John Lucas' Blog

Don’t you hate it when you saw something coming but didn’t document it for posterity’s sake? I’m having one of these moments right now as I witness Nintendo’s decision to use the color black to signify a shift in their market strategy. “John, what in Donkey Kong’s name are you talking about?” Well, I’ll explain the details on that shortly. In the meantime, know that Nintendo will be coloring their Wii cases black for all games (clues in above pic) rated C and upwards on Japan’s CERO scale starting this year.

What’s CERO? And why black? Answers follow for the curious…

The Tokutei Hieiri Katsudō Hōjin Konpyūta Entāteinmento Rētingu Kikō is the original Japanese name for Japan’s equivalent of the U.S. Entertainment Software Ratings Board or ESRB. Translated (and simplified) the name becomes the Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization or CERO. Much like our ESRB rates games ‘E’ for Everyone, ‘T’ for Teen, and ‘M’ for Mature, CERO has its own scale to rate games for what it deems suitable for different audiences.

In CERO’s scale, ‘A’ is for all ages (equivalent of ESRB’s E), ‘B’ is for ages 12 and up (approximate to ESRB’s T), ‘C’ is for ages 15 and up (a harder ESRB T, I suppose), ‘D’ is for ages 17 and up (equivalent of ESRB’s M), and ‘Z’ is for ages 18 and up (approximate to a ESRB M and AO rating combined). To paint a picture, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS would be rated ‘A’; the upcoming Tatsunoku vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars for Wii would be rated ‘B’, Dissidia: Final Fantasy for the PSP would be rated ‘C’; the upcoming Yakuza 3 for the PS3 would be rated ‘D’; and Left 4 Dead 2 for the XBox 360 would rated ‘Z’.

It turns out that the release of Nintendo-published Zangeki no REGINLEIV, a highly violent game (think Dynasty Warriors mixed with Fists of the North Star), just happens to be Nintendo’s first D-rated game. This game with Biohazard: The Darkside Chronicles (Resident Evil to you and me) underscores Nintendo’s decision to use black boxes for games deemed suitable only for ages 15 and above. The move is designed to give extra warning to parents about content beyond CERO’s well-placed labels.

That’s the official reason they gave anyway. My long held hunch has been that Nintendo’s introduction of the black-colored Wii was the next stage in their market revolution: the conversion of the “hardcore”. Yes, the “hardcore”, that poorly applied, poorly assigned label that stands for those who resist/resent Nintendo’s industry transformation.

I felt that with the black Wii Nintendo would try to truly capture everybody (like they always try to do) through games those resisters would be more receptive to. As black is the opposite of white, the black Wii would represent an inverse of their inclusive strategy. Not just going for the families and new players but going for the old guard and luring them away from their competitors.

The United States got those black Wiimotes and Nunchuks as a teaser for this new strategy. When the black Wii finally makes its North American debut (European too for that matter), it will mark a new way Nintendo hopes to appeal to customers. Count on it. Betcha I won’t miss the boat next time putting these predictions down for the record!

Thanks and gratitude to SiliconEra and Joystiq.
See HERE for details (but translate)