CASE STUDY - Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit Plus

Marketing
   The Wii Fit Plus is promoted in many different ways, over the television, in games stores, big food shopping stores such as 'Tescos' etc and the internet, often advertised using famous people such as Ant and Dec.

   Wii Fit even has its own website; www.wiifit.com, where you can:
- get updates
- goin 'club nintendo' and get rewards and free extended warrantees on nintendo consoles that you own
- buy wiifit/wiifit plus
   We found that the website had tabs at the top of the page where you could look at other nintendo consoles and games avaliable as well as the fact that on each wii fit page there was a different age and gender represented which promotes the product to the consumer due to the fact that anyone can get involved and makes it look like its easy to get the hang of for all ages. you can also follow nintendo on facebook and twitter for updates as well which makes it even more avaliable and closer to the consumer than ever before.
   You can also buy accessories for your wii remote - such as different coloured straps and protective cases which makes it even more personal to the consumer.
   You can now even get your pet involved, which brings the family together even more on this wii game as you can weigh the dog to see whether your pet is overweight or not.



Production:
    Wiifit Plus is produced by Nintendo. The consumer moves the Mii avatar by the Nintendos sensor bar which is placed on top or at the bottom of the consumers television. The sensor bar tracks the consumers body movement and is shown on screen by the actions of the Mii character. Also there are sensors in the Nintendo Balance Board which picks up on even the slightest weight movement and again this is shown through the Mii on screen. For example; By bending and extending your legs the balance board picks up on the consumers weight movement and the Mii jumps. The balance board is also very useful as when doing muscle or yoga workouts as it tracks your weight and by doing this is makes sure you have and are holding the right posture through out the workout.

     

Distribution:

   The Wiifit Plus is available to the consumer in many ways, over the internet and in game stores. Simply by typing 'Wiifit Plus' into google search will come up with many websites for you to buy the game and even the nintendo wii console. 'Amazon' is one of the first online websites that come up after the google search along with the wiifit website itself as well as 'play.com', 'tescodirect' and 'game'. Wiifit plus is available in stores such as 'HMV', 'Game', 'John Lewis' and other stores which openly sell games and games consoles. The fact that the game is available nearly everywhere and at any time makes it even more desirable to the consumer because they can buy it whenever they want in a way that is easiest for them.

Consumption:
   The game is easy to use and easy to play with different games available for all ages to attract an audience and keep them fit. Although games can only really be played one player at a time, you can alternate how many people play by taking turns when taking part in games.The Wii home screen also gives the consumer an oppotunity to create their own 'Mii' which is an avatar you can create to look like yourself. This involves the consumer much more and the consumer uses their Mii when playing the WiiFit Plus this allows them to keep track of their weight and they can set personal goals. It's a fun game that not only is nice to play but helps you to loose weight and the same time and to keep track of your fitness. The person playing has a remote which they use as an action for games which are shown before you start the game and/or the wii board, which you stand on and move about and uses your balance and weight to move characters or objects in games. It makes the game itself very interactive for the consumer and lots of fun.

above is the obstacle course game and below is a yoga position on the wii fit plus.

Charlie Brooker: Games Wipe

1. What are the genres of games he discusses?
Platformer - e.g. Donkey Kong, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario
Shoot-Em-Up - e.g. Space Invaders
           - first person games  e.g. 3d Monster maze, Doom and golden eye.
Simulation - e.g. Flight simulator and The Sims.
Strategy - e.g. Civilization and Command and Conquer
Puzzle game - e.g. Tetris and Portal
RPG ( Role Play Game)
MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Play Game)
Adventure Games - e.g. Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy
Casual games - e.g. (Rapidly expanding) Cooking Mama
Beat Em Up Games - e.g. Mortal Combat
Sandbox Games - e.g. Elite and Grand Theft Auto
Rhythm Action Games - e.g. Rock Band and Guitar Hero

2. Which advances does he discuss?

• Graphics are a lot better than they were before.
• There are more advances in the types of console you can play; the Nintendo have made the 'Nintendo Wii' and Xbox has made the 'Kinect' - where you yourself are the controller. The games become more interactive and become more attractive to the consumer to buy the best console out there.

above is the Xbox Kinect, below is the Nintendo Wii

3. What are the differences between the UK and the US?
The difference between the UK and the US is that the US were far more advance in the games industry than the UK, and so whilst here in the UK we were playing Super Mario and Sonic, the US had Beat-Em-Up games and Shoot-Em-Up games which were a lot more disturbing during the time period when they came about and criticized by the news as bad games for teenagers, men and boys to be playing.

4. What criticisms does it make about the games industry and consumer?
As Charlie Brooker interviewed a couple of other celebrities on games they had and have been playing, they came up with many criticisms about today's games. They found that they prefer to give up with some games due to the repetitiveness of what they are playing, such as in 'Gears Of War' where you had to barge through two doors with a monster chasing you and then come across a third, it just feels like a waste of time constantly repeating what you've already done. They also criticised that there aren't good enough game saving points, in most games if you get stuck or die you have to restart the level from the beginning which really frustrates the gamer. In games such as 'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero', you have to play through the music you don't really want to, to unlock the levels you do want to play the music you want. When you buy the game, you buy it because it tells you that most things will be available to you, when actually you have to unlock the levels to play the parts of the game you want to. Yet another criticism was that although the games graphics were getting a lot better, more detailed and having HD televisions to play on meant that the footage you were watching was good, the story line of games is going downhill. They make games into films now, rather than telling the story from a book where its more individual and will grab the gamers attention even more with a good story, one quote was that games are now "Charmless". Television and parents of a lot of teenagers seem to think that the games they play really are unsuitable, such as Manhunt and Call Of Duty, due to the violence and how graphic the killings are. Games aren't getting the response that they really want.