• Xbox 360: 17,168 Down 18,175 from last week [51.42%]
  
• GBA SP: 1,86729 Down from last week [1.53%]
  
• Game Boy micro: 1,491 Down 64 from last week [4.12%]
  
• Gamecube: 1,152 Up 583 from last week [102.46%]
  
• Original DS: 158 Down 9 from last week [5.39%]
  
• GBA: 42 Up 25 from last week [147.06%]
  
• Xbox: 3 Down 3 from last week [50.00%]
  

With all these analysts saying "people will opt for an older PS2 if Wii and PS3 supplies are too limited," it sure hasn't happend. To make things clearer: Nintendo DS, Wii, and PS3 have been selling out completely so those system numbers could be higher if supply was more plentiful.

Nintendo was hopeful to sell about 2 million DS lites this holiday season, but with these numbers, it may end up being 2.5-3 million.

Is anyone suprised by these figures?

Modojo.com have an interesting article on the top ten handheld flops throughout the years.

With Nintendo's superiority in this market you may find it strange that they have 3 products making the list. Granted, there are not that many handhelds in existence, so it's understandable. I'd hardly call the GBA 1.0 a "flop", however, although I can see where they are coming from (the SP was so superior in my eyes that it does look like an archaic piece of equipment in comparison) but I'm sure Nintendo sales figures wouldn't agree. I do think the Micro is a bit of a luxury item, and with the release of the DS (especially the shuper shexy Lite version) it has and will struggle.

I don't think the PSP deserves to be on the list (or at least that near the top spot), but again, it depends what you call a flop. It's hard to comment to much as I haven't even seen most of these products in action in the flesh (including the PSP - video footage only), so I'm basing what I consider a "flop" on how well they have done in the market, not on the hardware capabilities or support.

Take a look, and tell us what you think about the choices? (Oh, and if anybody has a Virtual Boy that they don't want, let me know - I want one, flop or not! )

Animal Crossing. That appears to be the most popular Nintendo game out at the moment. If the level of activity in the forum is anything to go by, 97.82% of the population of the universe own a copy*, and are happily going about planting fruit, fishing, catching bugs, and talking to strange animals. What about the other fantastic games out there? There has been a distinct lack of exchanging friend codes on other Wi-Fi titles, along with a lack of chat about these games. This may well be that nobody has these titles, but it just seems odd to me.

So in a way of encouraging activity around these games, I give you

The N Challenge Arena

(cue fireworks, and a fanfare that John Williams would be proud of).

And what is the point of The N Challenge Arena, I hear you ask. Well that is up to you. I see it as a place to encourage competitive gaming. Whether it be arranging a lunchtime grand prix of Mario Kart or a late-night tag battle in Metroid, it can all be arranged in this part of the forum. Fancy a brick-off in Tetris, or a dog-fight in StarFox, make your interest known, and throw down the gauntlet. You can even use it to play Stuff Teh Weasel, if you wish.

If you fancy yourself as a particular master of a game, challenge others to beat you. Post a fastest lap time for a MarioKart circuit, and demand proof if someone claims they can beat it. What's your highest number of lines in Tetris? Do you think it can't be beaten - post a pic of proof, and find out.

I've mentioned DS games so far, but The N Challenge Arena covers any game. Do you kill psycho villagers better than anyone in Resident Evil 4 Mercenary mode? Tell us about it, and maybe someone can do better, or maybe they will bow down in front of your awesomeness. F-Zero king, or Tiger Woods Pro - there maybe someone out there willing to rob you of your title. With the advent of Wii, and the ever-growing library of DS games, the possibilities will be endless.

From time to time, there may be challenges laid down by N, with the victorious few being honoured in the Hall of Fame. Not just gaming challenges, either. The competitions will cover a variety of areas and media.

I'll start you off with a Tetris Challenge. I could lie at this point and tell you I am awesome at this game. I am not. In fact I'm not very good at all, and to make this challenge a bit of a...challenge, I call upon the services of my fiancé. Behold her high score on Tetris for the DS.

701 lines. That is a ridiculous score. The blocks move so fast my eyes melt just watching them. Can you do better? Post a picture of your top score in this thread and show off your wicked skillz.

*This statistic may not be true

Famitsu has given details on Star Wars Lego II for the Nintendo DS, Gamecube, and Gameboy Advance. The game follows the first 3 films (Episodes IV, V, and VI), which are faithfully re-created in Lego miniature form. Each game consists of 16 missions, and the DS version has the added bonus of two-player co-operative and competitive gaming through the DS wireless capabilities.

The missions are as follows:

Episode IV A New Hope

• Blockade Runner
  
• Mos Eisley space port
  
• Rescue the princess
  
• Escaping from Death Star
  
• Trench run
  

　
Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

• Fight of Hoth
  
• Withdrawal from Echo Base
  
• Dagoba
  
• Betrayal of Bespin
  
• Trap of Cloud City
  

　
Episode VI Return of the Jedi

• Jabba’s Palace
  
• Hole of Sarlac
  
• Speeder - chase
  
• Battle of Endor
  
• Death Star
  
• Destiny
  

There is also a function where you can customise your character, allowing you to change the legs, body, head, and weapon to give you a whole new experience when playing the game (I like the thought of being an Ewok Stormtrooper Jedi Master with a lightsaber ).

Screenshots, and can be found in the photo section. It looks a lot of fun, and although I missed out on the first game on the Gamecube, I’m severely tempted to give this one a go. It might be the last game I buy for the Cube...good job I'll be able to play it on the Wii!

The game is set to be released on 12th September 2006, and the official site can be found here.