What Nintendo Can Teach You About Sales

Elbows out. Be unique.

Nintendo doesn’t win by copying. Never has.

While Sony and Microsoft race for realism, graphics, and horsepower, Nintendo builds consoles with cardboard, sells decade-old games at full price, and still prints money.

Why? Because they understand something most sales teams don’t: when you zig while everyone else zags, you stand out.

You’re trying to win by being “better.”

Better price. Better features. Better customer service.

Cool. So is everyone else.

If your sales pitch sounds like a checklist of generic benefits, you're not giving anyone a reason to choose you. You're just making it easier for them to compare you to five other vendors and go with the cheapest.

You think safe is strategic.

You want to be taken seriously, so you play it straight. You follow the templates. You mirror competitors. You water things down to appeal to “everyone.”

The result? You sound like wallpaper.

Nintendo doesn’t care if they’re not for everyone. They double down on who they are—quirky, fun, different—and that confidence sells.

Get weird. Get focused. Get real.

In sales, uniqueness is a multiplier.

• Say the thing your competitors won’t.

• Lead with what makes you different, not what makes you safe.

• Be bold enough to repel the wrong customers, so the right ones lean in.

Your product might not be for everyone. That’s the point.

Don’t aim to be “best in class.” Aim to be one of one.

Differentiation drives demand.

Nintendo’s not trying to win the console war—they’re playing their own game.