Over the years I have long thought that Nintendo and Apple were very similar in their outlooks business wise. And the more I looked into it, the more visible parallels between the companies showed up. Beyond their similar aesthetic take on consumer electronics, it seems they have taken similar paths. With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Wii this week, I thought I would give a breakdown of these 2 companies and their ups and downs.

The Background
Apple was among the first companies that get the personal computing revolution started during the mid-1970′s. They were the early leaders in the market with the Apple II but they eventually lost their lead to the powerful partnership between IBM and Microsoft. This was the first generation of computers that put personal computing within the reach of the average user and laid the groundwork for having a computer in nearly every home. The company worked on a solid foundation of innovation, giving users color graphics, high build quality and adapting new technology(like the floppy drive) into their products. In 1984 they introduced the first Macintosh, which brought the first graphical user interface(GUI) to the mass market. This made it easier for non-technically apt users to work with a computer.

Nintendo is a very old company, in fact beginning as a playing card manufacturer in 1889 in Japan. In the mid-1970′s they got their start in electronic games, first distributing, then creating games(Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers) for arcades and video game consoles of the time. In 1985 they moved into the market of consoles, releasing the Nintendo Entertainment System and essentially reinvigorating the industry after the video game market crash in 1983. The NES was a smash success. It brought 8-bit power in an affordable package into the home. It maintained its leadership in the market through the next generation as well, with the Super Nintendo.

The Fall
Apple’s decent started in the mid-90′s when mismanagement and failure to innovate began taking its toll. Microsoft introduced its Windows 95 operating system in 1994 and seemingly brought much of the Apple GUI ease-of-use to a PC. Adoption of Windows picked up and Apple’s marketshare began to dwindle. During this period Apple decided to allow the creation of clone computers, to offer more options to the consumers in the same way PCs had done years before. The only problem with this was that Apple was also a hardware company, as well as a software company. The clone manufacturers started undercutting Apple’s prices, to the point that Apple discontinued the clone program in 1997. Failures like this left Apple with a tiny slice of marketshare and put them on the verge of obscurity before Steve Jobs returned in 1997 to try and revive the companies fortunes.

Nintendo was the king of the mountain for 2 generations until Sony entered the market with its Playstation console in 1995. The Playstation itself started out as a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo until it was cancelled by Nintendo. Sony then used this as a foundation and started its own 32-bit gaming platform. Many in the industry assumed that when Nintendo released its next generation Nintendo 64 it would reclaim its title as top dog like it had when competing with the Sega Genesis a generation before. This never happened. Nintendo made many mis-steps in creating the N64. They used cartridges instead of CDs in an effort to control piracy for the system. The drawback to this decision was that it left very little room for developers to store their creations compared to a CD, so many flocked to Sony to release their games. Losing much of their 3rd party support really hurt Nintendo, and its a problem they have been dealing with to this day. Another issue was that they arrived 2 years late with their console, which gave Sony a firm foothold in the market. After the N64 came the Gamecube. This generation now included Microsoft and its Xbox system. Now there were 3 powerhouse companies fighting for the same marketshare, and Nintendo was now the smallest of the three. Having again given Sony a headstart, the Gamecube and Xbox failed to slowdown the Playstation 2 and were soundly outsold by a margin of more then 2 to 1. This left Nintendo looking in other directions for its next generation console.

The Climb Back: Portables
Apple has long been involved in creating portable devices. First the PowerBook(recently redubbed MacBook Pro), which had been a consistently strong product for Apple. They also started what would become the PDA market with the Newton. While the Newton seemingly was before its time, it blazed the way for products like the Palm and PocketPC. But really Apple’s biggest success with regards to portable products is the iPod. Introduced in 2001, the iPod nearly single-handedly brought Apple’s brand from middling innovator to consumer electronics powerhouse. It appealed to most demographics with it’s easy to use interface and innovative scroll-wheel. While Apple wasn’t the first to create an mp3 player, they were the first to get the whole concept right. Many of its users have never used an Apple product, so in many ways this was an introduction to their products. The iPod has come upon many beefed up, feature laden challengers to its title of top mp3 player and none have managed to make any substantial headway against it.

Nintendo was the pioneer in the market of portable gaming. Starting originally in the late-70′s with the Game And Watch series, they launch what was the first portable gaming console, the Game Boy, in 1989. This product proved to be a survivor, often staving off competitors that featured colour screens and faster hardware. The line has seen 6 major product revisions(as well as a couple minor revisions) and has since been essentially been replaced by the Nintendo DS brand. While the Game Boy has been consistently popular(selling over 200 million consoles from 1989-2006), the DS has worked to expand the appeal of handhelds and has been selling very well in what would be deemed the non-gamer section of the population. Nintendo has worked to expand the market for gaming by making it more engaging by using different forms of input that make it easy for non-gamers to just pick up and play. The DS has fought off strong competition from Sony’s PSP even though it features a less powerful processor and smaller resolution screens. While Nintendo floundered in the home console market, the handhelds have always been a strength for the company.

The Rise
On the back of the iPod and its much vaunted halo effect, Apple has made a huge comeback in marketshare in the last year. Coupled with the switch to Intel, Apple’s fortunes have risen considerably, as their lineup of computers have been fast sellers and have shown growth while other PC manufacturers have stalled. The appeal of being able to run Windows on a Mac has proven quite lucrative, as it offers switchers a safety net when buying a new computer. Sales of the iPod are still strong and has lured many to the Macintosh as users look for the same ease of use they have when using their iPod. Apple also worked to expand both their computer and iPod lines, offering various levels of pricing, offering models varying from budget or entry level to professional or power user level products. It’s given the consumer more flexibility then ever when dealing with Apple.

With the release of the DS and DS Lite, Nintendo has seen a resurgence of interest in their company. While many doubted their path when they released a dual screened portable with a touch-screen, many have been won over by its innovative gaming experience and wide array of games. Using this type of thinking Nintendo devised the Wii, a system that uses an all new remote pointer style of input that involves the user in the game and gets them involved. The emphasis is on user experience, which deviates from the path of their competitors who have put their emphasis on how much horsepower their machine has. In using this approach, Nintendo has managed to woo developers back to their camp by offering a platform to create innovative and new experiences for the user. While it’s yet to be seen whether the Wii will be enough to put ahead of the competition, many expect it to make substantial waves in the gaming world with its outside the box approach to gaming.

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