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[Nilaul]

Who buys consoles? In this day and age the parents need to see something for them on the console they buy. It wont be in the kids room, it will be in the main center of the house.

Exactly a console has to target all ages. People buy one console in the centre of the house. Adults play on the consoles, kids too.

Much like the DVD player; you have porn movies, brutal movies and action flicks but you also have children movies and movies for everyone. Its one DVD player that plays all. The DVD would had failed if it had children only releases.

 

[lupinko]

I saw this on the news to Tokyo station from Narita, I'm going to have to get used to seeing Iwata on the news now outside of videogame forums. Lol

 

[EmCeeGramr]

If this truly wasn't translated wrong, or taken out of context, it's very sad. As a 31 year old man, I love playing Nintendo games for the throwback, nostalgic feeling they give me, but really, Nintendo caters most of it's games to an all-ages group. I would love to have the gritty, darker Nintendo back. You know, the Nintendo that partnered with Capcom for REmake, Konami for Twin Snakes, Silicon Knights with Eternal Darkness, and allowed Retro to create three amazing Metroid Prime games. I don't need a roided out dude-bro FPS, but something with a complex story would be nice. I appreciate their work to get Bayonetta 2 and X up and going, but people like me just want more. Those titles are outweighed vastly by games like Mario 3D World, Yarn Yoshi, and Pikmin 3, games that either are or arguably will be fantastic, but are severely lacking in the story department.

The Nintendo that partnered with Capcom, Konami, Silicon Knights, and Retro sold 20 million consoles, was edged out by Microsoft's weirdo futuristic experiment console, and was widely considered a flop that nearly pushed Nintendo into complete failure if they hadn't pulled out two amazing successor products.

The Nintendo that aimed itself at children sold 60 and 50 million consoles and defined hardware generations.

 

[harmonize]

So, Nintendo Infinity? Angry Koopas? What do the kids want?

Nintendo-branded skateboards and hula hoops.

 

[cyberheater]

I don't see how he stops the bleeding. The phones aren't going away. The kids have them, and they have cheap games they think are good enough.

How does Nintendo compete with that? Marketing isn't going to fix this. It's a fundamental shift in consumer habits.

I've also had this view point for quite a while now. Nintendo's home console is tanking hard and it's difficult to imagine that they will launch a machine after WiiU that will be successful. That leaves handhelds. And that market will continue to shrink. I can't see how Nintendo can be successful if those two are the core of it's business.

 

[Jarmel]

I agree that they haven't been targeting children enough. As others have pointed out Minecraft has become massive and smart phones and tablets have become prevalent enough that they are a major gaming platform that children can access. With no multi-touch tablet of their own, and no software on existing tablets, Nintendo is on the outside and there's a real concern that "the next generation" of gamers is going to grow up without much if any exposure to Nintendo IPs.

Aside from the tween market I think there's a real opportunity for a brand new gaming market for even younger children that was never really accessible before, and which Nintendo has never strongly gone after.

Reposting my thoughts on "games for toddlers" from another thread:

If Nintendo releases a child oriented tablet device, they're going to get crushed. As much as it pains people, they probably should start releasing their games on the iOS store.

 

[Exokell]

we need to be more kiddy.. why is this clown still the ceo?

 

[TreasureHunterG]

The Nintendo that partnered with Capcom, Konami, Silicon Knights, and Retro sold 20 million consoles, was edged out by Microsoft's weirdo futuristic experiment console, and was widely considered a flop that nearly pushed Nintendo into complete failure if they hadn't pulled out two amazing successor products.

The Nintendo that aimed itself at children sold 60 and 50 million consoles and defined hardware generations.

Sure, because GCN's kiddy purple box design and low mini-DVD storage and N64's cartdriges had nothing to do with ther respective failures, right?

 

[royalan]

I added some to the post.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=98877079&postcount=136

Brilliant. Thanks.

I'm really failing to see the age-old "Nintendo does the things it does because it's a Japanese company" excuse holding up for much longer. They're really appealing to nobody right now.

 

[Interceptor]

This "games for everybody/all ages" is an obvious euphemism for their focus on younger audiences. Targeting the Teen/Mature audience was never Nintendo's priority, it's no secret why Nintendo disassembled NoA's production divisions and western second-parties like Rare, Left Field, DMA Design, Silicon Knights and Factor 5 who were actually targeting this audience.

It´s not an euphemism but exactly what they have been doing the last 8 years - targeting everyone. Unfortunately the very vocal crowd of male teens between 13 and 17 demands a proper product for them (something mature..), not a family device. Also they didn´t dissasemble rare or silicon knights. Rares products were selling like shit at this point in time and the stampers were considering leaving with th rest of the capable staff - lucky enough microsoft was willing to pay a hefty amount for this corpse. Silicon knights is a whole other story, but i guess Dyack doesn´t need any other explanation on gaf. Facor 5 flew with the dragons and got burned. Well this is a long explanation - the easier one would be "Fire Iwata, please understand, lol"

 

[Morfeo]

Frankly I find the constant parroting of this attitude on GAF insulting and ignorant. Why is it only m rated shooters and war games? Where was Nintendo when Trials got big? How about SSX? Nintendo had sports games on the SNES and N64, but they ceded the market to others. Nintendo sat on IPs like 1080, Excitebike and Bond which opened doors to markets that appeal to EVERYONE. Why no mention of that? It's getting tiring hearing about how Nintendo has to appeal to "core" gamers with the least common denominators of videogames like they're slobs who only know how to aim a reticule. The "core" market is more than just teens with bloodlust and gun fetishes.

Fine, so you agree with my point, but not my over-simplification. Of course its more than just M-rated shooters that appeal to kids these days, but they tend to sell the most, which is why I mentioned them. The point anyways, is that Nintendos current games does a bad job of selling, despite being the best in the buisness, which means they should probably change their focus. To M-rated shooters. And other genres that sell well.

 

[wanders]

Kids want tablets
Parents want cheap/free games found in tablets

3DS is $130~$170
The popular games are ~$30

I guess make a gaming tablet that has marketplace that allows for cheap games?

 

[MLH]

This thread really brought out how the premium priced hardware with cartoony kid/family software was trouble. It's like Nintendo made the Homer.

I have been saying for a while that video game software is overpriced for true mass market adoption. At $50, for a lot of people that made video games a only on birthday/Christmas kind of thing. And then Nintendo raised prices on its handheld and console side.

I know Iwata wants video games to be a premium thing and hates free/.99 cent games on iPhone. But there is a middle ground, and Nintendo(and the other big publishers) are so far above it that they are wide open to having their feet kicked out from under them by cheap mobile games. Like, Hollywood movies can coexist with YouTube. But if the average ticket price gets to twenty or thirty bucks.. A lot of people will make do with YouTube.

Price is a huge problem, I agree with you. Wii U games are getting more and more expensive here, Super Mario 3D World has an RRP of £49.99 (~$82)! most retailers don't set it that high, £39 - £45 usually, but it's still too damn high!

 

[Graphics Horse]

If you want to sell a system that parents buy for children, it helps to be a low price. They've always known that, but it seems the ds and wii success made them go slightly insane.

 

[fallagin]

I agree in that they have done almost nothing with pokemon on their home consoles. Kids go insane for pokemon, how they have not strived to put this series on home consoles is absolutely crazy.

I do hope that is going to be one of their projects going forward. Maybe they are worried that it would cannibalize the handheld games though? But at this point that doesnt really matter, they need to revive their home consoles.

 

[Jarmel]

If they're even thinking about releasing stuff on tablets, instead of building their own tablet, why not just release it on the iOS? That said, that's not a particularly good idea unless they're giving up on the handheld market.

 

[DigitalDevilSummoner]

Iwata needs to go.

I will just quote this and be on my way.

 

[Nirolak]

Here's the full article:

Thank you!

 

[Morfeo]

Wow, talk about jumping the shark.

Its the same old doom and gloom - but with sadness instead of schadenfreude.

 

[_Ryo_]

「子供へアプローチしたいならタブコンを捨てろ」 I disagree. Somehow I don't think the tablet is the factor that is not appealing to children. I think if it were an all in one device similar to 3DS but with WiiU capabilities children would be all over it.

To clarify this, they need they're own branded device without a Nintendo branded OS. That'd would probably kill them in the tablet market.

 

[Riki]

If you want to sell a system that parents buy for children, it helps to be a low price. They've always known that, but it seems the ds and wii success made them go slightly insane.

And Iwata already addressed that they need to put out more budget releases.

 

[TAS]

So Iwata's answer for Nintendo is to become even more kiddie? Awesome. :I

 

[Starphoenix]

Setting aside the mockery for a moment, I can understand what would drive Iwata to believe they have not targeted children enough, but I truly think it has more to do with the fact that kids are more familiar with the games they play on an iPad or iPod than just about anything in Nintendo's catalog. Mario has given way to Angry Birds and Minecraft, they have to compete for mindshare with games and products (i.e. smartphones) that they've stubbornly refused to admit was competition.I think we will hear a lot tonight about how Nintendo will leverage this to their advantage, but talk is cheap considering they keep falling into the same hole over and over again.

Nintendo has nor marketed the game well to anyone. Parents don't know what it is, kids don't care enough about it to ask, and enthusiast gamers don't take it seriously. All you're left with is the brand loyalists, and even that group is growing disenfranchised. How they fix it? I don't have a clue. Hope they do.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Iwata needs to see what type of games kids play these days .
On mobile there is a certain type and on consoles there another type and they don't do \get enough of either of them .

 

[Sandfox]

If you want to sell a system that parents buy for children, it helps to be a low price. They've always known that, but it seems the ds and wii success made them go slightly insane.

I think its about time they at least dropped some 3DS software down to $20.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Sure, because GCN's kiddy purple box design and low mini-DVD storage and N64's cartdriges had nothing to do with ther respective failures, right?

If you can find where I said or even implied that, go right ahead.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I added a bunch more quotes that I thought were funny to the post.

Anyway, back on topic, I do think he's right. I think Nintendo needs to get back to the basics before they can find out what they need to do. They never succeed when they try to appeal to the more hardcore audience. That's kind of what they did with Gamecube, and now it's happening again with Wii U (although I think their primary focus was families). They just haven't had a clear target. If they can double down and really make some quality games that appeal to kids (doesn't mean adults can't enjoy them, too), I think they have a chance.

 

[QaaQer]

Question: do you think that Nintendo is doing a good enough job being the premiere video game brand among children.

Maybe a better question is "do you think Nintendo can be the premiere video game brand among children and still make their own hardware going forward?"

 

[Morfeo]

Or they could just keep the things they do well and add on from there rather than replace everything.

I dont know how they could do that. They are tanking hard in the console space, and dedicated handhelds have no future. They will have to go mobile sooner or later if they want to stay relevant.

 

[Justzisguyukno]

Kids want tablets
Parents want cheap/free games found in tablets

3DS is $130~$170
The popular games are ~$30

I guess make a gaming tablet that has marketplace that allows for cheap games?

My takeaway from that is Nintendo priced there hardware too high :/

Bring the cheap ios/android games to the next DS, not the other way around.

 

[SolarPowered]

Fine, so you agree with my point, but not my over-simplification. Of course its more than just M-rated shooters that appeal to kids these days, but they tend to sell the most, which is why I mentioned them. The point anyways, is that Nintendos current games does a bad job of selling, despite being the best in the buisness, which means they should probably change their focus. To M-rated shooters. And other genres that sell well.

We are in agreement. Expanding their western developer pool and making a go of it in uncharted genres digitally would be an excellent start. Maybe then they'd run into their own minecraft, rust, dayz, castle crashers, trials, etc.

Think about this much. The 360 and PS3 didn't become popular because of Minecraft, but when kids found out they could get it on their parent's systems it was a win win for the family. Right now Nintendo isn't giving kids OR "core" adults (who might have played GC, N64, SNES or NES) a good reason to buy Wii U. Their handhelds are faring better, but no one knows how long that'll last.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Maybe a better question is "do you think Nintendo can be the premiere video game brand among children and still make their own hardware going forward?"

That's a good question for Iwata to answer!

 

[TreasureHunterG]

Rares products were selling like shit at this point in time and the stampers were considering leaving with th rest of the capable staff - lucky enough microsoft was willing to pay a hefty amount for this corpse.

Not true, Rare's games were constantly among N64 best selling titles, even on it's later life. PD and Banjo-Tooie both sold more than a million copies. Even Conker, who came out in N64's final days and Nintendo's unwillingness to publish it, still managed to sell >500.000.

Rare was the most western appealing studio Nintendo ever had.

 

[Deadpool_X]

The Nintendo that partnered with Capcom, Konami, Silicon Knights, and Retro sold 20 million consoles, was edged out by Microsoft's weirdo futuristic experiment console, and was widely considered a flop that nearly pushed Nintendo into complete failure if they hadn't pulled out two amazing successor products.

The Nintendo that aimed itself at children sold 60 and 50 million consoles and defined hardware generations.

I completely understand what you're saying, but the Wii U, as much as I love it, has proven that the same Nintendo that "sold 60 and 50 million consoles and defined hardware generations" was a fluke. If it wasn't, and Nintendo had truly built a brand loyalty with all of the children and casuals they marketed too on their way to selling 60 and 50 million consoles, the Wii U wouldn't be sitting at 5.8 million shipped worldwide almost 15 months after launch.

 

[Jarmel]

Maybe a better question is "do you think Nintendo can be the premiere video game brand among children and still make their own hardware going forward?"

No. I'm not seeing any roads into the future where that's possible. They're getting heavily assaulted on the handheld market and the console market is seemingly dead for them.

 

[dimb]

That's a good question for Iwata to answer!

Iwata asks, he doesn't answer.

 

[pieatorium]

The Nintendo that partnered with Capcom, Konami, Silicon Knights, and Retro sold 20 million consoles, was edged out by Microsoft's weirdo futuristic experiment console, and was widely considered a flop that nearly pushed Nintendo into complete failure if they hadn't pulled out two amazing successor products.

The Nintendo that aimed itself at children sold 60 and 50 million consoles and defined hardware generations.

It was the non kids games that defined that transition though Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Gran Tourismo and later Halo and GTA. The nes and snes targeted kids sure but they also had the square games, Street fighter, Mortal combat, Star Wars etc.

The shift in sales coincided with the shift of those games

 

[SmokyDave]

Ah man, that doesn't bode well for their next handheld (assuming he's thinking of hardware as well as software). Cheap and cheerful is the order of the day for kiddywinkles.

I can imagine that this sentiment is not something that core gamers want to hear, but it does make sense. Sony and MS have the older demographics stitched up so Nintendo needs to aim as young as possible.

 

[ironcreed]

 

[Father_Brain]

It's a process, dude. You can't repair 20 years of branding and technological missteps overnight.

I don't disagree that Nintendo could pull it off given unlimited time, unlimited money, and the assumption that the dedicated console market continues to exist.

However, given the scale of the Wii U disaster and the steep decline of the handheld market, I'm not sure that they have multiple generations left to get it right.

 

[Snakeyes]

The Nintendo that partnered with Capcom, Konami, Silicon Knights, and Retro sold 20 million consoles, was edged out by Microsoft's weirdo futuristic experiment console, and was widely considered a flop that nearly pushed Nintendo into complete failure if they hadn't pulled out two amazing successor products.

The Nintendo that aimed itself at children sold 60 and 50 million consoles and defined hardware generations.

But that is simply not true. The Revolution was revealed with a Prime 3 target render and the first game announced was Red Steel. A realistic Zelda was available at the Wii's launch. Even 3D Mario traded Sunshine's cheerful beaches for a more neutral and mysterious space setting. Yes, the Wii had a lot of child-friendly titles, but Nintendo's own software often appealed, or was at least inoffensive to an older demographic

 

[Pie and Beans]

It occurs to me that perhaps Iwata is talking... solely about WiiU here? Which I just can't agree with at all in that case. If he was saying "we need to pump up our handheld success again with kids", bang on with the need to lower software prices. But selling a home console launch to kids is just not how things work anymore.

How would the WiiU have been even more kid focussed anyway? Outside of the third party port bilge, every single Nintendo title was kid aimed. NintendoLand, Mario, Pikmin, Lego, even W101. Other than buying Minecraft exclusivity, theres not much else they could have done more kid-orientated there.

 

[Sandfox]

I dont know how they could do that. They are tanking hard in the console space, and dedicated handhelds have no future. They will have to go mobile sooner or later if they want to stay relevant.

They could just keep the type of games they have now that people like in conjunction with new titles and philosophies which would give a lot of people the best of both worlds. I feel that while the handheld market is shrinking there will always be a number of people who will want a dedicated device for a deeper experience and as long as Nintendo makes the right moves they won't be forced to go mobile.

It occurs to me that perhaps Iwata is talking... solely about WiiU here? Which I just can't agree with at all in that case. If he was saying "we need to pump up our handheld success again with kids", bang on with the need to lower software prices. But selling a home console launch to kids is just not how things work anymore.

How would the WiiU have been even more kid focussed anyway? Outside of the third party port bilge, every single Nintendo title was kid aimed. Mario, Pikmin, even W101. Other than buying Minecraft exclusivity, theres not much else they could have done more kid-orientated there.

They could've paid more attention to what kids are currently interested in, created games in that style, used what's popular in their kid commercials and create a bundle around the games that kids really like.

 

[Valhelm]

Really? To me it seems these are the games that sell, and all anecdotal evidence I have is that children and young adults prefer to play shooters and other M-rated stuff like GTA and not Nintendo-games (who basically only gets played by old gamers that grew up with the nes/snes).

"Children" in this sense means aged eight or younger. Preteens, though, are more likely to seek out grittier games. I once had the displeasure of working with a nine-year-old who called Halo a "baby game" because it had bright colors and space travel.

 

[Nilaul]

See what I did here?

 

[Out of Working Order]

There's only one thing I can take from this - that their games will become diluted and watered down, but made significantly cheaper. Hardware is another barrier to entry, so how else are you going to make your software so easily available other than by offering it on devices that are so widespread, i.e., tablets and phones?

And yes, it wouldn't surprise me if they're about to drop support for the Wii U entirely. I've bought one and I regret it entirely. Charming device though, with some clever ideas - such a shame.

 

[VariantX]

They're going to try harder to do what they've already been doing for roughly 7+ years? What is this senseless, and relentless obsession on this tiny part of the market? Focus on the market as whole and you might actually have a future in the console business. This insistence on refusing to acknowledge the market for what is instead of what Iwata wants it to be is baffling.

 

[Interceptor]

Not true, Rare's games were constantly among N64 best selling titles, even on it's later life. PD and Banjo-Tooie both sold more than a million copies. Even Conker, who came out in N64's final days and Nintendo's unwillingness to publish it, still managed to sell >500.000.

Rare was the most western appealing studio Nintendo ever had.

You are missing Star Fox Adventures. The sales of their games were declining and the internal troubles were rising. You don´t need a developer with declining sales who is threatening you to give truckloads of money just for an empty corpse with major parts of the talent intending to leave either way. They were various reasons Rare went to shit but mostly the stampers are to blame, not nintendo. But i guess thats a trendy thing to do right now.

 

[SolarPowered]

I dont know how they could do that. They are tanking hard in the console space, and dedicated handhelds have no future. They will have to go mobile sooner or later if they want to stay relevant.

They have a lot of developers in Japan. There is no reason NCL and EADs have to start making software exclusively for the west if they can find competent studios on our side of the pond.

 

[harmonize]

Maybe a better question is "do you think Nintendo can be the premiere video game brand among children and still make their own hardware going forward?"

I honestly don't think they can. As others have expressed in this thread, the question on parents' minds pertaining to their children owning video game devices has shifted from "What's the cheapest gaming device I could buy for him?" to "Why buy an extra device when I can just give him my old tablet?"

A low entry price for their hardware simply isn't going to matter when both the parents don't think they need it, and the children aren't asking for it because they're only vaguely aware of who Mario and Pikachu even are.