TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's top video game maker Nintendo said it would begin a "mileage service" similar to airlines' air-miles loyalty schemes in Japan and North America later this year to cope with intense competition.
Under the new scheme, called "Club Nintendo," customers can earn points every time they buy new software from the company, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a meeting with analysts and the media.
Customers can then exchange accumulated points for free gifts such as limited edition controls for its game console which will not be marketed commercially, Iwata said.
"We will be able to communicate directly with users through the service, which will help us improve marketing efficiency," Iwata said.
A similar sales campaign has already been launched in Europe on a trial basis, Iwata said, adding that full details of the service would be available soon.
Iwata also said his company would stop simply seeking to make video games more sophisticated and return to offering simpler software for a wider range of customers.
"For the past 20 years, we have continued expanding the capacity of (computer) memory and provided greater sophistication of content.
"Such methods are reaching their limit," he said.
"Shooting games once attracted people but now have almost no market share as the games have become too complicated. The same thing has happened to fighting games," he said.
"We sense that the entire video game industry is now following suit," he said.
"In the past, everyone was able to enjoy video games easily so it will become more important to expand titles which allow everybody to have fun with them."
Iwata also said the company was ready for its full entry into the video game businesses in China as early as this year.
"Preparation is under way for China.
"The business environment in China is totally different from that in Japan, the US or Europe," he said, noting lower incomes and the problems of pirated software in the country.
"We doubt we can succeed ... by using our conventional approach so we are thinking of introducing a new method," he said without elaborating.
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Source:
Y!News
