Topic: Could a difference of generation be Nintendo's problem?

So I was thinking of what might be one of Nintendo's biggest problem right now. The fact that that most gamers nowadays grew up with Playstations, and Xboxes they way gamers of my generation grew up with Nintendo. The fact that these group of gamers don't see Nintendo games the way the older generation do but see games like GTA, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid that way. I mean these kids didn't grow up during the height of Nintendo's power when it was cool to own an NES but instead grew up in a time when Playstation and Xbox were the top consoles. Now the fact that these kids are now ranging in an age from 16 to 23 might be a a cause to some of Nintendo's problems. These kids want Metal Gear, Final Fantasy and Halo like we want the next Mario or Zelda.

It's just a though but what do you guys think?

As one of these kids that grew up in the PS2/Xbox age (15 now so you can argue still growing up) but maybe the problem is that those games (except Halo obviously) are not on Nintendo consoles.

I didn't grow up with any console, per se, I grew up with a computer. My first console was a gba in 2006 and i was only 8, but i rarely played it until alttp. After that, we got a Wii, rarely used it, then Ds, then the 3ds. I wasn't hooked on Nintendo till 2012 with Oot3d.

I think Nintendos problem is trying to be in the front line of innovation all the time. Some times it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. This time it isn't looking too swift.

It probably does add to nintendo's problem. As an 18 year old its impossible to find people with a wii u and nearly impossible to find someone who wont judge u for having a wii u. But I grew up with the Gamecube and loved it, and my over protective parents pushed me to get a wii, and i loved it. The wii u caters more towards variety, but most gamers dont really care too much about that.

I think you're forgetting that alot of older Nintendo gamers made the jump to PS or Xbox. My cousins always played Nintendo and Sega, but then PS came out and they moved on to that. The market itself has dropped entities like Sega and Atari, then replaced them with Sony and Microsoft.

There's alot more instances than I think you're taking into consideration.

Right, it seems to me now that that generation that grew up with Sony, MS, and Nintendo look at the Wii U the way some of use looked at Genesis, Turbo Grafx 16, etc. during the 16 bit era and that is as the "other" system.

I agree with this there are a lot more factors to consider for why Nintendo seem to be less popular currently.

That is a good point too. Alot of those older Nintendo gamers viewed Nintendo as the kiddie system and they moved on to games like GTA, Assassin's Creed and other games like that with more mature themes and have come to enjoy those series and sadly Nintendo has a hard time attracting those types of games to their systems, and now it seems they are having a hard time attracting those companies.

I'm not entirely sure that the issue is with people not wanting to play Nintendo games.

Let's just say, in an alternate universe, that Nintendo had released Super Mario 3D World for the Xbone and PS4 as well as the WiiU. Would the sales of the game on each console (adjusting for install base) be much different? I doubt it. I think plenty of people that own the other two systems would be quite interested in a lot of the games that Nintendo develops.

I would love to play SM3DW, the new Smash, Pikmin 3, etc. But I don't really want to own a Wii U. I'm not sure if a console that essentially just plays Nintendo games (because let's face it, the WiiU really doesn't have anything else going for it) is something I can justify purchasing.

That logic is stupid because Nintendo dominated last generation and thus should have tons of gamers but they threw away their Wii success 3 years ago for no good reason.

WHY YOU SAY NINTENDO HAVE PROBLEM!? NINTENDO DOIN FINE!!!11

@Tasuki
None of the "to" PS transition even happened in 7th gen. Most of the gamers that jumped from Atari, Sega, and Nintendo to PS, happened during 5th gen. From what I can tell, most gamers were convinced by PS1 and PS2, especially in the dying light of Sega and Atari.

Xbox wasn't even around during most of the time, and depending what you consider "top consoles", they haven't really even done that much better than Nintendo, even though they offered more than Nintendo AND Sony, in a few situations.

I think that has a lot to do with it. People still love their games, heck Pokemon isn't "in" anymore either and it still sells by the truckloads. A lot of people pick only one platform, at least initially, and since the N64 its been basically either Nintendo games or everything else. That choice has to really count for something. Theres probably plenty of people that would like to play games like SM3DW or Pikmin 3, but aren't willing to pay $300 to play just those games, myself included. Theres plenty of other options if you just need your Nintendo fix after all. That might be one of the reasons their handhelds do so well.

As for Nintendo itself not being "cool" any more, it probably is a generational thing. Just like old TV shows and other bits of pop culture thats no longer 'in'. People still love and remember them, and even (re)watch them, they just aren't talked about much anymore. Its not just kids buying the big AAA games, its everyone, games like GTA and COD are as much pop-culture as they are just another video game franchise.

Does anyone think that a mature nintendo game could help lure these gamers over? Like an M-rated metroid? With all its nintendo charm yet more violence and adult themes?

I think Nintendo risking needlessly alienating the kids and family demographic would be the dumbest thing possible.

Got a better idea. Why not another shot at Eternal Darkness or motherflippin' Geist?

Seriously, shoehorning an M-rating to Zelda, Starfox or Metroid is a rather "trying too damn hard" approach.

Yeah while a mature Zelda or Metroid is a neat idea the problem with that is they will probably alienate the people who do like Zelda Metroid. A new mature themed IP could bring people around especially if its some sort of new IP like a GTA style game or some FPS similar to COD. While I applauded Nintendo for being innovative the should also work on games types that are successful on other consoles.

I definitely see it as a generational gap.

And yeah, lots of die hard Nintendo fans jumped ship when Nintendo decided to stick with cartridge based games for it's N64 console. Sony was in the right place at the right time. SEGA may have been one of the firsts to delve into CD based gaming with the SEGA CD but Sony perfected disc gaming with the Playstation!!

Nintendo eventually would go to discs with it's next home console, the Gamecube, but it seems they have been playing catchup to Sony and Microsoft ever since those days.

If they want to go the mature route with games like Zelda or Metroid they should go in the direction of The Last Story or Pandora's Tower. Maybe do another game like Ocarina of Time or cover up the serious subjects in bright, candy colored graphics like Tales of or Ni No Kuni.

Some non Mario related sports games would be nice too. They're fun of course but not every game needs to be an open invitation to Mario and the gang. Its funny how Nintendo is so careful about over-saturating the market and devaluing their IP, but somehow that doesn't apply here. Gotta wonder how many people outside Nintendo sees spin-offs like that as separately as like Nintendo claims to.