Nintendo's marketing

[Dude]

Are you asking why Nintendo has sold the most this gen? Cause in your original post you say something about 25 years, but the previous 2 gens Nintendo was hardly the name everyone thought of when they heard the words video game.

Playstation and? Certainly not Sega, right? I mean they are arguably better quality games, but not marketing-wise I wouldn't think.

Two generations, Ps1 and Ps2 dominated the last two generations.

Also it's of note that vgcharts is notorious for being inaccurate.

Current data link?

[Dude]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_be ... e_consoles

Playstation 2 - 150 million
Playstation - 102 million

Nintendo is pretty well dominating the handhelds. The DS versions have sold almost as many as PS 2.

[J T]

I think the success of the Wii can all be traced back to this video

[DobbyDobs123]

I feel the reason nintendo has been able to remain at least relatively successful (yes the N64 and GC were both flops sale wise but at the same time they didn't kill the company) is the same reason that many dismiss nintendo: the company's kiddy image. Parents buy Nintendo consoles for their children because of the generalization, however false it may be, that Nintendo games are made for kids. These same kids when they grow up and move past the "I'm too cool for Nintendo" teenage stage have nostalgia for the games of their past and buy a current gen nintendo system to play the new games in some of nintendo's long running franchises. Rinse, repeat, and Nintendo has the recipe for long term success.

It also doesn't hurt that nintendo releases some fantastic games with wide range appeal.

[k.vlaros]

I'm unsure what the original post is arguing or asking but I'll answer this question:

"Why is Nintendo still popular and how has it weathered and in some cases far exceeded competition from the likes of Atari to Sony?"

My answer is "fun". Actually my answer is "amusement". I think Nintendo's past designing goofy mechanical-electric toys still lingers in the deep recess of their most successful games. The constant attention to, "are we having fun? are we laughing? are we delighted? are we surprised?" rather than "hardcore, badass, awesome!" is why Nintendo continues to appeal to each new generation of gamer. And now former-gamers turned parents. I don't want to say Nintendo doesn't take their games seriously - because they clearly do, maybe more so than most. But they seriously understand making games that aren't serious! And they take chances with novelty from the ROB to the Bongos to the Balance Board. They think of games as toys... and are better off for it! (and developing this strength comes at the cost of more "sophisticated" elements like story telling. OK, let's just say it: Other M!)

[Rayban]

I think the success of the Wii can all be traced back to this video

BINGO!

[Michi]

I would like to know what the definition of "hardcore" gamer is. A person that has played every single Mario game could be considered hardcore, right? I just don't get the whole "I'm a hardcore gamer, I don't own a Wii and I'm better than you."
WTF IS A HARDCORE GAMER?!?!
Any kind of gamer is cool in my book

I wish some of these so called "hardcore" would give the original ninja gaiden or kid icarus a spin.

I think there would be a lot of broken controllers and television screens. Then they'd yell in frustration, only to realize the Nintendo doesn't have Xbox live support and the only one they can yell at for their own failure is themselves and not some poor smuck on the other side of the globe.

[Flodder450]

To me,a hardcore gamer,is someone who enjoys their games and systems to the fullest,regardless of age