UX Study: Videogame Soundtrack Store and Player APP
Where does Nintendo Music Store come from?
When thinking about user's needs, it came to mind the fact that the soundtracks from Nintendo intelectual properties where nowhere to be found in music streaming platforms such as Apple Music or Spotify.
It was clear to me that this was due to the fact that streaming platforms offer little revenue for their reproductions, while selling physical soundtrack CDs proved more profitable.
All attempts to upload these soundtracks to the internet proved unsuccessful, mainly because they were done by users and it was clearly against copyright laws. Still, that being the only way many could have access to soundtracks, having no option left made users understandably mad.
That's where Nintendo Music Store fills in, a platform where users can finally enjoy their favourite OSTs and Nintendo can make it a profitable business. The platform would be a store and a music streaming app both at once, making it easy to buy and listen the albums within seconds.
Here are some of the brand image standards created for this project:
Conceptual Framework/Setting
When creating the theoretical framework of the market situation, we must take into account 2 types of music applications: those that offer a subscription-based service that allows access to their entire catalog: Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal; those that offer a pay-per-song/disc service: Bandcamp, iTunes Store, Amazon Music Store.
A decade ago, the purchase of music in mp3 format was common, but in recent years streaming services that allow access to the entire catalog without downloading anything and that, for the largest consumers of music, are more profitable. These platforms have made it difficult for new applications to enter the market.
On the one hand, establishing the option to purchase soundtrack discs in our app is a risky move, due to the very low popularity of this practice. However, the added value of being the only place to listen to these discs and the fact that they are exclusive soundtracks makes this option more viable.
The problem lies in the long-term function of it, since the possibility of buying a single disc makes the consumption and the benefit is not recurrent by that user, so a hybrid method will be established, with a subscription option and a purchase option.
Even so, we will not compete with other subscription services Amazon Music Unlimited/Tidal, nor with purchase websites such as Bandcamp. Nintendo Music Store will be an application without competition because it is oriented to users who have purchased the Nintendo Switch console, and that, although they do not have a paid subscription, they have used the company's software and are willing to pay to listen to these soundtracks. Being a very specific audience and being the recruitment efforts focused on the Nintendo switch console as a complete service, Nintendo Music Store passively benefits from these numbers and works only to capture the user by giving value to its product without comparing it with another system.
As for the content of the app, the existence of Nintendo game soundtrack albums will make this content exclusive to the platform and, by not having any other type of music other than from its games, it does not share catalog with any of the other streaming platforms, whether subscription-based or not.
This situation, despite occurring in audiovisual content reproduction platforms such as Netflix and HBO, which do not share catalog, does not generate competition as it is a very specific genre such as video game soundtracks. Comparing it with Spotify or Amazon would not make sense, since these references are used only as samples of the business model, but since they do not share a catalog or have the same mission as an application, they cannot be considered competition.
To give an example, situations that could represent indirect competition with the Nintendo Music Store application would be:
- The incorporation of a similar business model by the company Sony, if this will incorporate to its catalog a subscription option to obtain the soundtracks or will have a section in the virtual store to purchase these discs.
- If Microsoft decided to incorporate its soundtracks as an add-on to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
As we can see, this situation, apart from being unlikely, due to the lack of love for soundtracks within the target audience of the two companies and the existence of a much smaller catalog to choose from, because both Sony and Microsoft have fewer IPs than Nintendo, would place Nintendo Music Store in indirect competition, because it would still have the exclusivity of its catalog.
This exclusivity, therefore, allows Nintendo Music Store to be in a very favorable position to be well received, and its implementation would be a low risk for Nintendo.
User Personas
In order to know better our target audience, we need to create this models, trying to establish a main frame for our different possible users, with different ages, interests and needs.
Navigation flow
First of all, we need to simulate how do we want to navigate through our app. For that reason, we opt for a simple chart (made with Lucidchart) that tackles all our needs and divides it two branches, store and media player.
We focused on making the interaction as seamless as possible, in order to let the user choose not to enter the store at all, or, on the other hand, to just shop for osts freely.
One of the good things that comes from this specific flow is how we can skip the store option altogether if the user has the subscription acquired. There is no point in making the user do extra steps when they are not needed.
Below we have an example of the navigation method, with and without the subscription.
Wireframing
After making the flowcharts, we get straight into wireframing, using in this case Adobe XD for the low fidelity model and figma for the finished prototype.
In the lo-fi state, we simply focus on where the buttons should be placed and how big the sections will be. We need to take into account font sizes cause we don't want to make them harder to read or, on the other hand, too big that we need to omit key elements.
We take on the already established patterns like the icons for the different functions like suffle, bluetooth speakers and playlists. People tend to get confused when they see an iconography that isn't alike what they are used to, so we need to make them our own, but without sacrifising ease of use.
Once we are over the lo-fi state we can start with the designing phase. It has to undergo a few variants before it is ready to hit the stores, but user testing will be fundamental to improve its ease of use.
We need to design the different functions we previosly thought about in the workflow phase, then create a first prototype to undergo user testing.
User testing
A user test was conducted with 6 people who were allowed to try the prototype to perform a usability test, and also to evaluate the interest in the proposal, what improvements they would include and what changes they think are necessary.
These people were familiar with UIs of similar software and with the look and feel of Nintendo's apps, so their feedback is relevant when it comes to detecting failures and suggesting improvements.
Question 1: Do you think if Nintendo made a dedicated app intended for downloading and playing Videogame OSTs it would be a good idea?
We use the first question to measure the interest of the target user for the application, in this case we see that it is a platform that interests the public, since all have responded positively.
As no one answered considering the product a bad idea, there are no answers to the second question.
Question 3: The app is intended for either a suscription model that gives you acces to everything or the option to buy an album on its own. What do you think about this bussiness model?
This question measures the satisfaction with the hybrid monetization model proposal, in this case, the reception has also been satisfactory because all respondents have responded affirmatively. In this answer we can see how the user also shows empathy for the company by not selfishly choosing the option "I think it should be a free service".
Follow up question: Is there anything you want to say or suggest about this monetization model?
In this question, 3 of the respondents have taken the initiative to suggest modifications, improvements or additions to Nintendo Music Store. Two of the responses share their favorable opinion on the chosen monetization model, while another would add the option to add the purchase of songs individually.
This system of buying tracks has been considered during the ideation stage, but has finally been discarded, largely due to the fact that most of the soundtracks have a main theme or song that stands out above the rest. This would lead the user to buy only the main theme song without giving a chance to listen to the rest or preferring not to buy the whole album by choosing the cheapest option. It is a concept that works at the user level, but at the business level it would be more programming work, having to manage the possibility of only enabling certain songs within a disc, and would imply economic losses.
Question 4: After testing the prototype Do you find the navigation intuitive?
User feedback indicates that the navigation has been intuitive and that they find the interface easy to use.
Follow up question: What would you improve about this app's UI?
In terms of recommended improvements to the interface, the player should be given more prominence and the list of songs of the discs available should be displayed. In this case, we are talking about a use oriented to the subscription model, which gives all the prominence to the player by eliminating the selector and the whole section of the store. The preference to have the music library on the main screen is a personal opinion that has the same validity as that of a user who prefers to have the playlists as the first option or the favorites. In the application, a neutral main page has been used that shows the playlists, favorites and albums so that all sections can be accessed as quickly as possible.
Question 5: What feature would you add to Nintendo Music Store?
The recommended features are very constructive, lists by moods would be a feature to consider, as would incorporating song lyrics, but they are not a priority.
Some that have been added to the final design are to show the last albums listened to by your friends, to see what your colleagues like, and, of course, a search button, to find directly the albums by title or author without having to search by categories.
Question 6: Do you think that the existence of a native app for the Nintendo Switch console is needed?
In the question about the need for the Switch application, there was more disparity, because it clearly has a purpose, but its usefulness is undoubtedly less than the mobile application, especially because of the context in which both are used: one at any time and the other only when the console is connected, and when the console is connected, the mobile application can still be used and the Switch can be used to play. The incorporation of the application to the Switch interface was created thinking that most of the purchase transactions are made from the console, so the store section would have more interest in it.
Question 7: Do you think the existence of Nintendo Music Store would add value to the already available suscription Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass?
A small percentage of users who took the test felt that even with Nintendo Music Store, the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription is still not worth what it costs.
This response is more symptomatic of the limited variety of games available within the subscription than really the ability of the app to give value to the subscription.
Iteration, Final look and Additional features
After incorporating some of the feautures suggested by the users in the testing phase, we can conclude with a final look of an App that lets you listen to your favourite OSTs, with various easy to access options, both in your phone and Switch Console.
With a main focus on UX, Nintendo Music Store is comfortable to use from the get go, providing some quality of life features other apps don't have, but also keeping things familiar as not to make users feel lost trying to navigate the menus. It gets the options you don't need out of the way for a snappier feeling, and it remembers when you last left, so you can get back on the same song you were listening when you had to get off your car.
You can also see what your friends are listening to, share your playlist with them and be able to search through categories and get access to curated playlist by beloved Nintendo authors.
Overall I think Nintendo Music Store is a really viable option for Nintendo to take into consideration, given the opportunities it provides and the monetization option it has.
Figma fully usable prototypes:
Mobile version;
Console Nintendo Switch version:
Full case study (actual University project in Spanish):
