Playing the Wii Aftermarket
It’s a giant among video game consoles, a brand name like almost no other, an entertainment product that needs no introduction. The Nintendo Wii.
Some products and services are so well known, they hardly need an introduction. Nintendo Wii may not have the name cache of McDonald’s or Wal-Mart. But it does have brand recognition that startups can only dream of.
That’s why there’s something to be said for the “aftermarket,” the concept of tailoring your business to the customers of a much bigger, famous or already-existing product or service.
Nintendo Wii is just one of the latest products to inspire entrepreneurs to start new businesses or adjust their current offerings.
For instance, one component of the Wii is the Mii, which lets game players create their own characters by choosing from an assortment of facial characteristics. Many online retail outlets are selling T-shirts, mugs and statuettes with Miis on them.
“To date, there has been a plethora of third-party add-ons and tools [that have] hit the market, ranging from adhesive console skins to rechargeable battery docks to PC-based Mii editors,” says Chris Moorhouse, creator of WiiChat.com, the video game system’s largest unofficial online community. “The potential for making money off the back of the console is very much untapped right now, and I’m sure it’s proving very profitable right now for companies that are riding the wave of the console’s success.”
The businesses thriving from Nintendo Wii are arguably the ones that existed before Nintendo Wii. Dan Diotte owns VenMill Industries, which offers technology–like the Skip-Away–that cleans and fixes compact discs. The company, which was founded in 2002, brings in about $4 million a year selling products that work for CDs, DVDs and, yes, compact discs for the Nintendo Wii.
“VenMill is placing about a third of its marketing and resources toward satisfying the need for maintenance and repair of discs in this marketplace,” says Diotte.
Photo by Nintendo.
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