How Nintendo Built a Brand on Toy Surprise

Building Brands with Fexingo: Identity, Reputation, and Long-Term Business Equity · Jul 10, 2026 · 8m · transcript

This episode of Building Brands with Fexingo explores how Nintendo transformed its brand from a struggling video game company in the early 2000s into a cultural powerhouse built on surprise and delight. Lucas and Luna dissect the decision to launch the Nintendo Switch in March 2017 — a hybrid console that defied industry trends toward raw power and instead prioritized portability and local multiplayer. They examine the "Blue Ocean" strategy that set Switch apart from Sony and Microsoft, the role of first-party franchises like Zelda and Mario in driving hardware sales, and the surprising fact…