Yuge is a 39-year-old Japanese man. Like most Japanese men his age, he wears the latest fashion. He has lots of fancy toys and gadgets. He lives in a trendy apartment in Tokyo and earns pretty good money.
Life is pretty good for Yuge and his girlfriend Ne-Ne.
However Yuge is a little different from other ‘typical’ male 30-somethings around the world….
Yuge is a Japanese ‘Otaku’. Meaning a Japanese ‘geek’. He’s obsessed with computers, manga and his virtual life.
The weird thing about Yuge though is his girlfriend. Because Ne-Ne’s not real. She’s Yuge’s virtual girlfriend on his handheld gaming device. And in this virtual world Yuge is pretending to be 17 and is in love.
To be more precise Ne-Ne’s a character from Love+. Love+ is a popular dating simulation game for the Nintendo DS. In Japan it’s one of the best selling games Nintendo [TYO:7974] has.
I haven’t made up the story of Yuge either. Yuge and his friend (who does the same thing) were a part of a recent BBC Documentary, No Sex Please, We’re Japanese.
The whole concept of falling in love with a program has also been portrayed in a new Spike Jonze movie, Her. In a similar premise, in the near future, the lead character Theodore Twombly falls in love with his operating system, Samantha. It’s an interesting concept derived from the whole user experience we currently have on the iOS with Apple’s, ‘Siri’.
But back to the real life example of Yuge. You see this kind of virtual life isn’t out of place in Japan. The virtual lives of many ‘Otaku’ is an increasing social norm in this highly traditional country.
And entrenched in this unconventional phenomenon is, possibly, the key to the future fortunes of Nintendo.
At the heart of Love+ and the movie Her is the concept of an immersive technology future. And as the world shifts to this immersive existence, interactive gaming is set to be a large part of it all.
Nintendo’s Changing Fortunes
Now there’s no doubt this may seem, well, just too weird. I agree. It’s strange. However that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Just because you might not understand it, doesn’t mean you can’t profit from it.
The evolution of video games is helping us to connect to a more immersive world of technology. It’s something we’ve covered for some time. Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One are two of the big gaming systems we’ve covered before.
However in a future interactive world Sony and Microsoft aren’t the only ones in a position to benefit. You see right now possibly the most hated and punished gaming stock in the world is Nintendo, and to me that smells like opportunity.
To see why there’s opportunity in Nintendo we should take a moment to wind back the clock and understand the evolution of the company.
Nintendo are pioneers when it comes to interactive experiences. Here’s a list of a few of Nintendo’s pioneering interactive technologies.
- The laser-gun game that predated all their electronic gaming systems.
- The ‘Game & Watch’ pioneered handheld gaming.
- The original Nintendo Entertainment System with Laser-Gun, Power Glove and R.O.B interactive robot.
- Gameboy, the third highest selling game console of all time.
- The Nintendo Wii, which pioneered motion-sensing gaming.
- And the Nintendo 3DS, the first 3D gaming system to not require 3D glasses.
The markets hate Nintendo right now. But sometimes that’s the best time to invest, when everyone else hates them.
And it’s looking like Nintendo is starting to change direction and become more than just a gaming company.
It started with a very popular game for the Wii. The game is Wii Fit. Wii Fit hit the Aussie market in May 2008. The game includes a small balancing board, slightly larger than a set of bathroom scales.
Wii Fit had over 40 activities in the game, from Yoga positions to strength training like push-ups. It was widely acclaimed as a breakthrough game for Nintendo.
According to gaming website VGChartz, Wii Fit sold 22.69 million copies worldwide. Its successor, Wii Fit Plus, sold 21.43 million copies. This hasn’t gone unnoticed in the leadership ranks.
In a recent Nintendo strategy briefing President Satoru Iwata explained that one of the key themes for Nintendo over the next 10 years will be quality of life through entertainment. In other words, Nintendo is refocusing their business to get people to interact with gaming to become healthier.
And the interesting thing is part of this shift into health is the use of what Nintendo call non-wearables. To me it sounds like sensors and accessories like the Wii Fit board to help monitor and maintain a healthy lifestyle. And it’s very likely that soon we might see another invention from the R&D of this master innovator.
Where Nintendo has an advantage is their recent penetration into new demographics. The Wii had global sales of over 100 million units at the end of 2013. And as Mr. Iwata explained, the Wii helped Nintendo reach people who may not have played games in the past.
With ever increasing ageing populations around the world, perhaps Nintendo is actually onto something. Perhaps they’ve realised the importance of this trend well before the likes of Sony and Microsoft.
Immersive tech is quickly becoming a way of life. And Nintendo will have a huge role in making it reality. What Nintendo and others are doing is effectively ‘gamifying’ life. That means they’re using principles from games and applying them to real life. It makes things more engaging, fun and immersive.
Remember, Nintendo is a 125-year-old company. They started off making playing cards and today are a global tech giant. So they know a thing or two about changing strategy.
Combining the coming future of immersive tech with the benefits of health and wellbeing could be a golden move for the company. They’ve been around the block a few times when it comes to pioneering technology, so I wouldn’t write off Nintendo for long.
Regards,
Sam Volkering
Editor, Tech Insider
Ed note: In response to the strong interest in Sam’s insights into the ever-changing world of technology, we’ll soon be launching a new daily free e-letter called Sam Volkering’s Tech Insider. Look out for more info next week.
