Cammie Dunaway (Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Nintendo of America) shows her frustration at how poorly Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has sold.

So, you might have read how Nintendo are disappointed at how Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has performed in terms of sales, despite the game receiving good reviews. What frustrates me, is the mentality that she is showing; and therefore the company as a whole.

I ask myself, “what right do you have, to be frustrated?” Simply relying on the Grand Theft Auto brand itself; and hoping that’s enough to shift copies of the game is not good enough. Ms. Dunaway acknowledges that mature titles have sold well on Nintendo platforms in the past; although the two examples she gives are not developed by Nintendo.
I’ve seen more television adverts for games aimed at the casual market, than the hardcore or mature demographics, and you wonder why games like these don’t sell as well as you hope?

And that’s the root reason why she thinks the game has under-performed in sales. The type of marketing that has been applied. Speaking with MTV Multiplayer, Ms. Dunaway goes on to say…

“…But part of what’s needed is you have to continue to put marketing support behind these titles. It’s one of the things that we’ve really learned over the past few years. The old dynamic of throw it on television for a few weeks and then move on and forget it just doesn’t work, because consumers are out there and new consumers coming in all the time…”

Now, Nintendo aren’t exactly new kids on the block. To hear the EVP of Sales and Marketing talk like she has no clue as to how to market a game is dis-heartening. What frustrates me even more, is when asked if there wasn’t enough marketing support for the title, she simply side-steps the question and repeats…

“I think they should continue to put marketing support behind it.”

Brilliant. So they can’t even directly admit that they got the marketing wrong. To agree that they should apply more marketing support would mean they haven’t applied enough.

I’ve still got love for Nintendo, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. But to see a company as big as they are, messing up a top-notch third party title like this is not acceptable. An then to moan about it; eight months after the game’s release is adding further insult to injury.

Sadly, I think it may be too late for Nintendo to change the brand image of the Nintendo DS, and possibly even the Nintendo Wii. Why? Because they have focussed too much on appealing to the casual market, coupled with the way the media portrays these two platforms; and it becomes very difficult for the company (or the gamers even) to shake off this image; whether it’s accurate or not.

I just want to end with stating what hopefully is the obvious. Not all Nintendo DS owners are little girls, or OAPs. And it’s time Nintendo stopped pretending that that’s the case. Otherwise, we’re sure to see more titles that deserve to sell better fall into obscurity.

Clip of the Cammie Dunaway interview with MTV Multiplayer

Nintendo: ‘GTA: Chinatown Wars’ Frustrating Sales Due To Marketing (Or Lack Thereof) [MTV Multiplayer]