Nintendo to Use e-Spirit’s Content Integration Platform for European Web Relaunch

Boston, MA, August 23, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Nintendo of Europe GmbH, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Japanese interactive entertainment company Nintendo, is relaunching its European websites using the FirstSpirit content management system from e-Spirit. With FirstSpirit the company will be maintaining its content for all twelve country sites in eight languages on a single future-secure platform. In addition to the latest information on its games and game consoles such as Wii or Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo uses its websites to provide its customers with access to Club Nintendo. Online competitions and contact information to customer service are also provided. Using FirstSpirit, Nintendo will in the future be able to greatly simplify the administration of web content and more effectively deliver information quickly and in real time.

Seamless database integration

In the proof of concept FirstSpirit stood out with its excellent usability, central distribution of content over different output channels, and strong integration capability. The FirstSpirit module CorporateDatabase will thus seamlessly integrate content from various existing databases with the CMS. Content editors in the different country offices will therefore be able to centrally access all of the content that is stored there, such as information on new games, directly from the CMS editing interface, and publish it via different output channels such as web pages or newsletters. Meanwhile the module will run simultaneously in the background to ensure automated updates of content managed in the CMS in the database. Nintendo will thus be able at all times to manage specific country content and product information, such as different age restrictions for games which vary from country to country, centrally and in real time on a single platform, and publish it to the appropriate markets. This makes for fast, cost-saving, and less error-prone editing processes. Site visitors will receive information more quickly on new features for games and consoles, as well as country-specific rules.

Easier content creation through simplicity

In administering content, the clear and neatly organized template structure of FirstSpirit further improves the efficiency of the content editing process. For publication of information on a game in the "Games" section, for example, editors will in the future be provided with a clearly designed template where they can enter and publish all page content. The previous process of using fourteen different game templates which had evolved over time was very time-intensive. While in the old system some 300 different templates were used, with the introduction of FirstSpirit content editors will have the ability to use generic templates with the CMS, thus resulting in a greatly simplified, streamlined template management with a much simpler and more manageable template pool.

Rapid time-to-market

In order to complete the relaunch within the planned time frame, the migration is set to begin simultaneously with the ongoing template development process. "With FirstSpirit’s out-of-the-box functionalities and powerful template engine, we can create all the templates for the relaunch ourselves. The Java technology used in the CMS also benefits us here, as we have all the knowledge base we need in house," says Dirk Hendriks, project manager at Nintendo. "FirstSpirit meets our requirements for usability, high integration capability, and reliable support for our websites."

About Nintendo of Europe GmbH
The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console, Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.9 billion video games and more than 630 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi™ XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance™, Super NES™, Nintendo® 64 and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.