Come the Revolution

The 'next generation' may have already begun, but the current generation of home consoles still beats with a strong heart. Titles such as Black, TOCA Race Driver 3 and FIFA Street 2 should ensure the Xbox and PlayStation 2 remain comfortable under consumers' TV sets for the rest of the year.

At least, that's the case for the two leaders of the pack - but a browse around retail outlets will reveal little in the way of software or hardware support for Nintendo's GameCube. HMV and Woolworths have both dropped the machine, while GAME has continued to reduce space for the console. What stock is left is fighting a losing battle for shelf space, even being nudged off display ends by its portable cousins the DS and GBA Micro.

There are some pockets of air for Nintendo, and smaller retailers are making a quick sale where possible. High Street franchise Chips sell a second hand machine for GBP 35, less than half the price of a similar condition PS2, and a number of independent stores have a rotating second hand bin of software. "The GameCube seems to have been deserted by the larger retailers; but many independent retailers are seeing a healthy market for the machine," says Peter Lunn, head of marketing at Nintendo's distribution partner, Koch Media. "Independent retailers can be great ambassadors and offer what customers want, not who has the largest marketing budget."

While this mutual exploitation between indies and Nintendo may grant the GameCube some stay of execution, the Kyoto giant's next home console will require a very different approach to marketing. Solid details about the Revolution remain sparse, yet Nintendo has stated it hopes to attract a different audience to the one being aggressively chased by Microsoft and Sony. This is the console that will support a back catalogue of twenty years' worth of Nintendo games, as well as new titles utilising the intriguing new controller. It's not embracing the 'High Definition Era' that its rivals are foaming at the mouth for, and as such, is likely to be a very different product to the Xbox 360 and PS3 - which presents a unique challenge for the trade marketing of the system. "Nintendo will have to rely heavily on experiential marketing," reckons Lunn. "Sitting the Revolution in-store alongside other consoles is not going to show its advantages."

The huge back catalogue of games, meanwhile, may be a fine addition for consumers - but is a reason for retailers to remain cautious of the Revolution, as traditionally retailers make a negligible profit from selling hardware. As David Braben, chairman of British development studio Frontier Developments, points out; "Retailers are going to look at the in-store sales potential of the machine. This will depend almost entirely on the style and quality of what is on offer to the user both on and offline, but in order to be given shelf space by beleaguered retailers, this will depend solely on retail sales of the machine and the retail packages alone - online games will not help the retailer other than in hardware sales."

It's not just retailers that Nintendo may face a struggle to win over. Historically, consumers of new consoles have always experienced a noticeable step up in terms of the experience - visually more impressive than the last, higher production values, a deeper gaming experience - but Nintendo isn't striving for the next best technical achievements. "It depends on how the games stack up against the competition, and my understanding is that they will not," continues Braben. "The Revolution is closer in performance to the fourth generation (of home consoles) than the fifth - so it should focus on the niche appeal which it undoubtedly does have, both for the controller and for Nintendo's heritage, and perhaps for price."

That appeal may not be quite so "niche", however. "Mainstream consumers don't care about 'next-gen'," argues Andrew Eades, development director of Relentless Software and makers of Buzz: The Music Quiz, a title that has enjoyed considerable success by offering family entertainment instead of technical wizardry. "Nintendo has bowed out of the tech arms race so it has to win on games. It has shown that it can do that with titles such as Nintendogs and Mario Kart DS. Gamers in the know will buy a Revolution as a 2nd machine to play another Miyamoto classic, but the mainstream consumer needs something less abstract to latch onto. The Revolution must be both niche and mainstream."

If the fabled 'next gen' isn't as crucial as Microsoft and Sony would have us believe, then it seems Nintendo's reputation for originality and strong niche appeal could be the keys to the Revolution's success. "We need to get away from 'next-gen' just being about hardware," says Koch's Lunn. "'Next-gen' should be about interaction. Nintendo is proving that with the DS it's possible to attract new users through more interaction, and the growth of online play is showing interaction with other people can make games more compelling. 'Next gen' is the social growth of gaming," he adds.

"My feeling is that Nintendo need not, and will not, worry too much about joining the 'next-gen' debate," offers Chris Lee, ex-VP of Criterion Software, now commercial director of FreeStyle Games. "Consumers have always looked to Nintendo for something a little different, in terms of hardware and software. The prospect of Mario, Zelda, Pikmin and Animal Crossing making an appearance on any system gives it immediate appeal - the challenge now is exploding this niche into a more mass market audience."

Perhaps the Revolution's most distinctive USP is its controller, a one-handed wireless wand more akin to a TV remote than a traditional game pad. Sony's SingStar, EyeToy and Buzz titles have proven that a basic controller can help attract an audience that wouldn't normally pick up a game pad. "With a simplified controller that everyone can understand, you can open up the gaming audience to people that are afraid of the modern complex controller," says Relentless' Eades. "I don't know whether the Revolution controller offers up a simpler interface or whether it adds complexity. I hope it is simpler. We learnt with Sony and Buzz that by offering a controller that needs no instructions you can get a load more people to play your game."

"Undoubtedly the controller is novel, and should work brilliantly for certain games types," offers Frontier's Braben. "But there will be some resistance, particularly with established styles of games, for which new mechanisms will need to be found. There is also a potential downside - assuming it is a huge success, it could be a pyrrhic victory; I am not convinced that others - third or first parties - can't offer similar styles of controller for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, eroding the Revolution's advantage."

Marketing a new console is always a momentous task, and it seems that Nintendo has a bigger job than its rivals. In its hopes of reclaiming turf lost in the last console spat, it's relying on innovation to propel the Revolution into the arms of a new audience. It has to sell old games and new controls to a mainstream consumer perhaps unfamiliar with the subject. It has to entice software manufacturers to construct games differently than they already do for rival hardware. And perhaps most awkwardly of all, it has to convince the retail community to stock a machine where a huge portion of content won't be available on store shelves.