Zelda: Tears of the Kingdoms: Social Listening

Zelda's Making A Buzz

In all my “free time” that I have between work, school, farm life, and just regular life, one of my main hobbies is video games. I remember the very first platform I got, a PlayStation, when I was 7 years old. I still have it to this day and will break it out occasionally to bring back some nostalgic feelings. As I got older, and the technology got better we ended up getting a Gameboy Advanced and one game “Zelda and the Minish Cap”. Not the best of the Zelda games but I think I beat that game 50 times in the 19 years it’s been out. There are now 18 Zelda games with the newest one having been released on May 12^th, 2023.

This newest one “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom”(TOTK) is breaking the internet. At least my internet. It’s all I see over any of my social media accounts and any time I open my browser. It might be because I have searched many guides and joined some groups to get some tips and tricks. I have spent well over 200 hours playing this game and I am nowhere near close to finishing it. The game give you full control of Link as you try and save Zelda, like all good Zelda games. It puts you in an open world concept. As soon as you finish the tutorial island you are free to do what ever you want. If you want to spend 300 hours running around doing all the side quests and shrines or if you want to go straight to the final boss battle you can.

Nintendo's marketing strategy was interesting. They showed that less was more, they added mystery into their market. Very little was shown about the game before the release, and very little was known. Before the game was released it was all the videogame community was talking about. People waited for 1430 days since the last Zelda release, and they couldn’t wait to see what Nintendo could do with the games. They released 3 trailers which were mostly story driven and showed very little gameplay.  The gameplay shown was only 13 min worth from the creator Mr. Aonuma. Here you can see the 3 trailers as well as the 13min video released. Giving so little information about the game led people to create wild theories about what the game would be like. 

We knew basic information like new abilities and the world would be a little different, but not enough to know what was going to happen and where the story line would go. Nintendo also showed information about the game and released teasers very early and very often interacting with their customer base. They released their first information very shortly after "Breath of the Wild" was released. Brand recognition was a huge part of their marketing strategy as well. People have been playing Zelda games since 1986 when the original "Legend of Zelda" game came out to be played on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Most people I see posting about TOTK are older individuals who say that they have played every Zelda game released. 

As you can see in this post from reddit that was posted before the release of the game, people were excited. They couldn't wait to get back into Hyrule and save Princess Zelda again. Expectations were high, but even if those expectations were not met, they knew the game would still be a blast to play. Afterall most people that played the game have been doing so for decades. 

Since its release I have seen non stop questions, comments, ratings, tips & tricks, walkthroughs, and dupes. Most of the videos are the same, but each person puts their own spin on it. The reviews have been interesting. People who already loved the series loved TOTK, people who didn't know what Zelda was and this was their first time playing it....well lets just say they didn't understand the nostalgia. People were fighting back though. Almost every negative review I have seen has had people saying how they are obviously not playing the same game as everybody else. Its not to say that the people who love the game do not have their own gripes about it. Getting used to the new abilities and the companion help has been a struggle for some, myself included. It didn't stop people from being creative in their designs and working around those problems. 

I have yet to see an instance where a response was made from the creators of TOTK. They post online but do not interact with the public from what I can see. As most of the people who comment on their posts reply in a positive view, it could be they have no response back. The only exception is with the updates. People have found a few dupes and glitches and it has mostly had a positive affect on the gameplay. Its one of those things that people get very worked up on on either side. Some see it as cheating others see it as being able to play the game better as they don't have to spend so much time farming materials, they can do more of what they want.  It is a single player game so nobodies play interferes with someone else, so if it isn't impacting your game play why should you care how someone else plays the game. Granted it wasn't how the Devs intended the game to be played so when an update rolled out they patched the glitches. There was no acknowledgment or comment from the Devs about the glitch, but people are resourceful and have found many others that have also been patched out. I think there could be more interaction from the creators. Let us know that they are listening to us and hearing what we say as a consumer. If we like something or if we don't, at least some recognition that they have heard us and not just patching the game. They could call people out for their amazing inventions, respond when people say good things, apologize if people have problems with the game. They need to be more engaged with their audience, not just promote their product. 

One of my big take aways from this was just how much content is out there. I know that its all over my social media and YouTube as I watch videos of people playing and tutorials and help videos, but when I am not actively looking for a specific thing I miss most of what people are saying about the game. It makes me think about what else my brain if filtering out when I am online. I know I see ads all the time and I couldn't tell you what was the last one I saw. They all start bleeding together as they show only things you have an interest in or have clicked on in the past. Then you see the same ones and just get annoyed. In order to really catch my attention it has to be very different then what I have been seeing. Showcasing different products, at different deals and just not the same. It needs to stand out for me to notice and want to click on that link.

Fans waiting 1430 Days

TOTK Marketing

https://www.instagram.com/nintendoamerica/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/hashtag/TearsOfTheKingdom?src=hashtag_click

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_(video_game)

Costco's Memberships

 

I don’t know about you, but Costco is one of my favorite places to shop. In fact, I need to make a Costco run and my list is a mile long right now. I can’t remember a time when my family were not Costco members. My mom had been for as long as I can remember, once I got old enough, she put me on her account so I could do the shopping for her. Now I have my own account and everything. The smells when you walk through those rolling doors, the cheap rotisserie chicken in the back, to the cheapest hotdog drink combo you can find.

Costco has always been known for their high quality at low prices. What really sets them apart from other competitors is their impeccable return policy.  I have heard of people returning moldy food because they left it out and didn’t eat it on time, as well as a 12-year-old grill that hasn’t turned on in years and had been sitting outside in the weather since they purchased it, and Costco accepted the return. I also just recently bought a laptop and the guy said I had 90 days if I didn’t end up liking it, or found a better laptop cheaper when schools sales, I could return it no questions asked and get a new one. They offer promotions all the time, letting you know about them through constant emails and in mail flyers. The best part is there are so many options. Costco has almost everything you can think of, appliances, clothes, groceries, gas, medication, cars, travel discounts, home product installations and so much more.  

Having the same prices for memberships since 2017 there are two options, regular ($60) and executive ($120). With an extremely high renewal rate at 93% memberships numbers keep increasing. Having membership fees helps keep their costs of supplies they sell at lower prices for their memberships. It has always been an unspoken thing to go to Costco with friends/family who have cards, you get to use those low prices without paying the full membership price. Yet in the last few years many people have taken advantage of that by just borrowing other’s cards without the original cardholder being with them. With the installation of self-checkout stands it’s easier to get away with it as employees do not see your picture when you are checking out.

Is sharing memberships hurting Costco’s bottom line, well they are about to find out. Costco is cracking down on their membership policies, they will be starting to check ID’s if you use the self-checkout. Time will tell if this solution will be more profitable in the long run. It might mean that you just bring your friend along again or more people may purchase memberships increasing profits and helping keep costs down.  

Thinking in business terms I can understand where Costco is coming from by enforcing this rule. It has always been said that you need a membership to shop there, but as they recently put in self-checkout stands it’s a new concept Costco is still trying to work the kinks out of their system. It used to be the cashier held your card, which has your picture on it, at the stand until you paid for your items. This marketing approach is just enforcing an old one. They are hoping to get new memberships, which in turn will bring more people to buy products. If you pay for a membership, you will use it more often, except the gym, that’s the exception.

 

 

 

 

https://www.costco.com/company-information.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/business/costco-member-card-sharing/index.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2015/03/26/what-is-value-the-costco-value-proposition/?sh=279d8ba97991

 

This is Me

 

My name is Juleia. I live on a small farm with horses, dogs, cats and am thinking about getting some goats so I don’t have to mow my lawn as much. I am constantly fixing fences and mowing my lawn, which takes me 5 hours, and throwing a ball around for my dogs. It is never boring, but when it does get quite, I like to read and play video games while snuggling with the fur babies.

 I have already earned an associate degree with a human services emphasis. I am going back to school for an accounting/business degree. I currently work for a Jewelry Store and Jewelry Manufacturing company doing bookkeeping and accounting as well as all the shipping and receiving. I want to help my bosses so they can focus on other parts of their business and help expand their business. I know nothing about marketing except how to buy things, which I am very good at. Learning marketing would be a benefit to help each company grow and expand our client base.

Every summer I volunteer at a weeklong 4-H summer camp, what I am currently at while writing this. Camp is my home away from home. I have been in 4-H for 20 years and have been a leader for 11, working at this camp for 16 of those years. It’s an amazing place where I can help guide hundreds of children and help enrich their lives as well as the counselors who volunteer. I have made lifelong friends with the staff who have also been doing it for decades. Camp has helped shape my life. I have learned how to be a leader within a group of people, I have learned people skills and how to communicate with a variety of people of all ages in many different situations, I have also learned how to be flexible, mostly, when I need to be. I have come out of my shell and have gained so much self-confidence since I was a lonely 15-year-old who didn’t know many people.

I am excited for the future and the current path I am on. I hope to keep helping in youth development and creating the next great leaders through 4-H. I also hope to keep working on myself to become a better person.