Nintendo might be one of the largest and most successful video game companies, but in certain parts of the world, it has often struggled with its brand image.
During an appearance on the Present Value podcast recently, the former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé touched on a time when he started out at the company's American headquarters, and the marketing team was trying to "age up" the racetrack shape logo, in hope, it would have more appeal to an older demographic.
Reggie said he put an immediate stop to this and told the team to embrace "what the brand stood for" by standing by its iconic logo in order to achieve success. Here's the full transcript, courtesy of Nintendo Everything:
From a branding standpoint, we had to be clear in what Nintendo as a brand stood for, as well as what the individual franchises stood for. I’ll give you an example. When I joined Nintendo, there was a sense of almost shame that Nintendo appealed to young consumers, and the marketing team at Nintendo of America started doing things with the logo – that classic Nintendo logo in an oval – they would put it into graffiti style, or they’d do different things to try and age up the logo, and I put a stop to that because that is not our brand. And what we needed to do was yes, appeal to a broad swatch of consumers, but we needed to do it based on what the brand stood for, and not doing it in some false way. Systemically, we went through and cleaned up the presentation of the brand, but we also created messaging coupled with content that really broadened the reach, broadened the appeal, and set the stage for all of the great products we would launch like Wii, like Wii Fit, and eventually the Nintendo Switch.
As noted by Reggie, embracing the logo allowed Nintendo to broaden its appeal and reach, while at the same time paving the way for products like the Wii and eventually the Switch. It also allowed the Japanese company to gain more mainstream appeal than ever before.
Are you relieved to hear we didn't get a graffiti style Nintendo logo or is a change well overdue? Share your thoughts below.
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 49
And thank god for that.
Also I did miss it being their bold red too.
Yes, thank goodness for this. I love this timeless logo
@ShankyMcSpanky You should carefully read the article again
It's about that a team at Nintendo of America was working on a project to change the logo as measure to make the brand more appealing to older consumers. This was around the time when Reggie joined Nintendo of America. So that's some time ago...
I definitely noticed and appreciated when they went back to red for the Switch era. I don't even LIKE red, but something about it "feels" like Nintendo, like with Sega and blue or XBox and Mountain Dew green.
Never change that logo, Nintendo. It's too iconic.
It is the only logo that means anything to me anymore. Happy it was never changed.
Never considered there was anything wrong with the logo.
...Well, at least until the 2017 redesign of 'must be white with blank red space around it' that gets shoved everywhere even when it doesn't fit, like on 3DS game cases. (US/JP games even have the red blob on the spines, thankfully NoE didn't do that)
"It's the CNBLUE logo!"
Thank God Reggie made them see sense. Why would mess with that iconic logo. Been play Nintendo from the very start. That logo stands for everything that makes video gaming great.
Had they added early/mid-2000’s design, we’d be puking all over it today. Look at all the sports teams that have rid themselves of their millennium redesigns
Imagine having to live with the memory of an edgy 90s skater logo only ever used to push NFSU and whatnot. Dodged a bullet.
Makes me think that “aging up” means keeping the racetrack but deleting the Nintendo script? Almost like how Apple, At&t, McDonald’s are recognized only from the logo?
Funny to think that they wanted to “age up” the logo by making it more cartoony.
I'm not a "young consumer" anymore, but I love that Nintendo still has maintained it's brand, not only the logo, but also what makes it stand out, embracing it's history and making games with a soul of their own. The most important thing about the logo is that it evokes memories and feeling about the greatest times i spent (and still spend) on videogames.
One of the best decisions he ever made and thankfully he wasn't overruled.
Red is my favorite color.
Best choice. Reggie gets it.
Red is my favourite colour, I love the Nintendo logo. The description of it is a racetrack, which I never considered before but is blatantly obvious now, makes me want a track built around it for Mario Kart! With Nintendo in the middle, that’d be cool.
Nintendo has had many logos over the years - http://blog.beforemario.com/2012/03/nintendos-logo-through-years.html
"but we needed to do it based on what the brand stood for, and not doing it in some false way"
Words that sooo many modern companies should listen to.
Just make sure the quality is behind it, and I am more than glad to support it.
Branding 101. Have a core truth, be consistent with that truth, repeat, repeat, repeat.
So glad Reggie persuaded the higher ups. Aside from the fact that I'm not a fan of the sterile look of many modern typefaces, both of the Nintendo logos represent stability to me. I know that this is a company that always makes something I enjoy greatly.
"... great products we would launch like Wii, like Wii Fit, and eventually the Nintendo Switch. ..."
I love how the Wii U was not mentioned in his quote.
The logo seems fine to me, plus the red fits so well. Why fix what isn't broken? To me, the Nintendo logo is timeless.
I'm certainly happy the logo has stayed the same. Trying to "freshen it up" is unnecessary. You don't need to fix what's not broken, and it's perfect how it is.
The name of the game is BRANDING and name RECOGNITION.
@NintoRich And it seems all of them before they released the NES, and they ventured into the electeonic entertainment business for good.
Good call Reggie, the Nintendo logo is just timeless. I did like the light blue-colored Wii U boxes, but going to red and white was a great choice. It's a slick, striking combo.
The nintendo logo is a blank canvas that can work with any primary color scheme but I prefer the original red since it reminds me of all the amazing games ive played and gives me nostalgia.
You know what's criminal, it's like impossible to find a plain red head with that white logo on it. There's some cheap looking ones on etsy, but nothing official.
There was a brief point when Nintendo had a graffiti "Who are you?" logo. (though youtube-ing that phrase gives a different commercial from Japan)
This US Minish Cap commercial is an example.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2uI-ex7tmk
I agree the logo was never the problem. It still speaks quality to me. On the other side, the image of the company and how it has addressed the demographics of each generation have been the sticking point with me. Their priorities left the games I enjoyed out in the cold with lesser versions. A problem that has persisted since n64 and subsided with the Wii U, then fell back to it a little with the switch which makes up for that short coming with portability.
I started gaming for real on Nintendo back in 86. I stuck with Nintendo up till the n64, FF7 was the last straw. This is the first time since that day where I've considered a Nintendo version over its competitors. I've always ended up owning a Nintendo system.
If I had to make a request of Nintendo it would be to stop making stupid hardware decisions to accompany your brilliant decisions, create new studios for more older maturer games, and learn something from your competitors. Most importantly never change that logo. It means what you make of it. Only change it if its just an eye sore like the early ubisoft logos, which the Nintendo logo has never been. Its a standard of quality, just like the company seal.
@chocolate_supra funny how someone down voted your comment u didnt even say anything negative lol I do agree with u
Fascinating to see Reggie open up on a lot of things that (rightly) stayed hush-hush while he had to hold the company line. There are so relatively few people in the history of video games who possessed both good business sense and an understanding of the games industry.
Red on white works well too.
Nintendo has been on a roll the past couple of years but back when I made this summer 2016 things were a bit worse off.
It seems that no matter what Reggie does for the rest of his life, Nintendo will be a hot topic for him wherever he goes. I had no idea how big of a figure he was to Nintendo until he left. I looked at him as the guy who once said, ”kicking ass and taking names” and gave very “corporate” (4 want of a better phrase) responses to questions. I should have known better when I read about his new chair! 😆
Good on him, now only if he were still in office could he get someone to do the right thing regarding Luigi's Mansion 3
https://www.change.org/u/40943699
Sign the petition to invert the Y axis so the game isn't a $60 paperweight.
I love the Nintendo logo, it's like the Disney logo to me, it's not a good idea to change it at this point. That said, I do like the lettering they used for Gamecube, maybe I'm biased though because it's a system I hold very dear.
Changing the logo would be a mistake, it's one of the more iconic and recognizable images in gaming.
I remember the "Who are You?" campaign in 2004 and I thought it was quite cool. I'm glad they kept the classic logo (and I hope it never changes) but I did like it when they were trying to reach and older audience too. I guess they're doing fine in that department these days with some of the Switch commercials.
When Reggie talks, I listen.
To be fair, most logos need at least a little refreshing from time to time. But most of the time you can make your existing logo appear 'cool' with thoughtful marketing and modern video editing techniques.
This mans message and words should be heard by all other corporate brand logos and mascots in the wake of recent events. Had this gone out a little sooner, a terrible tragedy could have been prevented. #RIPeanut
@idrawrobots Marketing efforts to "age things up" almost always result in the exact opposite. Simple and timeless will always be preferable to some edgy flavor of the month.
It was perhaps the beginning of the end for Konami when they ditched their classic logo and chose something staggeringly anonymous and bland. Apparently that's how logos have to look now - dull as ditch water.
At least Nintendo and Sega haven't changed. I hope Capcom will never change either. Alas Square lost their wonderful old logo years ago when they fused with Enix.
Regardless of what others on here think show them that Emblem and they know exactly what the means. Willing to buck the trend and Truly Innovate. Whey else would they not have constantly have new Gaming Ideas and Hardware for their supporters. And keeping the Name Branding helps to insure they know Nintendo is Nintendo.
It's a logo I've grown up with and is instantly recognisable. Relieved it was never changed!
Reggie-san's body speaks the truth about Nintendo's iconic logo! ^_^
by Reggie, do you mean Elton John? because that was his real name.
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