The Home Video Game - Case Study Example

The Home Video Game The first video game was invented in 1962 by Bushell. It was a simple space war version and was referred to as Computer Space. The game was made up of integrated circuits that were linked to a black and white TV screen. This invention could only play the game, and it was cheaper than a computer. Bushnell invented video games and hoped that his invention would be productive. Consequently, he stopped working for Ampex and started working for a pinball company. The company produced about 1500 video game copies (Hill 17).

Despite video game creation starting as a small industry, the field is presently crowded with many competitors whose aim is to create games that will attract as many players as possible. Nintendo is a one centaury old video game company in Japan. Before diversifying into the video game business, Nintendo had built up a card playing business. Nintendo Company is located in Kyoto and is managed by Yamauchi family. It started diversifying into the video game business in the 1970s. Nintendo acquired a video game technology license from Magnavox.

The company introduced a home video game system in Japan in 1977. The game was based on the technology which played a Pong variation. Later, in 1978, Nintendo started selling coin-operated video games. Nintendo encountered a first hit with Donkey Kong, a company designed by Sigeru Miyamoto (Hill 20).Capabilities and competitive advantage that led to Nintendo’s success in the home game industry included the decision of the company’s manager which involved Nintendo developing its own video game machine.

The manager pushed the engineers of the company to construct high-quality machines. The machines combined high graphic capabilities and their cost was low. They were sold at a half price less than the competing machines (Hill 20). The designed machines were based on consoles, controllers and plugs in the cartridge format. The machines were made up of two chips which included an eight bit processing unit and a graphic processing unit. Each chip performed an essential function. To lower the cost of the machines, the manager avoided using the 16 bit processor that was available at that time.

The most important aspect of Nintendo Company’s strategy was creation of cheap but high quality games. Another important aspect was creating games with few instructions. The environment of the home video game does not allow for a single company to remain dominant over a long period. This is because success in the industry attracts many competitors. To achieve success, a video game company must create great games that are wanted by everyone. The company should also develop hardware that will be appreciated by software engineers.

In order to succeed in future, top video game executives of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft should create games that are different and easy to play because people like change (Hill 31). The companies should also create cheap but quality games that will attract the targeted players.The strengths of Nintendo competing in a different fashion include competition being the backbone of the company’s success and competition being broadly accepted as the best tool for promoting the well being of consumers.

The challenges faced by Nintendo in pursuing competition in a different fashion low profits due to the act of lowering prices and creation of low quality games that suit the low prices.Work CitedHill, Charles W. L. The home video game industry: from pong to Xbox. Washington, DC: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1998. Print.