For many years now I’ve been saying that Nintendo would benefit from a PlayStation Plus like system in which those that help pay for the cost of Nintendo’s online infrastructure receive discounts on digitally purchased goods. It looks like Nintendo is finally listening, as during the corporate briefing yesterday Iwata discussed one business strategy that would reward its loyal customers.
“If we can offer flexible price points to consumers who meet certain conditions, we can create a situation where these consumers can enjoy our software at cheaper price points when they purchase more.”
It looks as though Iwata acknowledges that Nintendo fans who continually support the company deserve something more than just Club Nintendo rewards that can be redeemed after several hundred dollars worth of merchandise purchases. In fact, the system is something that could rival PlayStation Plus, as Iwata mentions one condition that could qualify is a person inviting friends that purchase a software title receiving a discount.
““Here, we do not need to limit the condition to the number of software titles they purchase. Inviting friends to start playing a particular software title is also an example of a possible condition. If we can achieve such a sales mechanism, we can expect to increase the number of players per title, and the players will play our games with more friends. This can help maintain the high usage ratio of a platform. When one platform maintains a high active use ratio, the software titles which run on it have a higher potential to be noticed by many, which leads to more people playing with more titles.”
Of course, the new sales strategy is aimed at getting consumers to buy more directly from Nintendo, but if Nintendo plans on offering discounts, that’s no necessarily a bad thing. What do you think of this plan?