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By Thom Dinsdale

November 27, 2008

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Discrete Grey is the New Red


Yesterday Nintendo dropped a bombshell that left a bemused gaming community scratching its head it in its wake. Namely, that the company has changed the colour of its logo from the iconic red to a “discrete” grey. And what’s more, it did this years ago!


The story broke via a press release from Nintendo Europe and PR firm Popular, imploring journalists to cease using the red logoin favour of the relatively new grey one.


This is one of those announcements that has people running into their living rooms to check the back of game boxes before exclaiming “Oh, yeahh!” However, the change is very interesting – and on more than a purely symbolic or semiotic level.


The curious and slightly patronising way Nintendo went about announcing it is also interesting. Surely a clandestine press release asking media outlets to change their approach is only going to lead to a royal round of outrage and contemptuous fun-poking. That said, any larger announcement would probably have received much the same response.


The term “Descrete Grey” is curious in and of itself. Certainly, this isn’t just a page ripped out of the Dulux colour chart but a clue to everything Nintendo wants to be.


Whilst it is easy to belittle something as seemingly superficial as a colour change, the fact remains that colour is a hugely important component in any brand. Reading colour is an automatic exercise - its instinctive and impossible not to do. Especially with monochromatic logo’s such as Nintendo’s, it is the interplay of shape and colour that makes the brand instantly recognisable from ten inches to ten feet.
 

The red “racetrack” logo is an icon of contemporary culture. Regardless of all Nintendo’s efforts it probably has a good few years to go before it is exorcised from the cultural consciousness entirely. That said, the change is not entirely surprising. It marks Nintendo’s move from an intrinsically Japanese brand to an international one with cross cultural appeal – the similarities between the old logo and the Japanese flag are subtle but nevertheless there.
 

The new logo isn’t a rebrand of the company as such, but rather a change in emphasis. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo doesn’t have the same corporate umbrella under which its products sit, the company is about games through and through. Nintendo is no longer about Mario, and regardless of how iconic the red logo and everything that goes with it are their significance is only relevant to those consumers that grew up alongside the brand.
 

Nintendo no longer needs this cartoon conception of fun, but one based on community and projectability. Grey is “discrete” not because it’s boring but because it’s passive, it doesn’t impose like red does, it doesn’t carry all the same social and cultural luggage. Granted that grey isn’t exempt of meaning in and of itself, but it does allow the name to take a backseat whilst the Wii and the rest of the company’s stars shine on. You don’t need to look any further than Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Wii Music and Wii Play for the brand’s rationale on this front.

 

AlCoHoLiCa's picture
On November 29th AlCoHoLiCa said:

In retrospect I believe that the re-branding of Nintendo has been going on for quite considerably longer than most have noticed. Its demographic is more than just focusing on kids and has been since the release of the DS and slowly this has been disseminating throughout the company. Now Nintendo has an almost scitzophrenic approach to the market, although of course it is much more intentional than than implies.

You can identify three main categories which can be found within Nintendo titles (whilst over generalising horribly of course), firstly; we have the "kiddies" titles, franchises like "Imagine" the "My [insert aspect of life here"; then we find those titles which could be classified as the "traditional" Nintendo game, for example Super Mario, Super Smash bros etc, this could be considered more generally as the "gamers" category, or the least casual. And finally you have what I call "self help" titles, Brain Training, Wii Fit etc, which have a much more universal appeal and are what I attribute much of Nintendo's recent success on. I realise that there are a whole host of other games which are shooters, sports, driving etc but these three groups I believe are what makes the core of Nintendo titles currently.

This logo colour change, one which I must say I noticed a few months ago, but didn't really think a great deal of, is clearly an attempt to universalise the brand image of Nintendo (keeping in mind its demographic) and to show that it is taking its self seriously so perhaps others should too. That said, I don't believe the "discrete" grey removes anything of the "fun" image which Nintendo have always had, I don't believe anything could do that short of a megaton warhead.

So I concur completely with you Thom, the passive new logo of Nintendo is an attempt to represent its whole catalogue rather than just Mario.

happyboog's picture
On November 28th happyboog said:

Self realization in reference to the impact of video games?.. That's so crazy you just might be right!

@Ishhan, yes, Nintendo does seem to give their games a certain level of polish when it comes to controls, cameras and subtle animations while everyone else masters the screenshot. I think they are the best at what they do and I model my software development mentality after them. ie. its ready when its ready. I still can't believe nintendo is still its top developer. That's nuts.

Looks like Nintendo really is trying to change its image. Really pisses me off too. That kiddy game label I mean. Hopefully Nintendo doesn't grow up too fast, it's only 100 years old after all and I'd hate to see Mario games turn into 120min HD cutscenes.

Cutscenes piss me off.

Ishaan's picture
On November 27th Ishaan said:

I think you hit the nail on the head. To a lot of us, Nintendo is still -- despite some of the flack they've received for their focus on the expanded audience -- the best at what they do. I love some of the games that are coming out on the high-def systems this year, but I still feel no one has a grasp on the concept of "fun" the way Nintendo does.

(Just as an aside, I was playing Assassin's Creed the other day, and while I liked the game, movement in general felt very sluggish. It made me realize that no other developer pays as much attention to the most basic controls as Nintendo does)

However, to the expanded audience, Nintendo could very well be perceived as a competitor to Apple. Iwata has fiercely denied any rumours that they want to turn the DS into a "phone," but by this point, the line between "games" and "apps" has thinned to a large degree. It's more about entertainment in the larger sense of the word now.

In retrospect, we should've seen this coming. Now that they've taken this first step to shed their "kiddy" image, one wonders if it isn't part of some sort of larger public rebranding. But again, it's Nintendo...they've always had this uncanny ability to walk that tightrope and still maintain their balance. Chances are, ten years down the line we'll still be calling them a game developer while the rest of the world calls them a "lifestyle company."

Ishaan's picture
On November 27th Ishaan said:

That's a really interesting way to look at it, Thom. That they're no longer just about Mario type fun, but also Wii Sports type fun. The Wii logo is grey, too, so in a way that supports your argument. :)

I actually thought the colour change was symbolic, too, except that, to me, it felt more to do with the fact that Nintendo was starting to explore areas outside of videogames in order to entertain its increasingly growing audience. DSiWare, apps on your DS and Wii and games like Brain Age are what come to mind.

Although, I guess that's basically the same as what you were saying.

Thom Dinsdale's picture
On November 27th Thom Dinsdale said:

Thanks for your comment. :)

I could have gone on forever exploring the issues you've just flagged up. There is so much that could be said about what those colours mean and the role they play in the minds of consumers. Also, I really don't think its possible to understate the significance of the desicion, the fact that the company so explicitly pointed out the change shows how important it is to them.

I think the biggest challenge Nintendo faces as a brand is how to reconsile its iconic meaning with its new broader, community-orientated attitude. You're right to say it is about more than pure fun. It shows that games are capable of gratifying individuals on levels beyond enjoyment and onto plains of self-realisation, community building and intillectual engagement. I guess my point is, does something as specific as the scarlet racetrack logo represent that well-enough (bearing in mind the cultural significance of it) or do they need to use something slightly more sobre to represent their varied product portfolio?