Bradley C. Johnston

Nintendo Wii: Innovating a Stagnant Market Breeds Success

Launched on November 16, 2006, the Nintendo Wii is the next-generation video console from Nintendo Co., Ltd (NTDOY). Offering wireless motion-sensitive controls, the Nintendo Wii has revolutionized the video game industry. In fact, the Nintendo Wii is such a novel product that Nintendo Co., Ltd can’t keep pace with demand. The console has been sold out from launch to present, and the company is predicting shortages through May of 2008 (Mercurynews.com).

Basing the chipset of the Wii on their previous generation console, the Gamecube, and concentrating on gameplay innovation rather than graphical quality, Nintendo bucked the trend set by the two more dominant video game console companies: Sony and Microsoft. Sony and Microsoft chose to concentrate on offering high definition graphics and surround sound and, as a result of their more expensive technologies, their consoles are priced higher at $399 and $250 while the Nintendo Wii is priced at $249.

The Nintendo Wii’s strength, its innovative controller, also becomes a weakness because to take full advantage of its capabilities software developers must develop software specifically for the controller.

Thus far into the Nintendo Wii’s lifecycle, software developers have tended to develop software for the Sony and Microsoft consoles because of the two companies’ near monopolization of the last generation of video game consoles. Developers have tended to then port these titles to the Nintendo Wii, which results in lackluster control options for Wii titles.

However, thanks to the Wii’s tremendous popularity coupled with the high cost of producing games in high definition for the Sony and Microsoft consoles, developers are becoming more open to developing software exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

The Hello Kitty Robot: One Small Step for Robot Companions for Children

DreamKitty.com is counting on the fact that many parents are overwhelmed by the demands placed on the modern parent by offering a Hello Kitty robot to entertain their youngsters. Retailing for $6,299.99, the robot offers a fully movable head, arms, and eyes (Dreamkitty.com).

The robot's eyes are comprised of stereo charge-coupled device cameras allow the robot to judge distances, as well as remember faces. It is also able to call its owners by name when they come into view. Moreover, the Hello Kitty robot is capable of taking on a range of personalities. It can be a child's friend or even a member of the child's family (Dreamkitty.com).

ASIMO, a robot made by Honda, offers a glimpse into features that the Hello Kitty robot may soon acquire. ASIMO is capable of bi-pedal movement and runs at a speed of 4 miles per hour (Asimo.Honda.com). ASIMO can also recognize up to 10 faces and, like the Hello Kitty robot, verbally greets its owners by name. It can also provide up-to-the-minute weather and news reports. More excitingly, ASIMO allows for advanced behaviors to be programmed by users (Asimo.Honda.com).

While the Hello Kitty and ASIMO robots have some interesting features, robotic companions such as Rosie from The Jetsons are far from reality. Many issues remain including increasing robots adaptive intelligence, sensory abilities, and motor skills (Kiesler & Hinds, 2004).

However, the robot companions do hold some promise. Interestingly, research indicates a companion robot helped Japanese students learn English more quickly than traditional instruction (Kanda et. al., 2004). Overall, while robots may not serve as the surrogate parents, they could serve as children’s companions because robots have been programmed to do a multitude of tasks, most notably wine tasting, an event better reserved for adults (Nikkei.co.jp).

Hannah Montana Singing Dolls and Pop Star Stage

Poised to take advantage of the unprecedented ratings of The Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana,” the “Hannah Montana” Singing Doll and Pop Star Stage have been released by Play Along Toys. The doll, retailing for $19.99, is one of the more affordable children’s gifts for the holiday season. Accompanying the doll is the $59.99 Pop Star Stage, which allows children to hook up their MP3 or CD player to the stage and sing along.

Starring 14-year-old Miley Cyrus, daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, “Hannah Montana” has shattered ratings records for The Disney Channel. In fact, it came in 2nd in the October 15-21 Nielsen ratings with 5.35 million viewers (Associated Press). This popularity is driving sales of the “Hannah Montana” concert series and is forecasted to drive sales of the Singing Doll and Pop Star Stage. In fact, scalpers have reportedly received as much as $2500 for the regularly priced $70 tickets (The Street.com).

Both the Singing Doll and Pop Star Stage are on the annual Toy Wishes hottest toys list and are expected to quickly sell out (USAToday.com). Parents purchasing the toys will be happy to know that recent research indicates singing is generally positive for the child. Singing has been shown to enhance self-esteem and social skills and strengthen parent-child bonds when the parent sings along (Abad & Edwards, 2005). In addition, singing has been shown to enhance creativity and may indirectly increase leadership motivations in children (Lau-Sing, Li, and Chu, 2004).

The “Hannah Montana” Sing Along Doll and Pop Star Stage are not the most technologically advanced toys but are included on this report due to the popularity of the “Hannah Montana” brand as well as the benefits obtained by children playing with the toys.

Asimo.Honda.com

Kanda, T., Hirano, T., Eaton, D., & Ishiguro, H. (2004). Interactive robots as social partners and peer tutors for children: A field trial. Human-Computer Interaction. 19 (1), 61-84.

Kiesler, S., & Hinds, P. (2004). Human-robot interaction. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum.

USAToday.com. Just in time for the holidays, a $110,000 syrupy portrait. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2007-10-03-holiday-shopping_N.htm

Honda.com

Neikkei.co.jp. Wine tasting robot. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from
nikkei.co.jp/digital/news/index.aspx?n=AS1D2408D%2027072006Hellokitty.com.

Hello kitty robot (preorder). Retrieved October 24, 2007, from http://www.dreamkitty.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc? Screen=PROD&Product_Code=K-EM070605&Category_Code=HKDL
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jdU5mzTBQCChplJgwZkHzo9xcVYw associated press

TheStreet.com. Retrieved October 25, 2007, from http://www.thestreet.com/s/the-hannah-montana-stock-index/newsanalysis/stockpickr/10385958.html?puc=_googlen?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

Abad, V., & Edwards, J. (2004). Strengthening families: A role for music therapy in contributing to family centred care. Australian Journal of Music Therapy, 15, 3-17.

Lau-Sing, L., Chun, S., & Chu, D. (2004). Perceived creativity: its relationship to social status and self-concept among chinese high ability children. Creativity Research Journal, 16, 59-67.