Nintendo's "Health-related" plan outlined

[BDaddyK]

“As the business environment around us has shifted with the times, we have decided to redefine entertainment as something that improves people’s quality of life (“QOL”) in enjoyable ways and expand our business areas. What Nintendo will try to achieve in the next 10 years is a platform business that improves people’s QOL in enjoyable ways,” Iwata said.

We will attempt to establish a new business area apart from our dedicated video game business. We have set ‘health’ as the theme for our first step and we will try to use our strength as an entertainment company to create unique approaches that expand this business

With its new health products and services, Iwata said that Nintendo wants to “create an environment in which more people are conscious about their health and in turn expand Nintendo’s overall user base.”

He (Iwata) said that Nintendo will still remain focused on dedicated video game hardware and software platforms

http://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-ceo-outlines-plan-move-212123517.html

 

[Andy]

I disagree with their re-definition of entertainment as something that improves your quality of life. That's self-improvement, not entertainment. Entertainment is not being worried about improving yourself or achieving something meaningful. It's about sitting on your butt and immersing yourself in something for the sheer pleasure of it. I guess they overlap sometimes, but I see those as two different things.

I understand where they're coming from, though. Exercise and health-consciousness is a big business, and helping people to get healthier is something positive. Pesonally, I feel like I've got those messages coming at me from a hundred directions already, and I don't really need them coming from my videogame console, too, but I know a lot of people would like it.

 

[amigaengine]

From what I understand this will be another revenue stream for Nintendo. I hope this will not effect what they do with their video game business

 

[Kassen]

I disagree with their re-definition of entertainment as something that improves your quality of life. That's self-improvement, not entertainment. Entertainment is not being worried about improving yourself or achieving something meaningful. It's about sitting on your butt and immersing yourself in something for the sheer pleasure of it. I guess they overlap sometimes, but I see those as two different things.

I understand where they're coming from, though. Exercise and health-consciousness is a big business, and helping people to get healthier is something positive. Pesonally, I feel like I've got those messages coming at me from a hundred directions already, and I don't really need them coming from my videogame console, too, but I know a lot of people would like it.

That's not sensible. Improving quality of life is not self-improvement. The two things are definitely not synonymous at all. Improving QoL is convenience and meaningful social and media functionality. An example would be gaming while on the toilet in a well air conditioned home. That's an example of improved living. I just wanted to harp on that for a sec, but I agree Ninendo needs to do better.

 

[Andy]

That's not sensible. Improving quality of life is not self-improvement. The two things are definitely not synonymous at all. Improving QoL is convenience and meaningful social and media functionality. An example would be gaming while on the toilet in a well air conditioned home. That's an example of improved living.

My point is that the direction they are going -- improving people's health -- sounds more like efforts at self-improvement, rather than entertainment. I don't think of eating right and exercising (for example) as entertainment. You can combine the two, of course, to great effect, as Jane Fonda taught us several decades ago. That's where this initiative is coming from, I'm sure -- a desire to combine entertainment with people's desire to take care of their health, get stronger, more fit, etc. -- because it's big business.

 

[BDaddyK]

From what I understand this will be another revenue stream for Nintendo. I hope this will not effect what they do with their video game business

This right here. I hope it doesn't effect the video game aspect of the business negatively, tho I think it ultimately will. Are they going to hire scads of new talent/resources for this endeavor or will they tap existing staff/resources, any internal re-assignment will prolly neg. affect the Wii U/3DS

 

[Dehnus]

Ofcourse, Nintendo reduces the unwanted stress of having to worry about annoying brats that only compare numbers. On top of that they are great for your eyes as you do not feel the need to press your nose against the screen to count pixels. Furthermore less heart attacks as you won't rage as much and call them angrily about them having to apologize to you and other gamers for some arbitrary silly reason and to top it off they increase the average learnedness of their gamers as they gain more eloquence in their matter of speech and read up on quite a few articles on Wikipedia while looking for old gaming history and thus end up reading the rest as well.

Everybody knows that people with a higher level of learning live longer.

So yes, Nintendo saves your life!

Think about that Neogaf and N4G the next time you write "DAT <x>" or "i" instead of "I". It is not too late yet. Just buy a WiiU and live longer yourself as well .