Should Nintendo Officially Enter the Market in the Middle East?

[Hope(N Forever)]

I bet it's a REALLY rare question to be asked, as most Westerns don't care how the video game market is handled in the Middle East, and "TRUE" gamers are extremely rare in the Middle East itself!!

I just hate the video game market here!! Hardly anyone knows what is a great game!!

Here's a likely conversation you'd have with an "over average" gamer from the Middle East:

AG is anyone from this forum. Let's assume it's me.
AME is the Middle Eastern sorta gamer.

AG: So, what're been playing lately?
AME: Well, I've been having a few rounds with my mates in Counter-Strike (LAN mode), and I guess I've been having a lot of fun playing GTA and Need for Speed on my own. I did open a new session with Fifa too!
(Note: In the Middle East, it is a "fashion" to play very violent games and sports games. It is also a common sight to see VERY YOUNG kiddies playing Counter-Strike as well!...)
Oh and I did also purchase some twenty games this week (Software piracy is very common in the region! Why? 'Cause no one cares for video games!) for my PlayStation (The FIRST one, not the second! It's still pretty much at large!).
AG: So, have you been playing any Mario games?
AME: Er... those games are very old! I have to dig up my old system (NOT a NES!! Most likely another 8-bit but pirate machine!) and my old GameBoy to play them again, but I don't care anymore. I think I ought to throw them away someday (To most of them, any old hardware is just "one of those things from the past to be discarded off"!!)
AG: I was talking about the new games!
AME: New games!?
AG: Yeah!
AME: Since when were there any new games!?
AG: Well, one was released just this month! (Reference to Super Princess Peach - technically a Super Mario game!)
AME: Oh? Is it on the PC or PlayStation 2?
AG: Neither.
AME: Oh, then it should be! Why not?
AG: Because Mario belongs to Nintendo?
AME: But I thought Nintendo stopped making games! (Believe it, or not?)
AG: No, they are still making games! They are making 3-D games as well!
AME: Like on the PlayStation?
AG: Yes!
AME: How come I have not seen any 3-D Mario game on the PlayStation then? (This person is thinking "GameBoy Advance" as an ONLY Nintendo console!)
AG: Because they can't put them on the PlayStation! Mario belongs to Nintendo, and Nintendo only puts their 3-D games on Nintendo consoles like the GameCube!
AME: What's a Game-Cube? (Believe it, or not?)
AG: It's Nintendo's own console! I just told you that!
AME: Really? Is it new?
AG: Actually, it's been out since 2001!
AME: 2001? Ah well, I don't care for Mario anyway. He's short and fat, and he has a stupid big moustache! (Just like I said. Video games are nothing but "fashion" to most people!)
AG: But he's a classic!
AME: Meh! I think the greatest games are those that come with great graphics and great sounds! ("Fashion" is the only philosophy!)
AG: Don't you like the Legend of Zelda then?
AME: What is that?
AG: It's a great video game series!
AME: But I haven't heard of it, so it can't be all that great. (More stupid philosophies!)
AG: But it's an amazing series I tell you!
AME: Okay. What is it about?
AG: Well, it is about this great land where a big pig-like monster called Ganon conquers it, and then this boy dressed in green goes to find a sword, and saves the land!
AME: Ewww!! I don't like fantasy games!! ("Fashion", people! "Fashion"!)
AG: But it's great!
AME: I don't care.
AG: You just don't care about anything?
AME: Of course, they are nothing but games. (This part burns me up!)
AG: Then I think there's no point in talking with you any further! Good-bye!
AME: Good bye!

Since the Middle East is a society that depends more on popular opinion than marketing, most video game players would go after what their friends tell them are the greatest games! Notably, the "fashionable" ones! Video games in the Middle East did not get recognised until the very late 1980s! Most people at the time only knew the old Atari consoles! Later, they all went with the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, and then came the PlayStation, and everyone went crazy for it! Today, it is said that there is nothing better than the PlayStation 2! The only alternative is X-Box!
Granted, the PlayStation 2 is more popular in the West anyway, but over here, they don't even know the MOST IMPORTANT names in video gaming! To most people, life in video games is extremely limited!! They have no idea what the future is like either! Some people said that the PlayStation 3 is already out! SAY WHAT?! Where the heck do they get their info? I have no idea! But I personally sure know how to get my own info, and they come from the best sources too!

Anyways, as far as I can see, the best place to know about video games is in the U.A.E.! Why? Because it is home to the biggest video game distributer in the Middle East - Geekay Games.
But even that company isn't "all that great"! Granted, they do good marketing, and they know their games very well. However, when I visited their shops, it seems all their stocks are highly limited! If I asked for simply older games, they claim they are not available anymore!
They are not completely honest with their products either, as they have a lot of pirated accesories, and not to mention a great library of pirated GameBoy software! I mean, check out their website alone!
Besides, whereever you actually do buy some or any games, all original copies are regarded as imports, and they all are as expensive as heck! Maybe around fifty to seventy dollars more than the original retail prices in the Western countries, where there are OFFICES for all these companies!

So, I was wondering. Do you suppose if Nintendo officially did open some offices in the Arab World, where they'll distribute games their own way and handle better marketing over here, do you think that the days of the video game market in the Middle East may see some light finally!?

I'm getting sick and tired of this! I mean, I can't even seem to be able to open any account on any official Nintendo website!! I used to have an account on the U.S. official website, but Nintendo changed their policies, and suddenly my account became void! Sheesh!
Such a hard luck to have very few, almost NONE in fact, real life friends who would love Super Mario games as much as you do...
They're extremely hard to find, and now you know why!

[Bigluigifan1.0]

This guy is hilarious.

[PaperLuigi]

LOL's at bigLuigifan's post.

[MaxVance]

I see no reason why not. Nintendo's games are somewhat hardharder to pirate (compared to PC and PS2 games) and perhaps having Nintendo's games would make people notice them over there.

[TEM]

LOL's at bigLuigifan's post.

[Hirocon]

On a tangent, I was in China a few years ago and saw games everywhere for ridiculously low prices.  They had games for PC, X-Box, PS2 and GBA.  There were no GCN games available anywhere I looked.  Why not GCN?  Because apparently gamecube games a really tough to pirate!  So that might explain why in the pirated-software-riddled Middle East, people have heard of the GBA but not of the gamecube.

And no, I didn't buy any pirated games.

[HolyAarom]

I second that.

[Mr. Wiggles]

The definition of a great game changes depending on a person's Point-of-view.

Plus do you really think Nintendo wants to distribute games in a poor country where more than half the population probably wouldn't be able to afford it, not to mention they're currently in a state of turmoil.

*Crosses fingers that he isn't opening up a can of worms.*

[DeadAwake]

Wow, you're right:  I hadn't much thought about gaming in the Middle East before.  So, Hope, how did you become so knowledgable?  Have you always lived in the Middle East?

So, I was wondering. Do you suppose if Nintendo officially did open some offices in the Arab World, where they'll distribute games their own way and handle better marketing over here, do you think that the days of the video game market in the Middle East may see some light finally!?

You'd probably know better than any of us.  It sounds as if Nintendo wouldn't do too well... They're more of a timeless company and don't seem to compromise art for fashion (at least, not as much as other companies do).  That can get dangerous in the long run.

[MEGAߥTE]

Plus do you really think Nintendo wants to distribute games in a poor country where more than half the population probably wouldn't be able to afford it, not to mention they're currently in a state of turmoil.

"The Middle East" isn't a country.  The relative weath and stability of the countries that make up the Middle East vary.

[MaxVance]

Wow, you're right:  I hadn't much thought about gaming in the Middle East before.  So, Hope, how did you become so knowledgable?  Have you always lived in the Middle East?

You'd probably know better than any of us.  It sounds as if Nintendo wouldn't do too well... They're more of a timeless company and don't seem to compromise art for fashion (at least, not as much as other companies do).  That can get dangerous in the long run.

If you look at Hope's profile, it says that he lives in Lebanon. And perhaps you're right about Nintendo selling games over there.

[Luigison]

Yeah, and I'm from Bangladesh.

[Hope(N Forever)]

Plus do you really think Nintendo wants to distribute games in a poor country where more than half the population probably wouldn't be able to afford it, not to mention they're currently in a state of turmoil.

Hoo boy...
Just because we live in a so-called Third World, it doesn't mean we're actually financially and economically feeble!!
In fact, have you ever seen the Gulf States!? They're extremely RICH!!
The king of Saudi Arabia is the richest man in the World, and the Guinness Book of Records had confirmed that!
The Gulf States is a HUGE oil supplier to many Big Countries like the United States, Japan, Germany, and many others! I lived in the U.A.E. for seventeen years, and all I saw was nothing but progress! The desert started disappearing right before my eyes!! So many big businesses emerged just like that! We got the latest technologies!
The only thing you had to worry about was the conservative government, but an average life is relatively acceptable anyways! I also forgot to mention that the U.A.E. has a VERY HIGH income per capita! Not to mention you get NO TAX on income! (Guinness also mentioned that the lowest national tax rate in the World is 0%, which is only found in Qatar and Bahrain!)
Then there is Lebanon - the most secular Arab country ever (even though not secular enough by U.S. standards, but you could still have fun!), and is a BIG attraction to tourists from all over the World! Lebanon is also considered the most open gateway to the Arab World for Western politics! Look elsewhere and all you'll see are extremely difficult boundaries!

Just because Iraq is part of the Middle East, it does not mean the rest of it is the same!!
Man! I cannot believe just because people live in so much luxury that they have to be ignorant!

Wow, you're right:  I hadn't much thought about gaming in the Middle East before.

I told you it's a very rare question.

So, Hope, how did you become so knowledgeable?  Have you always lived in the Middle East?

Well, du'h! I lived there, like, my WHOLE LIFE!!
I'm a pure Lebanese! What did you expect?

Of course, if you didn't know that, I apologize for my rudeness. Well, in any case, now you do know...

You'd probably know better than any of us.  It sounds as if Nintendo wouldn't do too well... They're more of a timeless company and don't seem to compromise art for fashion (at least, not as much as other companies do).  That can get dangerous in the long run.

Ah! But here's the deal!
It seems loads of younger players love to play adventure games like heck, but unfortunately, they are not "well-informed" enough to know any good ones, and they tend to play what the more grown-up say is "currently hot"!
(Believe me! I tell them games like Resident Evil 4 is really hot, but they still claim that games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Counter-Strike still kicks major butt! I mean, very few had now started playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - despite it is slowly growing in popularity at the moment - whilst even LESS people know that Half-Life 2 was released!)
If Nintendo opens an office in this region, target their marketing at younger players, those players would seriously gain interest!! You just don't know how much they can be sooooo naïve, until they get older, and become "fashionable" and care even less about playing games in general...
Hardly any one in this region can see that video games are now growing to be as big as books and movies!

Nintendo should have no problem in opening an office! I mean, if Disney could do it, why not Nintendo!? I mean, do check out the official Disney Channel Middle East website!

[DeadAwake]

The king of Saudi Arabia is the richest man in the World, and the Guinness Book of Records had confirmed that!

If you mean the prince of Saudi Arabia (or if the prince has since become king), this site says he's only #5.  Still, it's better than being #366...  Anyway, don't trust a beer company to bring you facts.

[Luigison]

peddles increasingly high-tech video game devices