If you wanted to know why Nintendo became successful in the video games industry, then this ’employee sales manual’ from 1988 will go some way in showing how the Kyoto giant ensured it’s image and products were always front and centre in your nearest store.
Nintendo’s merchandising, ranging and point of sale displays managed to catch the eye of their target market (the kids of the 80s) and extract money out of their parents wallet. This may be sale and marketing 101, but Nintendo showed the rest of the video games market how it should be done.
Each Nintendo sales representative was issued their sales manual, covering all aspects of their day-to-day associations with authorised Nintendo dealers, merchandisers and distributors.
Inside the binder, there were colour brochures and pamphlets showcasing Nintendo’s systems, games, and information on Nintendo displays/kiosks that were featured in stores, like the M82 playable games demo unit.
Also inside, the Nintendo representative had information on the different gaming categories/series, like the ‘Black Box’ NES games in the ‘Action’, ‘Sports’ and ‘Robot’ series, to name a few.
If you can’t get your hands on this Nintendo sale manual binder, then here are the contents in full colour glory!
If you worked for Nintendo in the late 80s, then this was your bible!
Divide and conquer!
Yep, that kid understands the POWER of the Big N!
Oh wow, look at that NES display case!
This is effective merchandising
Planning to the Nth degree
Nintendo knew their consumers intimately
Nintendo owned the 8-bit console market in North America
Clever play on words! Boxing was huge and Punch-Out!! capitalised on it
The NES Advantage
Legendary games!
Nintendo knocked out the 8-bit console opposition!
source: ebay