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The Nintendo Co., Ltd

Source

Business in Asia
Caudle, M.
ISBN 1 86366 358 4

  

Learning area
Studies of society and environment

Level
Middle secondary

Description
Students read and discuss material about the operations of the Nintendo Co., Ltd. They develop a proposal for a game to be developed by Nintendo and role-play a presentation to executives at head office.

Purpose
To develop some understandings of the operations of a major Asian business.

Duration
100 minutes

Possible Outcomes
In relation to Studies of Society and Environmenta Curriculum Profile for Australian Schools, this lesson can contribute to the achievement of outcomes in the following strands:

Materials required
Copies of Handouts 1 and 2 (from below)

Procedure

  1. Introduction
    Explain to students that the class is going to learn about the way Nintendo develops and markets its games.

  2. Background
    Give each student a copy of Handout 1, Nintendo Co., Ltd, and read through it with the class. Use the board to make a diagrammatic summary of the material, so that students clearly understand it before proceeding.

  3. Group wWork
    Organise the class into small groups of three or four students.
    Each group is to be a licensee developing a proposal for a game that Nintendo could manufacture. Give each group copies of Handout 2, The Nintendo code of ethics.

    Proposals should include:

    • a suitable title
    • the target audience including, age, gender, where they live
    • the equipment needed to run the game
    • a general description of the characters, operations, stages and aims of the game
    • illustrations showing examples of two or three screens that a player might experience

    Finished proposals can be presented in written or poster form.

  4. Role-play
    Each of the licensee groups presents its proposal to Nintendo head office in Japan. Other class members play the roles of executives at the head office. Questions asked by Nintendo executives should take into account Nintendo's code of ethics, the quality of the presentation and how the proposal can be marketed.

Extension activities

  1. Presenting a proposal in Australia
    Each of the licensee groups presents its proposal to Nintendo's Australian affiliate. Remember that affiliates must decide whether to accept a game for marketing in their own country. The Australian affiliates will know that the proposal has been accepted by head office, so their questions should focus on marketing.

  2. Nintendo marketing
    Ask students to collect Nintendo advertising material and examine the marketing strategies being used.

Acknowledgements
Business in Asia is part of the Access Asia series, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training through the Asia Education Foundation.

Related resources

Handout 1
Nintendo Co., Ltd

Nintendo's head office is in Kyoto, Japan. Most manufacturing also takes place in Japan. Head office oversees the activities of the company's licensees, affiliates and distributors.

Licensees are companies that are not part of Nintendo itself but hold licences to develop software and accessories for incorporation into Nintendo's range of products.

Affiliates are companies outside Japan but owned by Nintendo. They are responsible for marketing hardware and games in their own countries. There is a Nintendo affiliate in Australia.

Distributors are companies not owned by Nintendo but which have contracts to market Nintendo products in countries without affiliates.

Nintendo software development goes through five steps:

Step 1:
A licensee company, somewhere in the world, develops a software program for a new game. Usually, this takes a team of between four and ten people up to 18 months or longer to design and perfect. They must follow Nintendo's strict code of ethics.

Step 2:
The licensee sends the game for testing and approval by Nintendo head office.

Step 3:
If it is approved by head office, the game will be manufactured in Japan.

Step 4:
The licensee approaches affiliates and distributors around the world, trying to convince them to market the new game in their countries.

Step 5:
Most licensees are responsible for the marketing, distribution and sale of the game in their own countries.

Handout 2
The Nintendo Code of Ethics
Nintendo games must not: