If there's one thing the editors, writers, and readers of Nintendo Life have in common, it's a love for the company that gives the site its name. For many, the love for Nintendo and its consistently engaging content began in childhood — a period of time that shapes much of what we value for the rest of our lives. Like any good company, Nintendo knows this, and has historically used their position as a family-friendly favorite to bolster business. In an interview with VentureBeat, Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime highlighted just how vital kids are to the company's success.
It’s critical for us to have kids grow into and aspire to play Nintendo content. I think about how I introduced my kids to Mario and to The Legend of Zelda. We have to find ways to do that today. We’re doing it in a variety of different ways. We had about 10 kids here yesterday, unique kids — kids who write for Time for Kids, kids who have their own YouTube channels. We had them interacting with Mr. Miyamoto and playing our games. They had a fabulous time. We think that type of activity, and having the kids themselves broadcast out what they found appealing, is critically important.
Not content to rest on their laurels, Nintendo is also looking for new ways to extend their online marketing reach to the child demographic. Reggie briefly explained an intriguing web portal that he hopes will not only introduce kids to the colorful franchises the company is known for, but also bring a host of non-game activities into play to help parents better understand why Nintendo is appropriate — and even constructive — for them and their children.
We’re doing things around our web presence. We’re going to be launching, later this year, a dedicated kids and parents portal that speaks directly to kids and introduces them to our franchises. It gives moms and dads some fun activities – how to plan a Mario-themed birthday party. Things that we know parents are interested in, but there’s not a ready resource. That kind of information doesn't exist on Nintendo.com today. It’s a day to day job for us to create messaging and content for kids and parents to keep filling the funnel of new consumers to play our games.
It's hard to say exactly what else the portal might encompass until it launches later this year, but it's a good sign that Nintendo is expanding the resources they make available to consumers. In the end, this kind of activity only serves to reduce confusion and raise interest for the Nintendo products we all care about.
What kind of information do you think would be helpful and/or attractive in a web portal for kids and their parents? Are you interested in new ways to get up-to-date with the latest from Nintendo? Let us know with a comment!
[source venturebeat.com, via neogaf.com]
Comments 40
interesting
Birthday Parties? Well good thing my little sister's birthday is later this year
"It gives moms and dads some fun activities – how to plan a Mario-themed birthday party. " That;ll come in very useful if they have it up in time for my son's 5th birthday in late September!
"We had them interacting with Mr. Miyamoto and playing our games"
I won't lie here, I am really jealous of those lucky kids.
Nintendo has this unique capability of being attractive to both kids and adults.
Watching my two sons (of 3!), a male which is 7, a female 5, having so much fun with MK8 is incredible, they enjoy every little detail, those all important details they put in their games (today I laughed when I saw Sara throwing kisses like Princess Peach)
I'm already growing 3 huge Nintendo fans, don't worry Reggie
My kids love Nintendo. They each have a 3DS and play on the Wii U. My youngest is only two so he doesn't have one yet but when he's older probably will.
Gotta admit, growing up on games like Ocarina of Time, Jet Force Gemini, and Donkey Kong 64 sure made for a great childhood. How I wish I could relive it all again! If I ever have kids they will be sure to have just as good of a childhood, if not better!
Totally understand, but I think Zelda is way to hard and advanced for kids, hard enough for me as I required YouTube walkthrough on Wind Waker and Twighlight Princess a couple of times. My first zelda game (Ocarina of Time) I got on Virtual console and I needed YouTube for a whole bunch of that game.
@Hero-of-WiiU I disagree. One of the very first games I played was OoT, and then MM. They were difficult but still a lot of fun. Recently I went and played MM again and found it to be extremely tough! I couldn't believe that I was able to play through that game without a guide when I was a kid. Just makes me think that as a kid you don't care all that much if you're confused on what to do, you just play. Difficulty doesn't matter as much to a younger kid.
The picture attached to this article brought a smile to my face and a tear in my eye.
I don't know why, I just think it's sweet.
@Bistee Yeah but I expect if you only experience really easy stuff as a kid you will never want anything at a normal (NES) like difficulty as an adult.
@Cresartist I think it sums up why Nintendo fans feel the way they do about the company in a single image. At least for me, video games have always been more than just an "industry." When really done right, they can be magical, artistic, hilarious, insightful, and inspiring, and Nintendo has been the primary teacher of all of this. Miyamoto-san has brought smiles to the faces of millions of children, and seeing those two little boys experience his whimsy firsthand is in itself kind of a split-second nostalgia trip.
I'll see your tear and raise you a few sniffles.
@HylianJowi &Cresartist: HERE HERE! Sniff
"I believe the children are our future." — Reggie Fils-Aime
My daughter hasn't even had her first birthday yet but she's already played WiiU and 3DS. Don't worry Reggie, we'll indoctrinate errr introduce them...you just keep the content flowing.
Ahh the picture in this article is so sweet that's why love nintendo you can't get this love in microsoft or sony.
I absolutely agree with Reggie. Have you seen videos of people playing games on PS3 and Xbox 360 and you hear these little kids on their mics as young as 5 swearing so much? It's shocking!
I'd like to see their YouTube channels...
( 0 .0) Am I the only one?
My son, almost 3, loves Nintendo. Just like my dad did with me by introducing me to gaming with the NES and games like Punch-Out!!, Super Mario Bros 3 and Zelda II, i've done the same for my son with the Wii U. And he loves the GamePad. We play mostly on weekends, as i dont want him to play all the time, and his favorite games are Super Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3 and Nintendo Land. His grandma even bought him a dvd of the old Super Mario Bros Super Show that he now wants to watch all the time (i watched it as a kid, but man is it awful now lol).
The other day he discovered my 3DS as well. I've tried to keep it safe from him, as the flip screen can be a bit fragile, but i have been letting him play a bit of Super Mario 3D Land and Luigi's Mansion 2, the latter of which he laughs histerically at every time he plays.
It's safe to say Nintendo are winners at our house. Their continued focus on creating games that are fun for all ages, and especially games that include local, 4-player multiplayer, is fantastic and the Wii U fits my family's lifestyle perfectly.
Since I was four years old (I'm now 27), I've been a huge Nintendo fan and hardcore gamer. I've owned and played every console and Nintendo has always been a huge part of my life. I've bought books, comics, clothes and so many more over the years outside of their gaming world. I have a wife and two kids, ages 5 and 10 months and they know Nintendo. (at least my wife and 5 year old does lol). When my son goes to play games, he usually goes Nintendo first (although he plays Xbox and PS3 as well). He knows about Mario and Zelda. This is something I'm proud to have taught them. I don't force this on them, but I showed them enough so that they make education gaming decisions! My wife has been a huge Nintendo gamer since N64 era and has owned SNES as well before we got together. Needless to say, Nintendo is a huge thing for our family. My son's first birthday party was Super Mario Bros themed... and it will continue on forever.
That all being said, it's hard for me to think what would be a good website resource due to our extensive knowledge of all things Nintendo. I feel like it would help out non-gaming parents for their kids, so really just touch on any and everything.
@bizcuthammer I have to second your comment about those old Super Mario Cartoons. I recently bought the Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World Series and they're not quite up to par with how I remembered them. But I still hope to watch them someday with my kids.
I'm very happy for this process, When I was their age (children) there was no such thing as a computer in the home. Thank you Nintendo and A*ple for alowing me to have a computer in my pocket.
Wow. Good planning.
Am I the only one who is jealous of those kids standing next to Miyamoto?
@sinalefa I agree. I wish I can spend some time with Miyamoto myself!
My son has just massively got into Mario in the last few months and my 3 year old daughter loves watching him play. Going shopping last weekend she had a crowd of customers in stitches mimicking all the characters. "Princess Peach spin jump!"
Well there right look at children who grown up with the NES and now are adults who our fan's of Nintendo.
I grew up with a GameCube and a GBA.
Despite the fact that I only owned a handful of legal copies of both, I still enjoyed the heck outta them.
Ten years playing the same GameCube games over and over again? Sounds like a ton of fun!
Here's a crazy idea, Nintendo: why don't you let me transfer some of my downloaded 3DS games to my children so they can experience those games now that I'm finished with them?
I'd love to see some kind of feature where I could manage my childrens' Nintendo Network accounts from my own, where I could purchase additional licenses for games that we can share and monitor their activity on Miiverse to make sure they're using it responsibly and safely.
Did Reggie just leak some info as to what their mysterious Quality of Life platform will be about! Lol...
Free promos also helps with this stuff. My daughter plays Super Mario DX on her 3DS, not because I showed her the game, but because it was just there on her 3DS and frankly I'm surprised at how much she plays it because I'm not a massive fan of 8-bit Mario. Ditto for that Zelda 4 Swords game she got as a free promo on her DSi which I recently transferred to her 3DS - I'll be very curious to see if that leads her to try Hyrule Warriors or Wind Waker!
This actually almost puts a tear to my eye
I sure am not a kid anymore, but I'd go for a Mario-themed birthday!
Thats how Nintendo hooked me on their game. They're so family friendly, that's it's so easy for a younger person to hop in. That's what made me like nintendo so much and now being a bit older, I still turn to them for games. Never really ever considered getting anyother video game systems. If it wasn't Nintendo, it wasn't for me
I grew up with the big N. I got LOZ along with my first NES for my 6th birthday- and fell in love. Now my 4 year old daughter loves to play Mario Kart 8 with me. It's become a family tradition. Also, that kid with Miyamoto in the pic on the far left looks like a mini-Reggie.
Hey Reggie, if you want to reach todays kids, you NEED NEED NEED a presence on phones and tablets. Not real games, but minigames and vids and stuff like the 4 part Kid Icarus shorts. Marios face needs to be out there.
I've taken care of my part, Nintendo. My kids are Nintendo crazy and stared jaws gaping, trying to absorb every bit of info while watching the E3 digital presentation. They only awoke from the trance to either express how cool something was (Mario Maker for my daughter) or to bounce off the walls and furniture (my son after all the Super Smash Bros. furniture). As big fans of Kirby's Epic Yarn they fell completely in love with Yarn Yoshi as well.
I agree with @rjejr , though. They also love the mobile devices and there is some drivel on there. Nintendo needs to remind kids of the deeper, more rewarding experiences they offer on those devices.
And a Smash Bros. anime in the style of the Palutena reveal would suck a ton of kids in. In the right hands a show in the world of Mario could be much better than previous attempts, too. Like My Little Pony or not, that reboot has amazing writing with a solid sense of style and world building. I'd love to see what that team could do to the world of Mario and Zelda (like Wind Waker)... in a smart way obviously. I wouldn't want Peach to be all Pinkie Pie.
lol that pic with Miyamoto and those kids is pretty heart warming.
I uh started playing some rip off of Mario All Stars on Bumarcade...when I was like 4. I only got IN on the Wii/Ds era. Sigh...horrible introduction...but always was a retro gamer.
I would simply love to see ideas for [nintendo themed] arts and crafts, that would appeal largely.
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