Analogue to digital interfaces again.
The Wii world is buzzing over some upcoming new releases. The new Wii Zapper, pictured above, is a holster for turning the controller and nunchuk into a gun-like thing. Smartly, Nintendo predicted the furore that would surround this and are releasing it with a crossbow trainer.
I find this interesting for a number of reasons:
- It’s an attempt to use software to position a piece of plastic.
- This plastic doesn’t actually do anything other than create a relationship between two other things
- While Nintendo’s primary revenue stream is software, this is a case where the software is secondary. The value is supposed to be in the hardware.
- It’s been quite polarising among the gaming crowd. Hardcore gamers feel it hides too much complexity (by making the main controller buttons impossible to reach). Gamers like me are quite looking forwards to it.
Also due for imminent release is Guitar Hero III:Legends of Rock
This is interesting for some different reasons:
- This is using a piece of plastic to position a piece of software
- The Wii controller adds a bunch of unique features to the guitar, wireless-ness, rumble and a squelch from its speaker if you miss a note
- This plastic actually does something but yet isn’t really where most of the value is supposed to be
- The Sex Pistols are reuniting to re-record Anarchy in th U.K. for this release. The value is in the game, and more specifically in the songs
Both are building new value around an existing analogue to digital interface – the Wii controller, which happens to be the most complicated piece in the entire value chain.
While the Wii is obviously a platform to be built upon, there are lots of other existing analogue to digital interfaces that could be redefined with a similar level of creativity. Heart-rate monitors, mobile-phone cameras, GPS nav systems or bluetooth headsets come to mind immediately as some fairly common examples out there. All of these items offer marketers a head start on building some pretty interesting programs.
