Nintendo Is Happy That Sony And Microsoft Pay Less Attention To Younger Audiences

@NewAdvent Unless they die.

@NewAdvent Just stating the obvious

@Knuckles-Fajita statistically speaking the percentage of kids that will die in next decade is negligible in terms of profit loss

That is true to some extend, I am a Nintendo grown up generation, my first console was an atari 2600, got colecovision and intellivision and have collected lots of console ever since, my first PC I had a the age of 8.

My favorite game system is the SNES, so I have a fond memory of it, but even then, I move to Playstation instead of N64 because Nintendo was simply not offering me what I wanted while I was growing up (I got a N64 eventually and got every nintendo system include handhelds) but PSX showed more games, more adult themes and Nintendo was refusing that.

Now, the thing I see here is that pokemon, mario and so on are stablished franchise, but they were not at the time, but lately Nintendo relays on the same franchises and forget about some others.

The last Franchise Nintendo created was Splatoon which is of course kind of huge, but I will not say mario or zelda huge.

Now the kids need something to call theirs, not something they feel they sort of inherited.

And in this regard that I feel Nintendo has not been quite successful.

on a separate note where is my golden sun 4?

@AlbertXi The last franchise Nintendo created was er...lets see do you want to count developed in house or published titles because that would either be ARMS or the newly revealed Daemon X Machina depending on your stance.

Though if you want games that are out, there is Snipperclips too.

I was almost 17 when I got my NES, but I was playing other game systems and computer games long before that (before the 8 bit era).

Why should they care? Most parents these days don't even monitor what there kids are playing or some don't even care. GTA sure I think my 8 year old is old enough. You don't need to play a Mario game.....

Article has a good point. It started with Donkey Kong in the arcade, then on to NES where I've owned and played every Nintendo console since. And no matter what non-Nintendo games or consoles I've owned/played/dabbled in, there's no DOUBT I will be playing the next Mario and Zelda. Lifetime brand recognition indeed.

I was 19/20 when I really got into Nintendo, I bought a GameCube for Resident Evil remake and I've never looked back.

Seems to be working. I grew up with a gameboy , and around 12 bought a gba sp. Would take the wii to finally convince my parents of a console but bought one of every generation of handheld and console since

Nintendo is still living in the 80s, all the young kids these days play Fortnite and other shooters.

@NewAdvent But what if you froze them? They would technically still be young

"Do you agree with Reggie's statement here? Are you one of the many who first experienced Nintendo games at a young age, still finding yourself hooked today?"

YES, Absolutely !
Kids games are Really Huge Important.
NES was my first Nintendo machine when i was kid (90's era) and i still adore Nintendo products more than PS1 & PS2 (Despite i Love DDR, Rhythm game from Konami that was started from PS1).
Keep supply More Rated Everyone & Everyone 10+ games, Nintendo !!

@Nincompoop
"Nintendo is still living in the 80s, all the young kids these days play Fortnite and other shooters."

We CAN Direct those kids to play other games but shooting.
That's our responsibility, not just from parents.

I agree 100%. I'm 36, and I would rather play Mario Kart with my friends beer in had on a couch, than many of the games Sony and Xbox have. I don't mind Sony or Xbox's games, but Nintendo's are much more fun to me.

At 30 years old I've invested so heavily in the Switch purely because I have more faith and trust in Nintendo more than any other company for me to be able to insert money and output fun.
I currently have more games on Switch than almost any other system I've owned. Just a few shy of outpacing my 40 cartridge SNES collection. Mario, 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Zelda, 3D Zelda, and pokemon are franchises I trust to deliver the most happiness to me, not to mention Megaman and Street Fighter II for good 3rd party support.

Very true regarding the lasting impression of a franchise.

When I was 11 years old I played ocarina of time , and at 26 I was as excited to play BOTW.

Maybe this is abit of an overstatement , but sometimes a franchise of your childhood becomes like a lifelong friend. Sometimes you don't see them for years, but when you next meet , it's as fun as the first time.

I got introduced to the world of gaming when I was about five years old. The first console I got was a DS Lite, and I was very happy since I only had got to try other people's consoles before.

This all makes me wonder if Sony will attempt to squarely aim the PS5 (if there is really going to be such a thing) at the 30-somethings they raised as their own, with the same kind of cool lifestyle attitude as a centerpiece for the commercials.

It'd be fun to see ad angencies take a spin on that one. Cool dads. Cool office managers. Cool history teachers. Playing cool games.

@Savino
Well...
If still rated E10+ (Splatoon) / Teen (Fortnite, Paladins), i don't really mind,.
But still.... for me, i NEVER Like Shooting genre, even Splatoon by Nintendo.
My heart and my mind are forbid that genre.

I love that Nintendo puts so much effort into making quality, whimsical experiences for younger kids.

Bought my kids a Wii U for Christmas as I wanted a dedicated Sitting Room console we could all enjoy as a family. So far we've had a blast playing Mario Kart, Wii Party U, Lego City. Mario Maker is AMAZING - been teaching my 3 year old how to play Mario by building him kid friendly levels - he LOVES it.

Wanted to introduce my kids to Nintendo before their mates's Xbox's + PS4's got their teeth into them. Sure they'll want to play them when their older - when it's appropriate - but they'll always have their love of Nintendo to remind them that gaming is about having fun!

It's weird when Nintendo says that 3DS is great for 4-6 years old children (wasn't it "unsafe" because of the 3D effect for them?) when I am an adult and it's still my favourite handheld, not to mention the huge amount of games "for children" on Xbox and PS. Nothing that Nintendo says makes any sense, even when they try to be positive and open-minded.

Ps4 and XBO have games for audience below 8. It's called Call of and FIFA (I might not make many friends with this comment)

@Nincompoop I read this as “ride scooters” and thought “Crayola Scoot will sell in gangbusters”

But yeah you’re right.
🙃

Sigh Reggie you just don't get it. Those with an affinity for those franchises, we are all getting old now. You have lost the ability to resonate and keep with current younger audiences I'm afraid.

Anecdotal story; between the ages of 4-10 my nephew LOVED Nintendo and wouldn't stop talking about Mario and Zelda and Pokemon to me to the extent at which it got annoying. Now though he's into Xbox. You lost that customer.

Reasons for this? Slow to get multi-plats and WAY behind the curve with online. Super popular games are slow to get on your system (Fortnite etc) and you miss the initial trend. Also pricing; when a parent sees a PS4/X1 with two games on the shelf for £200-£250 that looks WAY more attractive than £280 Switch with zero games.

Get with the times Nintendo.

@Rhaoulos
Those are very Lame games ever in my opinion.
Sorry, no offense but i think Kiddie games are more suitable for Kids than those games you mentioned above. (FIFA is still allowed for kids, but it would be better if Kids have other interest about different sports. Soccer is NOT the only sport to be cared by most. Other sports are same important as soccer)

@Mogster
Ah, lucky for me.
I NEVER Follow Mainstream trends like that (Fortnite, FIFA, etc).
I still stand on Nintendo side no matter what.

Other people in my age bracket, they’ve all “moved on” to things like Fortnite, Call of Duty, Rainbow 6, etc. (Notice the trend?)

I’m still sitting here playing my Switch, trying to beat Twintelle in Level 7 of the ARMS Grand Prix.

I’m very happy Nintendo decides to focus on younger demographics, mostly because those kind of games appeal to me. Bright colors, cartoonish/retro-ish graphics, easy to pick up but a deep challenge is still available, that sounds like a party to me.

So yeah. Thanks, Nintendo, for games like Animal Crossing, Mario, and Splatoon. And many others. I hope you keep making games for younger audiences, because the cleanliness and raw, unadulterated fun keeps me coming back to you.

@Mogster
Mario sticks with some, but not everyone. And that's fine.
Not everyone stays interested in Pokémon either.

Certainly for 10-18 year olds, there's a tendency to deliberately move away from the things you adored as a child.

Some pick it back up as they become adults, but the core value for Nintendo is that they will always consider Nintendo a safe bet for children of their own, or children they're otherwise connected to through friends or family.

being 13, i'm happy that nintendo makes games that can make my strict parents happy, and incredibly fun games like botw or xenoblade 2

Unfortunately (in the UK at least) those 12 & 13 year olds want to prove how "mature" they are by ditching Nintendo and playing Call of Duty

@doomzelboy
Ah, your parents are mostly upset with the violence against humans seen in so many games, I suppose?

@AlbertXi I do agree with your comment to some extent.
I think Nintendo can focus on that audience and rely on third party devs to bring more mature games to their platform.
However, the third party devs are not supporting the system as much as before so I do agree that Nintendo should also have some more mature games available.
The Switch is proving to be a console for a wider range of people with Nintendo releasing some hard core games like Xenoblade, Zelda, Daemon X Machina (seems to be going that direction) etc.
Of course, these games are not violent or scary but are targeted to (mature) gamers.
I hope Nintendo would carry on with this trend and release games more mature. My hope (and wish) is to see a Metroid game going that direction.
It would be nice to have a scary, lonely Metroid experience.

@NewAdvent Perhaps you should consider that, although it is indeed an obvious statement, it's all about context?

As in: if we get them to grow up with us, they'll stay with us, instead of having them move towards other consoles at the age of 12 - 13 or 18 - 19.

That is more than likely how it should be interpreted, seeing as he follows up with talking about "taking that affinity with you".

That wouldn't happen if the other two would also have many more games for younger gamers, in which case Nintendo wouldn't be able to cater to this age group as much. And people are often loyal to the brand they grew up with, so chances to keep them tied to your brand are greater if you catch them sooner, simple.

That's marketing 101.

@tourjeff If Metroid Prime 4 is something like the original Prime trilogy it will be the perfect game for Switch.

The thing with Nintendo for me is Nostalgia. I have the best childhood memories on the N64

Just because I played Nintendo games as a kid doesn’t mean i’d continue as an adult. I feel like I’ve outgrown a lot of Nintendo franchises (Kirby, Mario Kart, Mario Party), but I’ve stuck with a select few that seemed harder to complete. (Pokemon, Mario, Zelda and Metroid)

@BlueOcean Even though I love that trilogy (and hope Ninty will release a HD version of it on the Switch before Metroid 4) I think that it could still be a bit "darker".
I mean she goes to these planets that are abandoned, with old facilities full of mysteries to be discovered etc.
I would be really nice to have a "proper" plot and some more enemies that are not insects etc.

Nintendo develops for everyone. I’ve always seen it as the system the kids play during the day, parent play at night. Atleast did my 36 years that’s how it’s been. I’ve owned a pc/2nd console along side Nintendo the whole time too. But o alway go back to Nintendo.
I am exactly the gamer a switch is aimed for. I play both kid and mature games, being able to play anytime/anywhere has increased my gaming time everyday since having 3kids, it’s hard to play last of us 2(anything m rated) in front of them during the day, and at night I usually play with the wife so my PS4 has collected a lot of dust since I got my switch. Now 2 of 3 are old enough they have switch’s. We play tons of games together.
I don’t see myself getting a ps5 or really anything other then Nintendo ever again if Nintendo can continue doing exactly what they always have, but on a console like switch that allows gamers to play how they want.

@tourjeff Yes a creepy dark shooter sounds good but I'd like the first-person view, I hate Metroid Other M gameplay.

Nintendo Life, are you going to transform every paragraph of an interview with star into an independent article and then write the same things above and below the actual interview, today?

When Pokemon XY launched while I was in college, there were 3DS players all over campus. Enough said.

People always think that Nintendo makes games just for kids. that is stereotype. Nintendo makes games for everyone. I was a Nintendo fan ever since the arcade/game and watch days. Even when I had other systems like the xbox systems, I still had Nintendo systems along with it. I am over 45 years old and I am a Nintendo fan for life.

PlayStation make loads of games for younger audiences, but don't tend to show them at E3 because the target audience isn't right. PlayLink last year was a family product that wasn't shown during the press conference. Games like Ratchet & Clank, LittleBigPlanet, Dreams... anything a bit more mainstream tends to get sidelined or announced elsewhere. Sony has a load of more family friendly fare in the works.

@Anti-Matter
No offence taken whatsoever. I agree with you and I was making fun of those games in my comment.
Call of is supposed to be for a mature audience but the average player is 8yo.

Call of and FIFA are both turds to me. Just a copy and paste of the previous iteration with minor changes and a huge marketing budget (usually 3-4 times the dev budget) so kids see it on tv until it sinks in and they bother their parents until they get it.

@BlueOcean Metroid Other M for me was like a experiment, the gameplay was weird, they should not have tried mix 2D with 3D elements.
I think if they do a proper third person shooter with some platform elements, that would be really cool. Of course, it has to be done properly.
Otherwise, happy to take a first person

@electrolite77 That will depend on what you call new on how you value success.

Fortnite is a new game I will say is bigger than mario considering is only one game, Warcraft, PUBG.

But we can call GTA just 5 has sold 80 milliones alone not being bundle, the latest god of war is the most sold game of the last 2 months.

Mario has like 35 years of history and is been used for everything, so not everything is black and white.

And Yes someone mentioned ARMS, yes a new game IP, I don't think because of the approach and lack of proper story and heroe that is had any sort of impact honestly is a very forgettable game, to the point that not one character of the franchise was annouced yet at least for smash.

Snipperclips? well ok, I guess little child will really grow with that.

THe Machina game, is developed by Marvelous, not nintendo and will be published in japan by marvelous not nintendo, is going to be published ww by nintendo but I believe is just an arragement that is not a nintendo game.

@Anti-Matter
Splatoon anyone?

@HipsterInkling I think you'd love Kingdom Hearts games if you haven't played them yet, they are great.

Can't wait for Kingdom Hearts III.

@Shard1
Ah, not interested with Splatoon.
But....
I have a little bit interest with Ninjala (by Gung Ho from E3 2018 trailer) somehow due to Battle style like Kingdom Hearts...

@tourjeff Yes I think Metroid Prime 4 would work better in first-person view but perhaps that's just because of failed Other M.

So basicly their tactic is to turn them into fanboys?

@Anti-Matter
Ah, not exactly what I meant.
If you want to introduce kids from shooters to Nintendo games, Splatoon can be a very nice introduction considering the genre is very similar.

@Shard1
Oh, well...
Um... you know.
Actually Go Vacation Wii (And Switch version as well) has Water Gun shooting mini games with 3rd person view. Like NERF but with water ammunition.
I had ever tried in order to complete the stamps, but still.....

If you look at what kids watch now adays (youtube) they are generally exposed to more mature games way earlier 6+ i'd say very easily they are seeing youtube videos from their favorite youtubers, and their friends at school talk about all sorts of call of duty grand theft auto. One good thing about fortnite (not a fan of it really, but it's super popular) is at least it's a cartoony violence and the biggest trend right now. But when I saw my nephews all they ever watched was GTA, Call of Duty, or Minecraft lol. I don't think i've ever seen them watching any nintendo content. It's too bad, but nintendo is more sought after by older folks, or parents that grew up on nintendo's and are at least trying to pass that along to their kids. It is sad, but it's kind of how society has changed.

@Anti-Matter
Just a thought. Some games aren't for everyone and that is alright. It's good to have different tastes.

After my Intellivision died, I went to NES & stayed with Nintendo ever since.

@NewAdvent No offense, but you don't have to tell me anything about marketing, since I'm a sales & marketing professional myself.

And you just took that part out of context to be able to make your comment, when you apparently understood full well what he actually meant, so the comment you made was rather redundant.

Me wondering if you really didn't understand what he actually meant, is what incited me respond to you.

@AlbertXi Don't forget about arms

Just like how the last two years the only games Microsoft and Sony put out were Variations On A Theme of Zombies, so too this year we had The Post-Apocalyptic Chronicles. Every game from Sony/Microsoft felt like it could all be one-big universe, I didn't see a whole lot of variety. While Nintendo's presentation wasn't all that earth-shattering, it at least offered something beyond the drab grey environments and hyper-violence. There's a place for those games, but throw in a little variety please. In both Microsoft and Sony's presentations, I just zoned out part way through because a lot of the gameplay shown across different games looked the exact same.

@BensonUii
That's why is Our job to introduce Nintendo Switch to them.
Let them know and convince them to join in Nintendo vibes.
Don't hesitate to bring our Nintendo Switch and play in front of them, make them curious and got our attention.

While Reggie does have a point the reverse is true. Nintendo fans grow, and will need more mature games. While Nintendo has improved (Bayonetta, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and Botw), if they decide to focus just on the kids’ games, it would be alienating a whole audience; particularly since the average gamer age is increasing. So far they’ve been doing great with the Switch, I hope they keep it up.

I'm sorry, Reggie is just a plain old muppet. Every answer looks like it came out of a speech generator. He shouldn't be in PR, he should be in politics. He has a knack for droning, rambling sentences, filled with many words that mean nothing so that you forget what you were even waiting for him to say by the time he's done.

@dimi "@Knuckles-Fajita statistically speaking the percentage of kids that will die in next decade is negligible in terms of profit loss"

LOL this comment needs to become someone's signature. I believe that's a quote from every corporate boardroom, ever.

@DarthFoxMcCloud I agree. There was more variety than you give it credit for but it was hard not to noticed just how many apocalyptic environments and zombies there were. I thought we were past that fad a year or two ago...why is that STILL going on?

@dougphisig I can't help but wonder if that will have a reverse effect. Kids that missed childhood and grow up on COD and GTA will regret that in their 20's and start to obsess over Pokemon and Mario and all the innocent things they feel are missing.

@ThanosReXXX "No offense, but you don't have to tell me anything about marketing, since I'm a sales & marketing professional myself."

I'm just imagining your business card, complete with your avatar:
ThanosReXXX: S&M Professional.

@NEStalgia Haha, well, that would certainly scare off quite a few potential customers, and a couple of others might get a completely wrong idea about it all...

That's why I don't use (or like) abbreviations, so no "S&M Professional" mentions for me. In fact, I call myself a business to business sales professional, and my resumé and online business profile tell the rest of the story, for any potentially interested party.

@Cosmos14 It is true that you grow out of certain types of games (well, at least most of us), but if you did grow up with Nintendo, there will always be a special place in your heart and mind for some of their series, whether that is Pokémon, Zelda or Mario is of course up to the individual, but some of these IP's can easily go hand in hand with the more mature titles on offer.

In fact, I'm one of those people: I play all the "grown up" games on the Xbox One and on PC, and besides that, I'll always stick with Nintendo for personal favorites like Zelda and so on. There's no age limit on these games, far as I'm concerned.

But of course, Nintendo also has plenty of more mature titles, especially in the current generation. Sure, they could always use more, but if a market is largely untouched by your competitors, it is obviously a smart thing to grab the opportunity, and that means that there'll be a little less focus on more mature material.

But I think they're doing alright now, and there's still more to come, some of which we don't even know anything about, so if the current state of affairs is any indication, then I think they are well on their way to find a good, balanced mix between these two demographics.

@ThanosReXXX If you change it to "S&M Professional" you may get a lot more money next contract though. Although if you also say "gamer" and you're told to arrive at the dungeon on time, you won't know if it's a job request, or someone just wants to play Elder Scrolls: Online.

@NEStalgia I'm probably missing something here...

This is the biggest misconception Nintendo has. See, Sony and Microsoft actually appeal more to kids, by simply making mature content kids want and parents don't police.

Do kids like Mario? Sure. Do kids like Call of Duty? Damn right they do.

Sony and Microsoft are just trading blows each generation at the top of the heap, whereas Nintendo does quirky things off to the side in hopes they can be a secondary console every now and then. The last two times Nintendo tried to be the one stop shop? Gamecube and Wii U.

@Anti-Matter
Yes! Couldn’t agree more. There’s a whole different type of magic found in the imaginative worlds that don’t rely on violence

@Pod yep, pretty much anything with guns. they only let me play fortnite cuz everyone else was playing it

@ThanosReXXX
Btw, just curious.
Have you ever play Kiddie XBOX 1 / PC / Steam games at least 1 title ?
I'm sure deep inside human's feeling, they still able to like Colorful and Funny kiddie games , even they are already grown up.

Beside, The Sims 4 PS4 that i really like to play was the Most "Mature" game that i still allowed despite it still rated Teen / PEGI 12 due to..... Sexual themes contents inside. (I open minded with LGBT, because they are among us, they need Love and same treatments from us)

@Anti-Matter In Mario, you must jump on and squish enemies to death... they never recover from that... Probably not much different than Splatoon.

@Anti-Matter Yes I have, and I still do play quite a few of the more all ages friendly games. But understand that I like all types of games: I have a VERY broad taste, and I don't condemn or judge people liking more than one type of game, adult-themed or not. They all have their good and bad things, and all games can be enjoyable in their own way. Some adult games even have really great and emotionally engaging stories, so people not playing those, are actually missing out on some wonderful experiences.

And remember: not ALL adult-themed games are about shooting, blood, killing and zombies...

As for my kid friendly games: on Xbox 360, I have all the Viva Pinata games, some avatar games, A World of Keflings, a couple of Sonic games (All Star Racing Transformed and two platformers), several LEGO games, Blue Dragon, several cartoon style/animation tie-in games such as Cars, Kung Fu Panda, Brave and Frozen Free Fall: Snowball Fight. Then there's Rayman Origins, Rayman 3 HD, Nights into Dreams, Beyond Good and Evil HD, Joy Ride Turbo, Bejeweled 2, Doritos Crash Course 1 & 2, Hydro Thunder, Spelunky and 3D Ultra Mini Golf.

And I play a lot of the same type of games on Xbox One as well, but also more serious or adult games, and there's nothing wrong with that.

The sexual themes in Sims seem to be a bit prudish to me, since it is all heavily censored. Most of it is left to the imagination, which is a good thing, in such a game, I suppose...

So, what you should take away from all that, and something I already mentioned to you once before, is that you should not judge people that play more games than just kid-friendly games. It's not damaging to the body or mind, as long as you are a sensible, responsible adult, and as mentioned before as well, all types of games have their specific values, and can be enjoyable in their own right.

It would be really nice to see you start respecting other people's choices concerning that from now on, instead of constantly telling them all how bad and evil it is and that we should only play kiddie and girlie games.

Give respect, and you will also receive it, instead of people becoming really tired of you always commenting on how bad these games are, because they're most definitely not.

If people turn bad, or choose to be bad, then it's the people themselves, not the games. That only happens to weak-minded people. Good, sensible people can play adult games without any problems or negative effects whatsoever.

After all those decades of playing all kinds of games, with varying degrees of violence and trauma in them, I'm still the same social, fun-loving guy, so it most certainly hasn't had any negative effect on me either.

Oh, and I'm perfectly fine with the LGBT thing, as long as I don't have to play games revolving around those themes, because although I respect each person's choice in life, I am personally not interested in that world at ALL. And for me, games are about escaping reality for a moment, not about being confronted with it.

Otherwise, I might as well start playing a game that is a sales office simulator...

@BlueOcean lol and they took the 3d away in the twilight of the new 3ds. I just hope today's kids can be educated about bad dlc and pay to win games, especially team kirby clash deluxe. The gameplay won't change but it is a modern day quarter muncher. I would quit after putting enough for an eShop game, and pay for stuff on Sundays to get double.

I been playing Nintendo since I was in elementary and still do to this day. Regardless of what Reggie says about trying to engage kids I still play them because they're fun to play. I think it's good to target the younger audience since there are a lot of content that parents find inappropriate for their children. And that's why I like Nintendo more because they provide games that I enjoy playing on Nintendo Switch and I will for a long time.

@doomzelboy
To be fair, that game is pretty mild too. Nothing is a real actual gun design, the bullets are mostly just colored rays, there's no blood, no dismemberment, and no drawn out death rattles or screams, and no dead bodies lying around.

@MrVariant Even worse is Nintendo Badge Arcade that I had to uninstall. If I had children I wouldn't allow them to have any of those games...

@BlueOcean
Agreed. Nintendo ought to have stuck with games that make fun of microtransactions and the race to the bottom, like Rusty's Real Deal Baseball.