Young Gamers Are Not Growing Up On Nintendo

It's come to my attention over the last few years that almost every child in my family has no interest in Nintendo whatsoever, and it worries me a lot.

Even a few years back, I'd see people playing on their DS/3DS at family events. Even when I'd pass through town or grab a coffee in Starbucks, I was used to seeing people gaming on a dedicated handheld console, but I literally never see it anymore. From what I can tell, very few young gamers even have the opportunity to play a Mario game as they are busy on iPads/phones etc.

A great example of this comes from my Aunty and Uncle and their grandchildren. Now, my Aunt barely speaks a word of English but when I saw her last week, one of the first things she asked me was whether I played Candy Crush or Angry Birds. It turns out that they had the grandchildren over the previous week and all they did together was play Angry Bird and Candy Crush. Now, at first the geek inside of me thought 'those aren't real games!' but having thought about it, that's a pretty snobby assertion. Those are simple games, made for the sake of purely having some fun, in the same way Nintendo have released games like Duck Hunt, Wii Sports and Mario in the past.

And that's the problem really..Mario isn't relevent to many of the younger generations because other companies are releasing games which are good enough to play for 'a bit of fun'. Of course, so much of Nintendo's strategy is aimed at attracted young gamers, as they'll grow up with a sense of nostalgia around Nintendo games. I asked my cousin if they would buy a Wii U or a 3DS for their kids given that they love playing Candy Crush and Angry Birds on the iPad and the response was simply 'well, we have a PS3 and he loves sports games..if he gets older and becomes a 'gamer' he can just play on the family console and buy games for that..there's no need to buy an extra system just to play Mario, especially given how expensive those systems are'.

I don't want this thread to turn into 'but mobile games suck!', but I genuinely think Nintendo missed the boat on mobile games. Gaming is no longer a past time done solely on expensive, dedicated devices, nor is it a past time solely for the hardcore who spent hours trying to unlock every achievement; it's something 90% of the population have access to and will do between lectures, on their way to work or if you're a kid, when you're able to grab hold of your dad's iPad.

I love that everyone is now gaming, I just wish more kids had access to Mario.

My young cousins play a lot of free games online. League of Legends, Terraria, Minecraft and the sort. They have a DS each but didn't play it much when I was around.

This is a big problem when you don't diversify. Or grow.

I work in a hospital, part of my job is injecting and scanning children. I've been doing it for over 12 years.

Even a year or two ago I'd see 70 odd percent of kids 5-12 play on a GB/DS/3DS (even some posh kids with Vitas) in the waiting room.

But I haven't seen one child/kid playing on a (3)DS for over a year... they all have (their parent's) phones, tablets or iPads.

Its quite sad...

But at least I'm bringing my 4 1/2 year old daughter up right. She loves Mario (specifically Peach) and is really looking forward to MK8!

Remove the Wii from the equation and every Nintendo console has sold less than its predecessor. Very worrying. And I don't think calling the latest one Wii 2 would have bucked that trend.

My young cousins play a lot of free games online. League of Legends, Terraria, Minecraft and the sort. They have a DS each but didn't play it much when I was around.

Exactly this for my younger brother. Minecraft was his earlier obsession, then it became League of Legends. He was always joined by a lot of his school friends when he played too. He had a DS when he was younger but put that down years ago, and never bothered with a 3DS. He really liked the DS back then too.

What young people want is changing I think.

I was doing some work experience in a Yr5 (10yr old) class recently and couldn't believe how big Minecraft was (having never played or taken any interest in it myself)

The children meet up online outside of school, talk about it during school, draw characters from it in art/free lessons, have collectors edition books about it that they bring in and read/take pride in...

Crazy.

Yeah when I first met my stepbrother a few years ago and he was about 11 he was huge into Pokémon, but then the last year or so it's all Minecraft. He watches videos of it if he's not playing it.

Suppose it's good though, it has a rather creative bent to it.

This is a big problem when you don't diversify. Or grow.

Which is a weird thing to say, seeing as they have. Just because they haven't capitulated to your views of games doesn't mean they haven't grown nor that they aren't diverse.

This happened in the early 2000s too. It's quite common and runs in a cycle. The popularity of the 3DS and Pokémon proves that it's not completely gone.

Yup. This is a very real thing that's happening now.

I have a bunch of nephews and nieces. My oldest nephew (18) got sick of Nintendo early on and eventually switched to the Xbox 360 so he could talk to his mates while playing his games. His brother (15) was the same except he went the PS3 route and then eventually PC.

My youngest nephews (8 & 5) as well as one of my nieces ( 3 ) just play on ipads or some other tablet that is kicking around their house. Their parents can get cheap games for them ( the lads love Real Steel game which cost just 79p ) and they get a lot of enjoyment out of them. The only console game the 8 year old plays is Skylanders on his 360.

It certainly is a problem for Nintendo going forward.

Which is a weird thing to say, seeing as they have. Just because they haven't capitulated to your views of games doesn't mean they haven't grown nor that they aren't diverse.

 

This happened in the early 2000s too. It's quite common and runs in a cycle. The popularity of the 3DS and Pokémon proves that it's not completely gone.

Yes, but it is diminishing, especially in the UK. The software sales for the 3DS games have been sluggish for a while.

Yup. This is a very real thing that's happening now.

 

I have a bunch of nephews and nieces. My oldest nephew (18) got sick of Nintendo early on and eventually switched to the Xbox 360 so he could talk to his mates while playing his games. His brother (15) was the same except he went the PS3 route and then eventually PC.

 

My youngest nephews (8 & 5) as well as one of my nieces ( 3 ) just play on ipads or some other tablet that is kicking around their house. Their parents can get cheap games for them ( the lads love Real Steel game which cost just 79p ) and they get a lot of enjoyment out of them. The only console game the 8 year old plays is Skylanders on his 360.

 

It certainly is a problem for Nintendo going forward.

 

 

 

Yes, but it is diminishing, especially in the UK. The software sales for the 3DS games have been sluggish for a while.

Ah, but the difference between DS and 3DS is that the 3DS has practically no third party support in the west, so is relying on Nintendo published content and so only those count.

A large portion of Nintendo's market is indeed gravitating to tablet and phone devices for gaming these days.

I know it's 'sacrilege', but Nintendo really do need to start increasing their presence on those devices. Maybe not so far as releasing retro Mario, but not such a token effort as dropping some overpriced Pokedex or "video preview" app.

They've made lots of great mini games in the last few years that would suit a touchscreen mobile device perfectly. That ball bouncing Pokemon Amie game for example! Get on it.

Kids are remarkably disloyal. You need to continually earn their interest by being present in their lives and the wallets of their parents.

Ah, but the difference between DS and 3DS is that the 3DS has practically no third party support in the west, so is relying on Nintendo published content and so only those count.

Give over. The DS didn't sell because of 3rd party releases. It sold because it attracted a new market.

It's the same situation as the Wii U. Without that expanded market then the numbers will be what we are seeing now because a lot of gamers have moved on to other things, whether it be another console or tablets and phones.

The fact is smart phones and tablets have ate into the handheld market. Instead of parents buying dedicated gaming devices for their kids they are just buying tablets or giving them their old phones. It has nothing to do with the lack of software on the 3DS.

Give over. The DS didn't sell because of 3rd party releases. It sold because it attracted a new market.

 

It's the same situation as the Wii U. Without that expanded market then the numbers will be what we are seeing now because a lot of gamers have moved on to other things, whether it be another console or tablets and phones.

 

The fact is smart phones and tablets have ate into the handheld market. Instead of parents buying dedicated gaming devices for their kids they are just buying tablets or giving them their old phones. It has nothing to do with the lack of software on the 3DS.

No, but its high software sales everywhere were heavily aided by the third parties.

You could also argue that a lot of our adult love for Nintendo is heavily built on a wobbly platform of nostalgia.

What future does a company that thrives on nostalgia have when they're failing to plant the crucial nostalgia seed in a new generation of potential Nintendiehards?

No, but its high software sales everywhere were heavily aided by the third parties.

Not to cause an argument but like what titles? I'm looking on wiki here ( not the greatest source I know ) and the best selling games are pretty much Nintendo titles, with Final Fantasy III, Cooking Mama and Dragon Quest IX being the notable 3rd party efforts. Does Layton count? If so add them in to the mix.

You've then got titles like High School Musical and Hanna Montana that broke 1 million. This had nothing to do with the quality output of 3rd party releases but more to do with that expanded audience.

Afraid I'm seeing the same thing too with my niece and nephew.

They've had DS's and loved them, Especially Penguin Club?? The Disney thing? but since they've got older, they've not asked for 3DS, or 2DS, they ask to play on their parents iPhones or iPads.

My Nephew who is 8 now, has his own iPod touch, with Minecraft & Angry Birds and he's just oblivious to the world around him now. I ask him does he still play his DS and he says it's in his cupboard.

I've showed him my 3DS, but there isn't the 'Want' to play it, he's just kind of shrugs, doesn't even ask to play it and then goes on to show me what he's building in Minecraft.

Scary times.

Oh but he is obsessed with Skylanders though on Wii, So console gaming isn't all dead to him.

My cousins always ask to play wii u and 3DS when I see them. Never ask to play mobile games.

Regarding minecraft. Nintendo really have missed the trick with that. Should have paid development costs for a Wii U and 3DS version.

The game is eventually gonna be on every single platform apart from Nintendo platforms.

That's not a good look.

Which is a weird thing to say, seeing as they have. Just because they haven't capitulated to your views of games doesn't mean they haven't grown nor that they aren't diverse.

 

This happened in the early 2000s too. It's quite common and runs in a cycle. The popularity of the 3DS and Pokémon proves that it's not completely gone.

How have they diversified? Their portfolio of active IPs (at least their tent pole IPs) are all very similar; very Japanese and very family friendly.

How is Pokémon relevant? It's another very Japanese, very family friendly game. Can you explain the cycle in full? When did it last peak? Is it up now or down? Why are you assuming these cycles are in line with cultural relevance - never before has Nintendo been so culturally irrelevant; even when they weren't doing amazingly well before they were still at the heart of the games industry whereas now they're a sideshow.

There is so little context for most these statements.

Have any of the main console companies "diversified" or "grown"?! More powerful controllers, with pretty much the same kinds of controllers and the same types of games. How different really is ps4 to the ps1 in essence? Or one to original xb? I don't have a problem with it though, I didnt see it as a huge negative.

As for kids, yeah, because the most simplistic and most basic always wins out. Same with films, we're just quite lucky currently that certain studios are providing some high quality blockbusters. But most still aren't. The difference though is access, who cares what's popular in film as we can still watch whatever we want.. Gaming requirement of dedicated machines makes it way more of a problem....

Minecraft is neither simplistic nor basic, and that seems to get tons of attention from kids/young teens. It is one of the most comprehensive games I have ever seen, tbh.

This pic becomes more and more relevant these days in a lot of threads

Have any of the main console companies "diversified" or "grown"?! More powerful controllers, with pretty much the same kinds of controllers and the same types of games. How different really is ps4 to the ps1 in essence? Or one to original xb? I don't have a problem with it though, I didnt see it as a huge negative.

I would say both the Playstation and Xbox brands have grown into something more over the years. Both started out as games machines and now both are multimedia devices.

You also have to look at the way they have evolved their online services. Both have come leaps and bounds from the original machines in this regard and have grown their user base by creating an online ecosystem that gamers enjoy and become attached to.

In terms on games, I agree that Microsoft has a long way to go to get a diverse line up but Sony have done a great job last gen, especially once they seen they were on the back foot. You have Uncharted and Infamous ( 3rd person both new IPs) Resistance and Killzone ( 1st person Resistance was a new IP ) Sly Racoon, Puppeteer ( new IP ) and Ratchet & Clank are all great platformers. Heavy Rain & Beyond ( new IPs ) gave a cinematic edge to gaming. They also pushed online gaming with the likes of Warhawk and MAG.

You also have to factor in the 3rd party titles which both Sony and Microsoft get on their platforms, which again offer a more diverse line up of games.

The problem is that kids aren't growing up with Nintendo.

A lot of us have remained Nintendo buying consumers as we have been brought up on their consoles. Therefore many Nintendo fans are now in their 30s.

Having saying that I did see a kid the other day in Sheffield with some kind of Nintendo bag. Obviously in the minority.

Minecraft:

1) Can be used in schools for teaching various subjects, recreating places of old and of course just 3D creation for art class! See MinecraftEdu. http://minecraftedu.com/page/

2) It's has online multiplayer (yeah I know this sounds weird Nintendo, google it up), adventure and creation all in one. What more can you ask for? Price is also pretty cheap.

3) The online community is huge, AND the terms of service give you the right to make youtube videos and put ads on them. If you look at the gaming channels of younger folks, they're full of Minecraft, CoD and indie game videos. Why? Because they can share their adventures, showcase their creations, and try to emulate the big youtubers by making a little money on the side. And when one person is doing it, soon his friends will be too...

Bottom line: No competition really. Very multi-faceted, cheap, online and youtube friendly game. Why would the kids be playing Nintendo stuff, when they can't play online or make videos about them? Screw that.