Earlier this week, Nintendo revealed its massive E3 campaign that would take advantage of every social media platform on the planet. One of the components of the campaign was that the company would use Facebook as a platform to stream its E3 press conference. It seems that the company’s Facebook use won’t be limited to just that as the brand page for the console has been updated.
It’s easy to see Microsoft and Sony creating fan pages for their consoles, but Nintendo’s brand page is a little odd. The company just doesn’t seem the type to take advantage of newer marketing tactics like Facebook brand pages, favoring to use tried and true advertising campaigns. The company registered the brand page back in 2011, but it has seen little to no use until today.
The design is also a teaser in and of itself. The brand page has taken full advantage of the Timeline layout including a cover photo teaser. The teaser is of particular interest as it’s a barely open safe with the blue light of the Wii U’s self-loading emanating from the crack in the door.
All of this points to a bold, new Nintendo that is taking its social media marketing very seriously. In the past, Nintendo was always the company that was too traditional. Fans left the platform because they felt Nintendo wasn’t keeping up with the times. In a way, utilizing Facebook may be a response to those critics.
The page also hints at a Nintendo that may be taking social media beyond mere marketing. Nintendo always argued against online play and other similar features because it took away that feeling of being around your friends in the same room. This change to being more social media minded makes it seem like Nintendo now realizes that social media is the new way of interacting with your friends.
So are we going to see more social media integration in the Wii U? We won’t know until Nintendo’s E3 press conference on June 4, but I think there’s a good chance that Nintendo will announce some kind of Facebook or Twitter integration into its new console. Social media is the future and Nintendo has finally recognized its power.
As an aside, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime uploaded a video welcoming fans to the new frontier of social media. Be on the lookout for the awesome The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess statue in the background. Ah, the perks of being president of NoA.
