
The parable of Nintendo - shawndumas
http://www.asymco.com/2012/03/26/staying-satiated-and-smart/
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skmurphy
Summary of key points, article is well worth reading and is well documented
with charts and sales data:

"The Wii addressed non-consumers with a new, more intuitive controller and
standard resolution rather than competing for hardcore gamers with more power
and richer graphics."

"Nintendo expanded the console market. Its innovation was interesting enough
that many hard core gamers used the console in addition to a PS3 or Xbox and
many non-gamers bought it as their first console. The result is that 95
million Wii’s have been sold vs. 66 million Xbox 360′s and 62 million PS3′s."

"However, this strategy has not been enough to protect the company from the
disruptive effect of mobile computing."

"The lesson here is that a company that disrupts does not necessarily survive.
Long term survival depends on the ability for serial disruption. Serial
disruption is an uncomfortable state for an organization to exist in as
disruptions are usually enabled by "desperate" necessity. "

"Desperation is not something management is trained to aspire for. What
management strives for is steady state satisfaction and predictability from
intelligent planning."

