{"id":121726,"date":"2020-12-07T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2020\/12\/talking_point_nintendos_focus_on_younger_players_is_a_positive_not_a_negative"},"modified":"2020-12-07T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T17:00:00","slug":"talking-point-nintendos-focus-on-younger-players-is-a-positive-not-a-negative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/12\/07\/talking-point-nintendos-focus-on-younger-players-is-a-positive-not-a-negative\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Point: Nintendo’s Focus On Younger Players Is A Positive, Not A Negative"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Nintendo<\/a>\u00a9 Nintendo<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Remember the days of the NES, Game Boy and SNES? Back then, video games seemed to be the sole domain of children. Every commercial showed a kid playing the console, games were marketed in comics and other children’s publications, and a vast array of licenced titles were released which covered everything from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/strong> to Barbie<\/strong>. During this period, Nintendo secured its dominance with a series of AAA titles which, despite being aimed at younger players via their colourful and cute imagery, were also<\/em> played by an increasing number of adults.<\/p>\n

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Gaming had, according to the popular narrative, “grown-up” and everywhere you turned there seemed to be “experts” telling you that the days of the cute and cuddly mascot platformers were over<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Then came the ’90s, and the release of the Sony PlayStation. Gamers grew up and desired more mature video games; we saw the arrival of age-ratings to ensure that titles like Resident Evil<\/strong> and Mortal Kombat 3<\/strong> couldn’t get into the hands of younger players, while titles like WipEout<\/strong> courted dance and club culture with their licenced soundtracks packed with notable artists of the period. Gaming had, according to the popular narrative, “grown-up” and everywhere you turned there seemed to be “experts” telling you that the days of the cute and cuddly mascot platformers were over.<\/p>\n

Only they weren’t.<\/em> During this period, Nintendo stuck to its guns and continued to release a flood of family-friendly fare on its N64 system. Sure, there was the odd outlier \u2013 GoldenEye 007<\/strong><\/a> and Perfect Dark<\/a><\/strong> being two notable examples, alongside Eternal Darkness<\/a><\/strong> and Metroid Prime<\/a><\/strong> on the GameCube \u2013 but the company nonetheless remained committed to its existing ethos, and released numerous games which could be enjoyed by all ages, rather than just adults. To hammer home the “all ages” appeal of these games, Nintendo once again relied on kids to get the ball rolling, which would hopefully then filter down to other members of the household.<\/p>\n

\"Ahhh,<\/a>
Ahhh, how we long for the days when families could pretend to play simultaneous multiplayer on a game that didn’t actually support it. Good times! (Image: Nintendo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fast forward to the present day, and it’s hard to see precisely how that stance has changed. Yes, the Switch is home to more mature games than any other Nintendo system, with the likes of Doom<\/a><\/strong>, Dark Souls<\/strong><\/a>, Wolfenstein II<\/a><\/strong> and Witcher 3<\/strong><\/a>, but a quick glance at the most popular Switch titles in terms of pure sales and a rather different story is painted. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe<\/a><\/strong>. Animal Crossing: New Horizons<\/a><\/strong>. Super Mario Odyssey<\/strong><\/a>. Pok\u00e9mon: Let’s Go<\/a><\/strong>. Super Mario Party<\/a><\/strong>. Splatoon 2<\/a><\/strong>. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe<\/a><\/strong>. All of these games are taken from the top-10 best-selling Switch titles to date, and one thing unites them all: they all have PEGI age ratings which are no higher than 7+ (several of them are actually rated 3+).<\/p>\n

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While the official translation provided by Sega is currently under some dispute, the reaction to someone having the audacity to claim that Nintendo games are aimed at younger players has caused quite a stir \u2013 and we’re not entirely sure why<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Taking this into account, it’s easy to see why Sega’s Chief Creative Officer Toshihiro Nagoshi<\/a> has stated that Nintendo’s systems have traditionally done very well with younger players. However, his words have triggered quite a hostile reaction from some quarters of the Nintendo faithful, if our comments section is anything to go by. Nagoshi \u2013 who is best-known for overseeing the adult-focused Yakuza<\/strong> franchise but, lest we forget, is also the genius who gave the world Super Monkey Ball<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 is quoted by Sega as saying: “I think even now the Nintendo platform is still a game console that is played by a wide range of age groups, but basically, I think it\u2019s hardware for kids and teens.”<\/p>\n

While the official translation provided by Sega is currently under some dispute \u2013 video game producer Adam Evanko<\/a> points out that the meaning has perhaps been “lost in English” but there is “0% condescending tone in how he put it in Japanese. Everyone plays Nintendo but kids and teens especially love it, is basically what he is saying here” \u2013 the reaction to someone having the audacity<\/em> to claim that Nintendo games are aimed at younger players has caused quite a stir \u2013 and we’re not entirely sure why.<\/p>\n