Conclusion

For our project we selected Nintendo Company not only because it represents the major player in today’s gaming industry, but also because it offers an exceptional example of a company which has been able to thrive in market dominated by far larger competitors through relentless innovation.

With the introduction of video game console Wii, Nintendo gained its competitive advantage and has been changing the definition of the home video game console significantly. With the console Wii, Nintendo introduced a revolutionary wireless controller with unique motion-sensitive game play options making gaming more creative and fun for players of every age.

Through our research we have learned the importance of implementing business strategy in company’s planning in order to be effective and efficient in the future. Nintendo's business strategy is to greatly differentiate its products from its competitors by offering low cost strong value innovations. We have also learned the great importance of Technology, Business Intelligence and Data Mining in today's highly competitive business environment and how crucial they are for effective decision-making. Nintendo's innovative technology changed the way we play and perceive video games today.

As Nintendo continues to pursue the gaming expansion into the future, Nintendo will face new and unique challenges to make its products more relevant to its customers.

Network

• Wireless LAN
  Nintendo can use a local wireless network (LAN) which allows connect up to 16 players between 30 to 100 feet away.

• Internet
  Nintendo connects to the Internet, a vast network of computers that connects millions of people all over the world through Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.

• The interface for Nintendo's Wii console is the Nintendo Wii Controller (Wiimote) which include 3-axis accelerometer, buttons, speaker, vibration feedback, and a Bluetooth wireless link. Nintendo DS's interface is DS Brut which is a slot 1 DS card with a number of interface pins. Both are used for communicating with external devices.

• In order to connect to the Internet, Nintendo uses components such as wireless router, a device that passes network traffic between smaller sub-networks of a large network, or Nintendo’s Wi-Fi USB Connector. This accessory allows Nintendo’s users who do not have an existing Wi-Fi connection to create one through their broadband or DSL connected computer. It is also possible to use LAN adapter to connect Nintendo to the DSL modem (Digital Subscriber Line), a high speed Internet connection over a telephone line, however, using router will allow one to use PC and Nintendo at the same time.


• Nintendo uses Wi-Fi- microwave transmissions, a type of radio transmission, media.
  
• Nintendo provides its own Nintendo GameCube communication software.

Internet Connection

In order to connect to the nternet through Nintendo’s Wii console or Nintendo DS, existing broadband connection, such as Cable, DSL or Fiber Optic, must be established. With an existing wireless connection or a Wi-Fi hotspot, Nintendo will establish wireless connection automatically through wireless router. For wireless connection or Wi-Fi, the 802.11b Wi-Fi has a data rate of 11 Mbits per second and has an indoor range of 30m or approximately 98 ft. The 802.11g has the same indoor range, however the data rate is at 54 Mbits per second. For wired access point, such as wired router or broadband modem, the LAN Adapter can be used to enable an Ethernet connection from the wired access point to the USB ports on the console

• Nintendo introduced voice over IP headset supporting Nintendo DS console. The headset is used to chat over a Wi-Fi Internet connection to opponents during specific games.

Network and Information Security

Nintendo respects the privacy of online visitors and regards the security of their personal information as being of the highest priority. The security and confidentiality of customer’s information is extremely important to Nintendo. That's why Nintendo has technical, administrative, and physical security measures in place to protect customer’s personal information from unauthorized access and improper use. In the event Nintendo enhance or merge customer’s personal information with data collected from other sources, Nintendo takes reasonable steps to maintain the integrity and quality of that personal information. For example, an e-mail address is personal identifying information. Nintendo protects the privacy of the sender by limiting access to e-mail messages and keeping them in a secure e-mail system. Nintendo also applies authenticity and availability of their services and products to ensure its customers that products and services they are buying are trustworthy and available when they need it.

Nintendo's Domain

http://www.nintendo.com/

Links

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/06/11/100083454/index.htm

Harware & Software

Examples of hardware, the physical components of computer, sold by Nintendo are:

• Consoles
  Game Cube, Wii


• Handhelds
  Game Boy, Nintendo DS


• Arcade
  Nintendo Classic


• Peripherals
  Famicom Four-way Adapter


• Technology
  Nintendo optical discs • MultiAV

Nintendo is maintained by a distributed network of engineers and software developers such as Shigeki Yamashiro, Yukimi Shimura or Katsuhiko Kanno who are part of the NST. Nintendo Software Technology Corporation (NST), was created to specifically create gaming software for Nintendo of America. It is responsible for game development for Wii console, Gameboy, Nintendo DS etc. NST has 2-3 development teams who brings different perspective into the gaming industry. Nintendo also have Tech Support Forums on its domain www. nintendo.com. It is a place where you can ask and answer technical questions about any Nintendo product.

Nintendo uses ES open-source operating system developed originally by Nintendo and since 2008 by Google. Open-source operating system uses source code that is publicly available and free of charge. It allows users to modify software to suit their needs and take control over their device.

Even though Linux is not officially used with Nintendo, Nintendo products, such as Nintendo DS, makes a great platform product for running open source software such as Linux. It can turn Nintendo DS into rather useful all around computing device.

Nintendo uses vertical market application software, which is unique for this particular gaming industry. It has variety of application software including gaming software which was especially developed by Nintendo for its products.

Links

http://www.n-sider.com/hardware.php

www.linux.com/feature/118061

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16503

Technology

Some files Nintendo uses:

• Customer File, where data about Nintendo’s customers are collected. These data are used to customize service for Nintendo's customers. Customer file collects data such as customer number, name, phone or address.



• Employee File, where data about Nintendo’s employees such as ID and name are stored.



• Order File, is used to track customer order, contains order number, order date, customer number or delivery address.



• Sales File, collects data about sales quantity, price, date and invoice number.
  


• Product File, is used to distinguish software and hardware. It contains product number, product UPC and product description.
  

Nintendo use relational database. Relation database stores information in a series of two-dimensional tables (files) in logical structure. All files are related providing easy access and are easily extendable. Nintendo uses these files of related information to effectively process orders and manage customer relationship.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to find out what brand of database software Nintendo uses, but we believe that Nintendo would not support its competitor Microsoft and its SQL Server. It than let us believe, that Nintendo uses Oracle relational database management system, widely regarded as one of the most popular full-featured database system on the market today. Other database providers on the market are IBM DB2, Sybase, and Informix.

SIRAS
A specific example of databes Nintendo uses is Product Sales Information Database. This database is operated by SIRAS, the first point-of-sale serial number registration program, which is a subsidiary of Nintendo of America. SIRAS Informational Sales Database records where and when a product was purchased and whether it is still under a manufacturer’s warranty or a store’s extended warranty.

SIRAS employs the combination of a product’s UPC number and serial number to establish a product’s unique fingerprint. Nintendo uses Electronic Registration to gain control of escalating returns costs, reclaim lost revenues, and streamline the returns process.

Database Administrator
Database Administrator (DBA) is responsible for the database and its environmental aspects such as: designing database, creating and testing back-ups, verifying integrity, implementing access controls to the data, ensuring database maximum performance and helping programmers and engineers to efficiently utilize the database.

Manager's Reports
Manager reports contain data that has been collected over a certain period of time. These summarized data can be accompanied with charts and graphs to support manager’s decision making. Managers get reports from relation database management system through report generators. Report generators help quickly define formats of reports and what information is desirable. Examples of types of reports are: Sales Report, Order Report, Customer Report, Revenue Report, Employee Performance Report etc. Oracle DBMS features built-in and customizable reports to address the need for reliable reporting. Oracle includes pre-built reports, and captures before-and-after changes to sensitive data to help organization save time and costs related to reporting.

OLAP, Data Mining, Data Warehouse, Data Marts

Nintendo uses OLAP (Online Analytical Processing), which provide Nintendo with easy and fast access to large volume of summarized information to support decision making. It allows Nintendo to work and analyze such data and simply provides answers to Nintendo’s employees.

• Nintendo is a company with a strong consumer focus. It is important for Nintendo to use data mining in order to determine relationship among “internal” factors such as price, product positioning and external factors such as economic indicators, competition and customer demographics. Data mining enables Nintendo to determine the impact on sales, customer satisfaction and corporate profits and allows Nintendo to provide more customer oriented service. Nintendo as a global, multinational company uses data mining also to communicate with its suppliers, retailers and distributors.
  


• Through Data-mining tools (such as query reporting tools, intelligent agents, statistical tools etc.) Nintendo’s data are transformed from many different operational databases to data warehouse, a logical collection of information, where it is sorted into small data marts. In data marts only a focused portion of data warehouse information is kept such as Nintendo’s sales, distribution or production.
  


• Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find which business intelligence software Nintendo uses, but among the most used ones are: Business Objects, Actuate or Cognos.

E-Commerce

Nintendo uses B2B e-commerce for direct materials as well as MRO (materials, repairs, and operations), but they most use MRO. Nintendo recently started using outside help to produce their gaming consoles. The high consumer demand for the wii caused Nintendo to outsource to match the demand of the wii. Nintendo relies on companies such as Sunplus Technology, Winstron Corp., Foxxcon, and Life-On Plans to produce components (power sources and control-chips) of the Wii console. So Nintendo uses B2B e-commerce to buy components to mass produce the Wii console. Nintendo will probably also use outside companies to mass produce the new portable handheld console, DSi. Nintendo is attempting to strike back at Apple for trying to enter the hand-held market by launching their newly upgraded DS portable hand-held console. The DSi has a slightly larger screen then the DS Lite and it’s also thinner weighing less than the DS Lite. The DSi has improved it’s audio, giving a more crisp sound. The new features of the DSi is SD memory card slot, built-in web browser (Opera), and a built-in .3 megapixel camera. These new features allow users to download games from the DSi shop and store them on the memory card. Users can also take pictures and view them on the wii. These new technological features allow Nintendo the opportunity to take advantage of B2C e-commerce by making it easier to conduct business via the internet. Digital delivery purchases is one way B2C e-commerce is used through the DSi shop. Shop Nintendo also uses another way to use B2C e-commerce through the shopping cart feature, which keeps track of the items the costumer plans on purchasing while they still brows through the online catalog for products to purchase, just by the click of a button.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/10/02/nintendo-dsi-ipod-tech-personal-cx_mji_1002nintendo.html

Marketing Mix

Nintendo's marketing mix includes: registering with search engines such as Google, You Tube and Yahoo, online ads and viral marketing. When launching the Wii, Nintendo focused on its target audience of age 25 and older. Nintendo uses TV advertising to reach and expand its gamer audience. Nintendo also made agreements with Cruise Lines, who help them introduce Wii to older audience. Nintendo of America's president and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime said about its marketing plan "It's going to be massive amounts of hands-on activity, as well as showcasing exactly how Wii games are different. We're going to create advocacy. We're going to make it so that everyone who tries the Wii experience talks to their friends and neighbours."

Payment System

Nintendo shop has a feature called a digital wallet that allows it’s customers to setup an account with them, which keeps track of their credit card information and all their transactions with Nintendo. All the customer has to do is just log in and their billing information is filled in the respective boxes to purchase their products.

Business Strategy

Nintendo is a major game development company, developing both video game consoles and game software. It uses global/differentiation and low cost business strategy. Nintendo's strategic business plan is to create a new low cost console with unique gameplay, instead of trying to develop new console with advanced graphics and superior processing power like its competitors. Nintendo is competing in global market dominated by Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's X-Box, however, Nintendo gained its competitive advantage with introduction of Wii and its innovative motion control stick. Nintendo greatly differentiate its product from its competitors by offering low cost strong value innovation, while it eliminates expensive features such as HD, DVD, Dolby 5.1. So while its competitors such as Sony or Microsoft compete against each other in established video gaming market, Nintendo created a new global market for itself.

Michael Porter's Five Forces Analysis

In the industry Nintendo operates, Porter's five forces have great influence on the way companies do business.

• The first force, buying power, may be one of the greatest forces. Nintendo creates and provide products that depend on consumers. How much of or when these products are bought by consumers is solely dependent on the want of the consumers. The gaming systems that Nintendo produces are non-necessity products.
• Until recent demand of Nintendo's most recent product, the Wii, became to great to produce in house, Nintendo began to outsource. Today, Nintendo relies on such suppliers to produce components of the Wii system that include Sunplus Technology, Winstron Corp., Foxxcon, and Life-On Plans. These suppliers, who produce components such as power sources and control-chips. As the outsourcing reduced operating costs, Nintendo relies on the operations of other companies. Because of the high success of the Wii system, and the constant demand, outsourcing production of certain products has created competition between companies such as PixArt, supplier of first generation control chips with new suppliers such as Sunplus and Winstron.
• In Nintendo's industry, there are three main companies- Nintendo, Sony (producer of Playstation products) and Microsoft (producer of XBox systems). All three of these companies produce gaming systems, that can be though of as substitutes for one another, but all there different. As Sony and Microsoft products are similar, Nintendo is the only company to use interactive gaming; meaning the player(s) use the controller as a tool of what they are playing. For example, if a baseball game is being played, the player will hold the controller, throw a pitch; or hold the controller as a batter with a bat and swing at the pitch. XBox and Playstation systems do not offer this, as they use button- orientated controllers. Nintendo is the cheapest of the console systems, with Playstation being the highest, but offers interactive gaming as well as child and family oriented games; as well as the rights to the gaming figure "Mario", the highest selling gaming character to have existed. These three companies have constant rivalries as who has the best system, highest revenues, and more importantly; who is advancing in the next great system for consumers.
• The threat of new entrants is low, because the gaming market is dominated by Sony and Microsoft who gained the first-mover advantage. Nintendo entered the market, because it differentiated itself from these two companies by introducing new technology. The entry barriers are high in already established gamers' market, making it difficult for new companies to enter.
• The switching cost to leave Nintendo would be the motion-censored controller which make the game play more interactive then it's competitors. The customer will also lose the game play of the famous Mario, Donkey Kong, and Zelda characters produced solely for Nintendo game play. Also with the new Wii console you can create mii characters and play Wii with these characters.
  
  Nintendo and its IT advantage
  
  Nintendo primarily focuses on business intelligence and E-collaboration. Nintendo understands the importance of knowing its customers, competitors, business partners and the environment in which it operates. Nintendo focuses on targeting large audience. It does not necessarily focus on established gamers' market, but tries to expand beyond it, with its simplified, family products. Nintendo utilizes these advantages to be more efficient and effective in its strategic business decisions.
• As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo has several subsidiaries around the globe. Nintendo uses e-collaboration to help its employees communicate with other employees through collaborative software and be able to provide its clientele with the best games, licensed accessories and merchandise.
• Nintendo as a global differentiator focuses on the top line initiatives- increasing revenue. With its new products, it is trying expand gaming market and provide different customer experience for its consumers.

Introduction/ History/ CEO

For decades this company has been providing millions with entertainment, becoming a household name. It has brought to life the fictional character Mario, and given us a popular new system that is in a league of its own with its motion controlled technology. This Japanese company's name translates to “leave luck to heaven”, this company is Nintendo.
Although we know Nintendo as a video game company, it didn’t start this way. Around the 1880’s Nintendo gained some of its initial fame in Japan through the manufacturing of cards for a game known as Hanafuda. It was a quick success and the company grew quickly. As expansion was being planned, the creator’s grandson, (Hiroshi Yamauchi), went to the U.S. to have a meeting with the major manufacturer of playing cards at the time. After this disappointing meeting, he was disillusioned and had a new aim for the company. The company took up many different ventures before stumbling upon its destined fortune.
Nintendo had extra revenue from its final strive in the card business. They has accessed Disney characters and placed them on the back of their playing cards. With this extra capital they tried different businesses. For example: a taxi company, chain of “love hotels”, TV network, and a food company. All were failed attempts and drained a large portion of Nintendo’s stock. Its final phase took place in 1966 with the toy industry, were they had some success.
Although this was one of their better ventures after playing cards, keeping up with the other toy companies (such as Tomy and Bandai) was not easy. The company decided to make one last shift into the home entertainment business. In the mid 1970’s, in cooperation with Mitsubishi Electronics, they developed a video game system that used an electronic video recording player. They went on to make one of the greatest games in the industry of its time, the coin operated game Donkey Kong. From here on there success continued, with the release of the U.S. version of the Nintendo entertainment system in 1985. The inventions continued with each being a hit for its time all the way until present day, with its latest, the Wii system.
Nintendo’s current CEO and President is Satoru Iwata who took over in 2002, after Hiroshi Yamauchi. He has appeared on the top 30 CEO’s list by Barron’s magazine in 2007. His presence was felt when he helped with the release of the game cube system, which helped generate a 41 percent increase in sales. Then while holding the CEO title, the release of the Wii system and obvious rocketing stocks made a clear choice for this top 30 list. Nintendo has had a total of 4 presidents’ with Satoru being the latest.

Timeline of Nintendo : http://www.ncecbvi.org/students/keithNintendo.html

Nintendo's Ethical Policies

At Nintendo, business is govern to maximize corporate value continuously over the long-term, while carefully considering the benefits to its stakeholders and those who it affects, including its customers, shareholders, business partners, employees and the local community. Nintendo strives towards a highly transparent and sound corporate governance structure, and the continued improvement of corporate ethics.