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Robin Muncy

Nintendo: Maintaining Competitive Advantage
Copyright 2011. Gatton Student Research Publication. Volume 3, Number 1.Gatton College of Business & Economics, University of Kentucky

MGT 499 Spring 2011

2

Abstract Nintendo has been a major contender in the video game industry for the past several decades, and has faced the challenge of developing and maintaining competitive advantage over the years. With the introduction of the Nintendo Wii console, the company gained a stronghold as a leader in the video gaming industry. However, competitors Sony and Microsoft are quickly gaining on Nintendo’s competitive advantage, forcing the company to monitor and reevaluate its strategies. To maintain a competitive advantage, Nintendo must look toward influencing the customers of Sony and Microsoft, continue developing innovative technologies, and also consider the impact of social networking and mobile devices on the gaming industry.

3 History of Nintendo Nintendo Co. Ltd began its long history at the turn of the twentieth century as a Japanese manufacturer of playing cards. The company went public in the 1960s, and by the 1970s Nintendo had begun directing its focus toward electronic toys and video games. Nintendo became a leader in the video game industry in the ‘80s and ‘90s with its home video game consoles and popular game titles. Competitors began to emerge in the ‘90s; the release of Sony’s PlayStation platform broadened the video game market, and the rising popularity and improvement of PC technology led to the use of PCs as gaming platforms. Capitalizing on the popularity of PC gaming, Microsoft developed its Xbox game console in the early 2000s. While the competition focused on technological advancements to make improvements to existing game consoles, Nintendo developed a new type of console that would give way to a new gaming experience –

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