The New Wii U

If you're looking to use the new iPhone 5 as a good example of an extension strategy for a product life-cycle, it's worth remembering that another technology heavyweight is about to launch a re-imagining of a classic product. In November 2012, Nintendo are launching their new version of the Wii games console - imaginatively named the Wii U. However, whilst iPhone 4 users are looking to dust-down their eBay accounts to help subsidise the latest must-have gadget, the Wii U brings an extension strategy with a difference.....

When Nintendo launched it's brand new console in 2006, the Wii quickly became a game-changer in more ways than one. Its revolutionary movement-sensitive wireless handsets instantly made games more user-interactive and physical. So much so that it had to ship silicone covers for the handsets to reduce damage to light-fittings and nearby opponent's noses as gamers became fully-immersed into activities like frisbee-throwing, ping-pong chasing and kart driving. Whilst aiming at a more family-orientated market than the Xbox or Playstation, the Wii's competitors soon saw the potential of an interactivity-style that consisted of more than just a few buttons and joy-sticks. The Xbox 'Kinnect' add-on soon followed and you can now find televisions which are replacing the old-fashioned remote with sensors that pick up your hand-movement in order to change channels.

The new version of the Wii, boasts a tablet style controller with a small touch-screen at its core - suddenly the lines between TV game console and hand-held gadget have become blurred especially as the game-console manufacturers are coming to terms with the fact that many people are getting used to cheaper (sometimes free) game apps on their mobiles. However, whilst the improvement in specifications and gaming experience will be the headline grabber over the next few months, what makes this re-make a little unusual is not what comes in the carefully crafted box that will be bought for thousands of young children this Christmas - but what is missing! In a clever move as part of this product extension strategy, the ever-so-nice people at Nintendo have not included any new motion-sensor handsets. Instead, they are telling you to just use your old ones! Whether this is just a ploy to reduce the cost or as a way of appealing to frustrated parents concerned with bedrooms filled with lumps of old technology is not quite so clear.

See U and Mario at the launch in November.