Topic: Nintendo is kiddy, yet most of their franchises are very neutral

I gotta say , I honestly don't know why people say Nintendo is kiddie. Not all games have to be like some of the games on the Playstation or Xbox systems.

I've never met an adult who worried about the "maturity" of a game experience. Once you're paying bills, working, and generally immersed in adult life, it's nice to play something like Pikmin or Mario at the end of the day that is almost completely disconnected from that kind of world, something that you can also safely share with your kids.

this board...i just dont know

The ESRB rating doesn't indicate your target demographic. Sports games are rated E, but they're typically aimed at young adult males. Hell, I saw a Power Rangers game get a Teen rating. What 15 year old is going to buy that? Also, in Japan, the two games you mentioned (Xenoblade and Metroid) are actually kid-friendly according to the CERO. both games are rated B for ages 12 and up (equivalent to an E10+). Not that they're not mature in terms of themes or content. So while they may seem more adult, they're actually appropriate for tweens in Japan. Different country, different standards. Nintendo rarely makes anything inappropriate for gamers under 15.

Probably my favorite one going on right now.

I think the point about graphics, artistically and technically, is well taken, and is certainly in part responsible for the 'kiddy' image, if you want to call it that.
A big part, and I think an at least equally important one, is the content ifself and not just it's presentation. Nintendo's (developed) content is child-friendly, since it lacks, by design, any emotional punch, any narrative complexity, honestly, any story or atmosphhere at all, most of the time. Almost all the games listed here, are about function only, about gameplay. I think it's not right to argue, that mature equals violence, sex, war and photo-realistic graphics, to many peole it is more about ... let's call it sophistication. Nintendo characters are iconic, but they lack personality, if they have any to speak off at all. The games are enjoyable, but lack any narrative or emotional investment. In a way, it is all rather superficial - simple and clean fun.
Again, I want to point out, that this no criticism and that I'm certain, that these are all intentional design choices. The fact remains, if you go by standards of narrative/emotional/atmospheric sophistication and visual fidelity for the 'maturity' of the medium - videogames - than Nintendo errs on the side of caution, that is, close to it's root, and open to anyone, the mind of child as well as the mind of a senior.

Uh have you played The Mario RPGs, Golden Sun, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Fire Emblem, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Sin & Punishment, Metroid Prime trilogy (Story is told through scanning), Xenoblade, Earthbound, Mother 3, WarioWare (It may not have a story, but the characters have personality), Golden Sun, Advance Wars, Elite Beat Agents, or Hotel Dusk? Also if Nintendo games are kiddy because of the lack of story, then fighting games, platformers, racing games, sports games, rhythm games, and arcade games in general are all kiddy as well since they lack story too.

@TheMisterManGuy First, you mixed up a few things, you threw a bunch of 2nd as well as 3rd parties games into the mix I think. Also, these are not the games, that make or break Nintendo's image. It doesn't get much more obscure than Earthbound for example.
The other aspect, I would argue, is that those games are, on the hand, few and far between, also mostly published with little to no fanfare, and, on ther other hand, they are also still very much in the Nintendo vain of light-hearted and easy-to-grasp entertainment.
Mind you, I'm not talking about gameplay here. Kid Icarus is a lot of fun, but it is best described as a Saturday Morning cartoon, with pretty darn great banter ;-D I think the closest you could come are games like Golden Sun or Fire Emblem for story-telling, or MP or Majoras Mask for the kind of mood and atmosphere, still, I could not, in good conscience, point anyone towards those games, for those 'features'.
As much as I adore those games, esp. FE and Zelda, when it comes to the kind of 'sophistication' I refered to, I would much rather play and therefore recommend games like Baldur's Gate or even Mass Effect, for telling a pretty great and meaningful story, with plenty of depth and complexity to it's characters, as well interesting themes like moral ambiguity. Or games like Alan Wake or Shadow Of The Colossus for an atmosphere, actually worthy of being called an "experience".
Nintendo games simply can't thouch that in my opinion, at least none I have played so far. If you look beyond the actual gameplay, it becomes rather barren rather quickly.

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to address your last point, I agree about these kinds of sports or arcade games, in the broadest sense. I think that is why, sports games pride themselves on graphics as well as the simulation aspect (think about physics for example). It is a different kind of sophistication. The same is true for many arcade games, like beat'em'ups, they pride themselves on deep and complex fighting systems, which take a long time to master. Honestly though, I played Streetfighter as a kid, and I don't know if I would call those, 'mature' game by any stretch. Aside from the complexity involved with the input, and the reliance on quick reactions, it is a shallow game.

Nearly every game I listed was 1st party (Nintendo owns Intelligent Systems and Monolith). And they actually not as few and far between as you may think. Kid Icarus actually touches upon some heavy concepts, and actually becomes a bit more serious midway through, so its not all fun and games. And Fire Emblem Awakening has banter and characters almost as silly as Kid Icarus (especially during supports).

@TheMisterManGuy Nearly ... no doubt about that. Still, the fact remains, they "touch upon some heavey concepts", on occasion that is, in some rather fringe productions. Honestly, has anyone ever argued, that Nintendo was a great storyteller? Or good at inspiring any kind of emotion besides joy and laughter? Sometimes people want to feel afraid, or sad too. Nintendo strikes me as pretty one-sided here.
Again, this is not criticism, just an observation. Even the FE:A story is pretty forgetful, if you ask me, I liked the story of Radiance/Dawn a lot better, esp. the plot about the Laguz was decent and somewhat well used and some interesting questions were raised throughout the game. On the other hand, those also stayed very tame and basic nontheless. Can't say any Nintendo story really stuck with me over the years, or that I ever had the desire to replay a Nintendo game, to relive the story or get immersed in it'S world. It just not something they do particulary well, despite some good efforts by some Nintendo owned-studious, as you say.

I liked Fire Emblem: Awakening's story

EDIT: I just noticed that TBD censored my last post. I figured since it was discussed on NLife before it was safe to do so now. Sorry.

wanted to say something by myself, but that's exactly what came to my mind, every time I clicked this thread......

Kiddy, Mature, photorealistic or whatever, I don't care. As long as it is fun, I'll play it.

How about "rare" or "balancing"?

This guy gets it. People don't really hate Nintendo for being kiddy, they hate Nintendo for not making the same dull dudebro shooters that everyone else does. Frankly, they deserve much better than that, but unfortunately this industry is full of complete morons with no taste.

Right, there are Nintendo games, and there are "the same dull dudebro shooters that everyone does". After all, the world is dark and white, so why shouldn't gaming be the same way ... As for the "complete morons with no taste", who populate the industry, those would just be your average humans, who don't share your preferences, I'm afraid. There is nothing moronic about posing the question, if a game has to be about the caricature of an Italian plumber saving the archetypical princess from her evil abductor, of course, visualized as a monster.
Good luck with fighting the 'kiddy' stereotype with the 'dudebro shooter' stereotype ... this cannot fail, can it?

@SkywardLink: i believe you may be thinking of another forum, unless you'd like to point me in the direction of that particular discussion so that i can nuke it from orbit? to the best of my knowledge (and with Google's help), i cannot remember seeing such a discussion take place nor have i been able to find it myself.

The bottom line is that it's a fan theory with no solid basis in canon reality, and the assumption you are choosing to make from the support convo in question (i've seen it too, i know what happened) is not only a serious stretch, it's also vile and offensive. i may as well try to claim that the 'cake' Peach baked for Mario in SM64 was actually a code word between the two for something else entirely for all the truth behind either theory.

If you can't enjoy something that is "kiddy", then you've got some serious growing up to do.
Nintendo is not the "Dora" of the game industry /in the slightest/, if you think colorful graphics are "immature" then you need to mature. If you were mature, then certainly you wouldn't care about what people think of you for liking a Mario, Zelda, or Kirby game. True maturity means being not being embarrassed for liking something seen as "childish".
Dark story lines, settings, or charactersdo not equal good or mature