nintendo wii innovation case study

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What Can We Learn from Nintendo?

Back in 2007, my colleague Scott Anthony argued that Nintendo’s Wii would be a disruptive innovation that could catch Sony and Microsoft off-guard. The core of the argument was that Nintendo’s strategy of “competing against non-consumption” would allow it to fly under the radar of Microsoft and Sony, which were engaging in an arms race […]

Back in 2007, my colleague Scott Anthony argued that Nintendo’s Wii would be a disruptive innovation that could catch Sony and Microsoft off-guard. The core of the argument was that Nintendo’s strategy of “competing against non-consumption” would allow it to fly under the radar of Microsoft and Sony, which were engaging in an arms race to provide ever better-looking games to their most-demanding consumers at premium prices.

• TH Tim Huse is a Senior Associate with Innosight. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies in the healthcare industry and the consumer packaged goods industry on a broad range of topics including technology assessment, building organizational innovation capabilities, and developing disruptive ventures in Western Europe and South Asia.

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Nintendo Wii as an Innovative Product Report (Assessment)

Nintendo wii: case study analysis, wii’s place in the innovation matrix, value proposition, business model and revenue generation, reference list.

The paper provides the analysis of Wii as an innovative product that was launched by Nintendo in 2006. The paper aims at analyzing the case and answering the questions regarding the nature of the innovation, aspects of the value proposition, and details of the used business model. The analysis is concluded with noting that Wii was promoted as the radical innovation in the broadened market that created conditions for the market competition at a new level.

In spite of the fact that Nintendo experienced difficulties with developing the business, proposing new products, and winning the market position during the 1990s, the focus on the development of an innovative device in 2006 changed the situation. Nintendo launched Wii, a new console for video gaming, and this event changed the market development for the next years. From this point, it is important to focus on analyzing Wii’s place in the innovation matrix in terms of its typology, discussing the value proposition, and evaluating the business model.

Innovation is regarded as the proposition of a new approach, object, or product, and it can be incremental or radical, depending on its nature (Herzog & Leker 2010). The incremental innovation is observed when designers work to improve the existing product or approach (Verganti 2013). The radical innovation usually means the change in a meaning of the product, as well as its form, and the addition of a new product to the existing market, as well as the formation of a new market (Battistella, Biotto & De Toni 2012).

While discussing the location of Nintendo’s Wii in the innovation matrix that has two opposites, it is possible to state that Wii has features of the radical innovation because Nintendo proposed not only a new console for games. Thus, the company changed the approach to video gaming while targeting the new group of customers, altering the meaning and nature of games, broadening the environment, and applying a new technology (Smith 2015). As a result, Nintendo’s competitors focused on proposing alternative products with the similar qualities, and the implementation of the radical innovation led to creating a new market segment.

While implementing Wii, Nintendo focused on the value proposition for the target customers who were not discussed as potential consumers of products for video gaming previously. Nintendo chose to focus not on skilled gamers, but on female users, families, first-time gamers, and older persons (Smith 2015). The reason was in the fact that skilled gamers traditionally chose the PlayStation and the Xbox that were characterized by the application of the high-level technology and by the high reputation among the target population.

Nintendo could have difficulties with reaching this population while proposing the similar product. However, Nintendo chose to focus on the unique value proposition for the audience in a new niche (Smith 2015). Wii was developed for the wide group of users, and, instead of playing with the help of traditional joysticks and consoles, individuals received the opportunity to simulate different games in three dimensions, and the experience was similar to playing a real game.

The use of the wireless technology to control motions was innovative and attractive for the wide public, including non-gamers. The proposed value was unique for the targeted market, but the demand was high (Abbing 2010). The PlayStation and the Xbox were based on the use of buttons and joysticks to simulate the game, but the use of wireless sensors and controllers in Wii allowed for concentrating on the high-quality simulation.

The effectiveness of the used business model determines the company’s profitability and the customer’s loyalty (Verganti 2013). The business model used by Nintendo depends on methods that were used for creating and capturing the value. In order to make the audience recognize the advantages of Wii, Nintendo concentrated on accentuating the product’s closeness to the world of real games, the product’s availability to families and non-skilled gamers, and the simplicity of using the product.

In order to guarantee the value capture, it was necessary to demonstrate how the comparably inexpensive device could be more advantageous than the PlayStation and the Xbox because it could be used by the whole family (Smith 2015). From this point, the main revenue generation mechanism used by Nintendo was based on the idea of utilizing innovative but simple sensor technologies in order to provide users with an opportunity to receive the unique experience that was available at a price similar to prices offered by competitors (Smith 2015). However, during a long period of time, the competitors could not propose adequate alternatives for the broadened group of customers, and Wii remained to be a leader in the market.

The focus of Nintendo on using simple technologies for simulating games that are oriented to the wide population of users led to creating a new tendency in the market of video games. The functions that were proposed by the PlayStation and the Xbox did not address the public’s demand anymore. This approach to winning the market position, addressing competitors, and gaining the audience’s recognition resulted in significant revenues. Thus, Nintendo can be regarded as a company that chose a path of completing the radical change and proposing the unique innovation.

Abbing, E 2010, Brand driven innovation: strategies for development and design , Ava Publishing, New York.

Battistella, C, Biotto, G & De Toni, A 2012, ‘From design driven innovation to meaning strategy’, Management Decision , vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 718-743.

Herzog, P & Leker, J 2010, ‘Open and closed innovation-different innovation cultures for different strategies’, International Journal of Technology Management , vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 322-343.

Smith, D 2015, Exploring innovation , McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead.

Verganti, R 2013, Design driven innovation , Harvard Business Press, New York.

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, the blue ocean that disappeared – the case of nintendo wii.

Journal of Business Strategy

ISSN : 0275-6668

Article publication date: 2 September 2013

The purpose with this article is to analyze the “Blue Ocean” phenomenon in depth. The goal is to better understand the underlying dynamic strategies in the form of interactions between theory and management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Single case study, Nintendo, which strategy is being confronted with the strategies of the two competitors, Sony and Microsoft. This is done in order to distinguish the value propositions of the three players in the game console industry

The main finding is that even if a company can create a Blue Ocean very fast with the right value proposition at the right time, it may be short-termed and may be transformed into a Red Ocean again within 1-2 years, unless the company's competitiveness is safe-guarded.

Practical implications

The results show, that Nintendo started out with a Red Ocean around 2005 with their GameCube. Then they turned it into a Blue Ocean with their introduction of “Wii” in November 2006. But Nintendo could not prevent Sony and Microsoft in turning it back to a Red Ocean, with their introduction of similar product features (motion controls), but at better quality. If Nintendo will be able to reestablish the Blue Ocean with their introduction of the “Wii U” in November 2012 is questionable.

Originality/value

There is constantly a need for reformulating the strategy through a dynamic and creative process, in order not to turn the Blue Ocean into a Red Ocean again.

• Competitiveness
• Blue Ocean strategy
• Game consoles
• Global marketing
• Strategy canvas
• Value innovation

Hollensen, S. (2013), "The Blue Ocean that disappeared – the case of Nintendo Wii", Journal of Business Strategy , Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 25-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-02-2013-0012

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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Home » Management Case Studies » Case Study: The Rise and Fall of Nintendo Wii

Case Study: The Rise and Fall of Nintendo Wii

Nintendo was founded in Kyoto, Japan, in 1889 under the name of Nintendo Koppai by Fusajiro Yamauchi. They made decks of playing cards, known as Hanafuda, in Japan. The cards were made by hand originally and became very popular. As demand soared, Yamauchi hired assistants to mass-produce his cards and he opened up a second shop in Osaka. Nintendo took off as one of the largest card makers in the world and maintained that status until the 1950’s. In 1963, Nintendo Playing Card Co. became, simply, Nintendo Co. Hiroshi Yamauchi , unimpressed with the limitations of the playing card industry, began to seek out other ventures. Their line of Disney themed cards had given the company a large cash injection, and risks could  be taken. In the short period between 1963 and 1968, Nintendo opened and shut down unsuccessful ventures ranging from love hotels to taxi services to a TV network. They attempted to enter into the toy market in 1966, but lacked the ability to keep up with the quick turnover required and were outmatched by already established companies such as Bandai .

Finally, in the early 1970’s Nintendo saw some success with family entertainment. They created a line of arcade games with the new light gun technology. While their larger arcade ventures had to be shut down due to the global oil crisis and recession of the early 70’s, Nintendo saw promise in the emerging arcade and home entertainment market. Starting with the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey in 1974, Nintendo broke into the video game industry, slowly. Three years later, the first Nintendo system was developed and  produced, the Color TV Game. Each version of the console featured a different subset of games and was mildly successful at the time. It was at this time that Shigeru Miyamoto was hired by  Nintendo as a product designer . Though they didn’t know it from the start, Miyamoto would be the designer and developer for some of the most iconic and  popular video game characters that exist today.

The 1980’s finally came around, and the era of Nintendo began. The first handheld system released by Nintendo, called the Game & W atch, was released in 1980. It was a worldwide success. A few years later, in 1983, the Famicom was released in Japan. T wo years later it was released in North America under a new name, the Nintendo Entertainment System, or  NES. Coupled with the original NES was the instant hit, Super Mario Bros, which is still one of the bestselling video games of all time.  The success of the NES is what laid the foundation for Nintendo today. After the NES’s release, Nintendo developed and launched the Game Boy. The Game Boy is still the best selling handheld console known to date; its closest rivals are other Nintendo handhelds as well. The Super Famicom, or Super Nintendo outside of Japan, was released as Nintendo’s third generation console featuring all new 16 -bit graphics (Nintendo History). More success followed with the release of the Nintendo 64, incremental updates to their Game Boy line, and eventually a major update to their Game Boy line with the Game Boy Advance. Since the inception of Nintendo Entertainment System in the early 1980s, Nintendo had become a very well known video game console company with their cartridge-based console gaming system. However, due to keen competition from other companies such as Sega, Sony, and Microsoft, Nintendo soon lost its dominance (starting from the late 90s) to other game consoles which adopted the CD format.

Nintendo saw mild success as they rolled into the new millennium. Their Game Cube was profitable, although quickly shadowed by the Playstation 2. Improvements to the Game Boy Advance line came around this time, and Nintendo remained at the head of the handheld market. They came out with the Nintendo DS handheld which sported two screens along with a touch screen the eventually replaced the Game Boy altogether. From 2004 until 2012, Nintendo released incremental updates to their DS line, eventually moving to a new technology with the 3DS, which offered a 3D experience without the need for glasses. The handhelds were profitable, but again, not a huge success.

In 2006, Nintendo released the seventh generation of video game consoles , Wii, which redefined who video games are played by in 2006. Wii was expected to attract core gamers, casual gamers, lapsed gamers and non-gamers through new game play experiences, wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detects movement in three dimensions and new forms of interaction with games rather than cutting edge graphics and expensive technology. Nintendo focus was on non gamers and how to bring them into gaming world and they were also focusing on the core and casual gamers and Wii was a product for all of them. Wii has surpassed its competition both Sony Play station and Microsoft Xbox and as of September 30, 2011, Nintendo has sold 89.36 million Wii consoles.

Wii was not designed to be the best game console but focus was on attracting the non gamers. Non gamers and casual gamers were the uncontested market space in the gaming industry that Nintendo targeted. With that focus Nintendo was less focused on the product as the graphics, chip were average and no disk drive, no High definition, and hardware features when compared with the main competitor at that time Sony Play station. It was a far cheaper device and customers were not only attracted by price but also by the remote and motion sensor technology that brought a new gaming experience. Access to internet through WiConnect24 is another feature that attracted gamers through which they can receive updates and chat with other gamers.

Wii games came uniquely with proprietary, DVD-like Wii Optical Discs packaged in a keep case along with instruction information. Nintendo tied up with third party companies like Ubisoft, Sega, Square Enix, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Capcom who developed games exclusively for Wii through the game development suite Unity. Nintendo authorizes the developers and only those games will be sold that are submitted to them and approved by them. Total Wii games sold as of September30, 2011: 752.54.09 million. Donkey Kong, Super Mario, Call of Duty etc some of the popular games. Since 2010 Nintendo has seen stagnation in Wii hardware sales and competition has significantly caught up with them by offering superior and technologically advanced products.

Nintendo in June 2011 announced the Wii U, sixth home console, with 1080p high-definition graphics, and features a new controller with an embedded touch screen. The player can continue a gaming session with touch screen controller (tablet) displaying the game even when the television is off. Nintendo designed the Wii U console with an objective to enhance and refresh the Wii experience and consumers who did not even have an opportunity to interact with the Wii system. Gamers who desire high-quality HD visuals in their game play and spend a greater amount of time with game play are key focus of this device. The device plans to remove the barrier between the core and casual gamers and provide, on a single console, an experience that will satisfy both types of users. The company is still continuing with a plan to attract non gamers with this console.

Wii U is expected to be released in 2012 and Nintendo is planning to regain its market share with this console. It is working on the launch of new game titles, and compatibility of multiple controllers. The device received initial positive feedback but the success of the device can only be estimated upon release. Wii hardware sales are stagnating and many publishers are dropping SKUs for the platform as they are focusing on mobile games. The reduced focus of the game publishers have led to shortage of new games for Wii. Lack of strong titles, price drops on hardware systems, and a weakening U.S. dollar are the major reasons for drop in the Wii volumes and revenue losses. Nintendo believes the drop in sales of Wii is a natural cycle as for four years the sales has been very high.

Case Study Discussion:

• How to boost sales of Nintendo Wii hardware sales?
• Will price cut or Game title launch boost sales?

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Nintendo Switch: Shifting from Market-Competing to Market-Creating Strategy

By: W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne, Michael Olenick

Nintendo languished in last place during the console wars of the early 2000s, with game industry analysts suggesting that the Kyoto-based firm exit the gaming console market altogether. Instead,…

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Nintendo languished in last place during the console wars of the early 2000s, with game industry analysts suggesting that the Kyoto-based firm exit the gaming console market altogether. Instead, Nintendo used Blue Ocean Strategy to redefine market boundaries, creating the best-selling video-game console ever, the Nintendo Wii. Targeting noncustomers, the Wii outsold Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox combined, until the market was disrupted by smartphones and tablets. Mobile technology targeted the same noncustomers, offering easy-to-understand games and controls, and Wii sales suffered. Nintendo initially responded by introducing a tablet-like console, the Wii U, a poor copy of the tablet experience that was a dismal failure. Stepping back, Nintendo again used Blue Ocean Strategy to "value innovate" with the Nintendo Switch, the only console to outpace the Wii in sales, and by moving into adjacent markets, working with businesses in which it held a minority stake to release the wildly popular Pokémon Go and other mobile games.

Learning Objectives

• Explore how strategy can be used to shape industry structure and market space, and the importance of linking technology to value.

• Understand that businesses go through ups and downs, and that in an up-phase continually value innovating is as important as in a down-phase.

• The importance of long-term growth, balancing and planning a product portfolio for the right balance between earnings and growth. This case uses Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne's Pioneer-Migrator-Settler Map to map Nintendo's product portfolio over time and explain its performance.

May 2, 2019 (Revised: May 31, 2019)

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Fitbit's Ace LTE Is a Smartwatch That’s a Mix of Nintendo, Tamagotchi, and Google

The smartwatch is made for kids, but as an adult, I found myself wanting one to motivate me to be more active.

What would a smartwatch look like if Nintendo, Google, and Fitbit came together to build it? According to Google, it’d look like the new Fitbit Ace LTE launching on June 5 in the Google online store and on Amazon.

“Two-thirds of [hundreds of parents included in beta testing] have said their kids are exercising more,” Anil Sabharwal, Google Vice President, GM Health and Wearables, tells Inverse during a product briefing last week. “We’ve solved a couple of really important problems, and we’ve done it in a really responsible way.”

To be clear: Nintendo has nothing to do with the Fitbit Ace LTE. The $230 Android-powered smartwatch is made for kids (7+), but Sabharwal, who has two young children of his own within the demographic, tells me everything from the band mechanism to the software interface was inspired by Nintendo… and Tamagotchi virtual pets .

One look at the Fitbit Ace LTE, and I could immediately see similarities between the device’s “Eejie” avatars and those from Nintendo’s Animal Crossing and Miis, the avatars that everybody was obsessed with on the Wii console. Some of the mini-games that wearers play on the smartwatch, like the kart racing game Pollo 13 Space Race, which then unlock a new level or area by making them walk steps or get their heart rate up (through whatever means such as playing basketball or doing jumping jacks or riding a bike), even resemble Nintendo games like Mario Kart .

While us adults are still waiting for Google to deliver a Pixel Watch with Fitbit health and fitness integrations that smokes the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch , Google at least seems to have figured out how to create a smartwatch, built from the ground up, for kids. I’m not going to lie: I wish adult smartwatches were as fun as the Fitbit Ace LTE.

Nintendo Influence

From a hardware standpoint, the Fitbit Ace LTE isn’t all too different from the Pixel Watch 2 . It’s got the same celectrical sensors, including the heart rate monitor; the battery lasts around 16 hours, according to Sabharwal.

Naturally, as a smartwatch for kids, it needs to be rugged enough to survive life on the playground. On top of its 5ATM water-resistance rating (durable enough to survive a washing machine), the screen is made of scratch- and dust-resistant Gorilla Glass 3, and there’s a plastic bumper that snaps over the display for added protection. For parents, there’s one nice convenience: The Fitbit Ace LTE uses the same puck charger as the Pixel Watch 2 and Fitbit Sense and Versa smartwatches .

The whole case is made of recycled plastic and the bands from recycled yarn. Even the packaging for both the smartwatch and band is made of recycled paper. It’s something to feel good about.

The bands are where Google put in a touch of Nintendo-esque thoughtfulness into the hardware. Unlike the watch bands for the Pixel Watches that can be finicky to attach and remove, the Fitbit Ace LTE bands snap into the smartwatch easily with a very satisfying click.

“We call [the band connection mechanism] ‘the cartridge,’” Sabharwal says while blowing on the band’s connector, mimicking the way everybody used to blow on NES and SNES game cartridges to get them to boot up. “It’s inspired by old Nintendo cartridges.” I break his heart a little when I tell him that blowing on the old cartridges didn’t actually do anything; it didn’t remove any dust at all. He’s a good sport and laughs off the factoid.

And just like many Nintendo products, there’s a collectible element to the bands. Purchase additional bands ($35 each) and when you connect them to the Fitbit Ace LTE, you’ll instantly unlock a new Eejie avatar, exclusive items, and even different elements on the watch face. There will be six bands in different colors and patterns, sold in limited volume at launch, and new ones will made available in the future. For kids, the collectible and trading aspect could be appealing in much the same way collecting and trading Pokémon cards is. The good thing is that there’s no DRM to the bands; one band can be shared with any Fitbit Ace LTE to unlock the special avatar and items.

The Nintendo influence is more than hardware deep. As I said earlier, the software has Nintendo and Tamagotchi written all over it. Instead of activity rings, like you’d find on an Apple Watch, the watch face has a colorful activity “noodle” with designs like a snake that’s chasing a bug or an arm flashing the peace sign. Again, it’s a UI that’s made for kids, though, adults wouldn’t find it too childish, either. At least I don’t.

... the software has Nintendo and Tamagotchi written all over it.

Press the top button (there are only two on the right side of the watch case) and you’ll launch into basic “communications” functions like device settings, phones, call, messaging, etc. Press the bottom button and you’ll open into the “home screen” which is nothing like what you’d find on adult smartwatches. Instead of widgets or apps, the home screen is a game carousel with the mini-games. The Fitbit Ace LTE is launching with six games, but Google plans to release two to three games every quarter as part of the “Fitbit Arcade” service that’s included with a monthly “Ace Pass” subscription fee (more on that later).

The mini-games — like the Mario Kart clone where you control a chicken driving a bathtub “kart” in space by tilting your wrist left and right, or Smokey Lake, a fishing game where you flick your arm back as if you’re readying a fishing pole and then thrust it forward until you feel the vibration of a caught virtual fish — are part of what Google is calling “interval-based gaming.” Similar to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) where you alternate between short and intense cardio exercises and resting, the mini-games on the Fitbit Ace LTE exist are meant to be played for two to three minutes, five to 10 times a day to “motivate activity,” Sabharwal tells me.

“Screen times are through the roof, 80 percent of kids, according to the World Health Organization are not meeting their daily active goals,” Sabharwal says. Instead of giving kids an iPad to pacify them or telling them to “go outside and play,” today’s tech-addicted kids need motivation to move. He thinks that the right combination of gamification and wearable tech could be a meaningful catalyst. The way the Fitbit Ace LTE’s game world is set up, you’re basically tricking kids into exercising.

Kids play the mini-games, which then tell them to “walk” their Eejie’s around the virtual map to get to other levels. They get their exercise in with steps or physical activity and playing mini-games or completing fitness missions earns them digital arcade tickets that they can use to buy new items to decorate their rooms.

“The only way to advance the games is to actually move.”

“The narrative of the game will encourage you to go out and be active. Go play, go move. and then come back and continue the [mini-games],” Sabharwal says. “The only way to advance the games is to actually move.”

Gamifying fitness isn’t new. Nintendo has been tricking people into exercising for ages with games like Wii Sports , Wii Fitness , and Pokémon Go . Bandai has done something similar to the Fitbit Ace LTE with its Digimon Vital Bracelet fitness tracker , though it’s not quite as well executed. Google and Fitbit giving it a stab at the issue suggest that kids are too sedentary. Gotta trick them into ditching their iPads!

From my brief hands-on trying the mini-games like Pollo 13 Space Race and Smokey Lake, I have to admit they’re kind of fun. I don’t think I would have felt the same, though, if the controls weren’t so responsive. Sabharwal says Google worked with game studios to build custom “full Unity-based 3D graphics” and controls that used all of the various sensors, including the haptics and accelerometer, to offer a short-length gaming experience that’s made natively for smartwtches.

There’s a surprising amount of depth to the gamified fitness interface. Bit Valley is the equivalent to a map and inventory view or menu within an RPG game. Tap on a house and you can open up a shop to buy new virtual items using the tickets you’ve won or visit your Eejie’s virtual room, which you can customize to your heart’s content. Loading up your virtual rooms is the slowest part of the Fitbit Ace LTE (taking around 10 to 15 seconds to display) that I observed. Not surprising considering they’re all 3D rendered… on a smartwatch.

“Bit Valley is a bit little bit like Animal Crossing . It’s a little bit of The Sims . It’s very much this idea of a Tamagotchi on your wrist,” says Sabharwal. “The Eejie is essentially this virtual buddy that you can customize… and your job is to keep it happy. You visit it every day and you buy it items and things like that.”

What even is an Eejie? I had to ask. Sabharwal says they started with “i-j-i” and the dots in the I’s looked like people, which resembled a “community valley” so that’s what they went with.

As Sabharwal walked me through Bit Valley and all the various customizations and things you can buy and play and do on the Fitbit Ace LTE, I started to feel overwhelmed. Will 7-year-olds really understand all of this “gameplay” hidden behind various mini-games and virtual rooms? Sabharwal says they did testing with over 500 kids to “validate” the right amount of gameplay and incentivization for buying items.

“When you’re a kid, you need the ability to demonstrate how advanced you are, what level are you on? What have you earned in the game? Oh, you've played 30 games and completed them? I've only played two games and completed them. You’re you’re an expert level, I’m a novice level.”

Competitive spirit, whether with friends, or parents or guardians, is always a good way to motivate kids into doing things they don’t want to do! Leaderboards and challenges that kids can have with their friends wearing a Fitbit Ace LTE are in the works. For now, the only competitive aspect of the smartwatch is a good old-fashioned one: boasting in person.

A Pricey Entry Fee

By the end of my hour-long demo, I’m sort of sold on the Fitbit Ace LTE. I love video games. I love Nintendo. I love Tamagotchis. I like to exercise to a lesser extent, but do it because my bones are creaking and I want to live long enough to see teleportation, smart contacts, and all kinds of futuristic technology that we’ve yet to make a reality. Okay, maybe none of those things will happen in my lifetime, but you get the idea.

I’m liking a lot of what Sabharhal, who has spearheaded some of Google’s biggest products such as Chrome, ChromeOS, and Google Photos, has shown me, even though I’m absolutely not the Fitbit Ace LTE’s target demographic of 7 to 11-year-olds. I also like that the smartwatch works with both iPhones and Android devices. But then he rattles off the pricing and the monthly subscription fee: $230 for the smartwatch, $35 for extra bands (with the special digital items), and $10 per month for an “Ace Pass” subscription (includes LTE cellular connectivity, access to the Fitbit Arcade that adds new games every quarter, and parental controls). Suddenly, the Fitbit Ace LTE seems expensive. $385 for the smartwatch, an annual subscription, and one extra band is not pocket change for a children’s smartwatch. A Pixel Watch 2 starts at $350 for the Wi-Fi version and $400 for the model with cellular LTE. Even with a similarly priced cellular plan, a Pixel Watch 2 isn’t too far off.

Why shouldn’t smartwatches be fun to wear and engage with?

I don’t have children, so the cost might be lost on me compared to a parent or guardian who would happily pay a certain amount of dollars for a device that not only lets them keep track of and communicate with their kids, but also motivates them to move through gamification. I asked a few parent friends of mine who have children within the 7 to 11-year-old range what they thought of the pricing, and they told it’s hard to put a price wearable tech that provides them with peace of mind (safety and data privacy) when their kids are at school or on their own in the real world. Individual parents would have to weigh the pros and cons of the Fitbit Ace LTE compared to just getting their kids a cheap smartphone. Google’s offering a 50 percent discount off the Ace Pass until August 31, which knocks the annual price down to $60, and is also including a free band. But still… the overall cost of ownership over a few years is enough to give any parent pause.

“So many devices condescend to children or they’re adult devices that are just locked down for kids,” Sabharwal says. “If you want to build something for kids, you have to build it in a way that appeals to them… with personalization, collectibility, and gaming experiences.”

I ask Sabharhal whether Google would consider adding the Fitbit Ace LTE’s gamified fitness experience to Pixel Watches, even as a paid add-on subscription, so that adults could either enjoy it themselves or play with their kids (or nephews or nieces) without needing to get another smartwatch. Why shouldn’t smartwatches be fun to wear and engage with? Why should kids have all the fun and we grownups can’t get an Animal Crossing -like way to motivate us to stop sitting all day?

“The road map is very greenfield and I see a lot of opportunities,” Sabharwal explains about the potential for children moving on from a kid-centric smartwatch like the Fitbit Ace LTE to a more mature Pixel device. “I think there is a graduation opportunity that we’re looking at. It’s not that our aspiration wasn’t to build for adults, it’s simply that we think we’ve achieved a product that fits a really important need today.”