I know you’re wondering what the Nintendo Wii game console has to do with writing. If you look closely, there’s an important lesson you can learn from this Japanese video gaming giant.

But first, a quick history lesson for the uninitiated. Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo Company Ltd. to produce handmade playing cards in 1889. With the help of his successors, the company grew into a US$85 billion powerhouse and a household name. In 2007 it was ranked as eight largest software company in the world.

With the success of its early consoles, they left their rival Sega behind. But with the release of the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, they finally had some stiff competition. Their GameCube system was underwhelming upon release, resulting in sales worse than their previous console.

This is where you need to pay attention. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were released with great fanfare and Nintendo were losing ground on their rivals. They needed to do something big to dominate the market again.

Sony’s Eye Toy was an active gaming device that allowed people to interact with the game they were playing with their body movement. It was, however, ahead of its time and it never really took off. Nintendo took notice and worked hard at perfecting a full body system for their next console.

Enter the Nintendo Wii. The controller is a remote with motion sensing capability. Combined with releases like Wii Fit (including the motion sensing Wii Board) and Wii Sports, it allows users to simulate real life movements like striking a yoga pose, hitting a tennis ball or shooting a bad guy.

This innovation (that I and many others didn’t expect until it was announced) has resulted in incredible sale figures for Nintendo. From 2007-2009 they have outsold their competitors time and time again. Combined with celebrity advertising and low production costs, they are back at the top of their industry again. They took a risk and it paid off big time.

Now for the link to writing. Most aspiring writers will never have the luck, connections or talent to write masterpiece novels that bring them fame and fortune. And there are millions of lower grade and self-published authors trying to make a living off their writing.

How are you going to make yourself stand out? Will you be like Nintendo and set yourself apart so people take notice, or will you risk being yet another carbon-copy writer lost in the crowd clamoring for attention? Take a chance and be different. It might just work.

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