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"The problem that Nintedo have....."

While I know some parents may like nintendo, I can't help but notice a huge handicap nintendo has due to it's lack of mature games. Not all games have to be geared toward young adults, but that's where the money is. we're the people out buying the games now. The videogame market has changed and it's not just a bunch of 12 year olds anymore. Saying Nintendo is gonna be #1 again is ignoring the fact that few 18 year old guys are gonna buy a gamecube as their one and only system. They may buy one in addition to an x-box or ps2, but a man can't live off mario remakes alone. Unless ultra realistic racing scares you and just the words 'resident evil' makes you want to cry, just buying a gamecube for all your videogame needs isn't gonna work. Nintendo has let some slightly more mature games slip through it's gates that's a step in the right direction. if control-freak parents don't want a kid to have certain games then they can regulate that on there own, but a system shouldn't be geared toward an audience. That's what the games are for. The system should be a medium for art and entertainment. What world you decide to immerse yourself in is your choice.
Cheers for reading.
What are your thoughts?

What are you on about stick??

Nintendo are the only company that does have games for players of all ages... MarioKart, SuperSmashBrothers, a ton of Sports games... these can be enjoyed by anyone no matter their age.

That's what they're trying to do - Mario and Luigi now have jeans!!!

I think that nintendo should just forget about the age thing, if there consoles had games for players of all ages then it would be more successful. No console should be made just to suit young or old players, they should be made to suit everyone, i think that nintendo's console do this but focus more on the younger fans than the older ones.

It may seem like Nintendo are making the same mistake with the GameCube as they did with the N64. That is not getting enough third party support for the launch of their machine and not enough "adult games", however if you were in Nintendos shoes would you play it any differently?

Nintendo has the market for children in the bag, no adult/parent in there right mind will buy a Xbox instead of the GameCube after all Nintendo provides great games for all the family...Microsoft doesnt! The Xbox will also be more expensive. Nintendo are the leaders in family multiplayer gaming and therefore it makes sense for Nintendo to keep this market to themselves.

Hopefully then Microsoft and Sony can battle for the same market losing cash as they do so! After all look at the release schedule for both the PS2 and the Xbox theyre both going to have almost exactly the same games, MetalGearSolid2 will be on both consoles! Can these companies destroy each other

Muhahahah Ha Ha DIE Microsoft DIE !!

Back to the story, The GameCube will get some adult titles although this probably wont happen until some time after the launch. Nintendo has shown its willingness to have adult games such as Perfect Dark, Conkers Bad Fur Day and Resident Evil on its machine but its not what sells machines in the US


What is more important for Nintendo is to upgrade its fanbase quickly from GameBoys and N64s to GameBoyAdvances and GameCubes. In the US more of same "non adult" titles will do for this purpose, so long as the GameCube has the same magic Nintendo titles and some good sports titles at launch (Americans are sport game crazy!) it will do well.

Trust me the adult titles will come later : - )

Yes but when you look at the big picture, it's easy to see that there are far more kiddie games for the console than adult ones.
I could write out two lists but I really don't have the time.

You do relise that there are some games aimed at older gamers on then N64 and coming on the GC. Check out Perfect Dark, CBFD, Residant Evil, Goldeneye. There are alot of games not aimed at young kids. Somtimes just because a game doesn't have alot of blood and violence doesn't mean that it isn't suitable for older gamers. Check Banjo Tooie. and Zelda series. They are not too violent but Tooie is an incredibly huge game. The levels get bigger anfd bigger as you explore. It took me 50+ hours of solid gameplay to complete it no at about 1 hour per day that 50 days of fun. There is even a multiplayer in it. Plenty for old and young alike. OK!

Turbonutter wrote:

The GC just screams childish at you. Purple? Cube?
forum!

Right so the 4 other colours. What about the XBox? Its huge and looks like a VCR. It has a volume 3 times that of the Gamecube! Size doesn't always matter

I think that up to now Nintendo have got it right, they've mainly always aimed their games at the pre-teen market, letting the odd shooter slip through.

But the thing is, it's THEIR market, there's no arguing that point, when it comes to a child friendly console, Nintendo have the market completely sewn up, and parents KNOW that, it's what Nintendo is relying on in some respects, because around Christmas time, who buys the console? The parents.

Are they going to buy their 8 year old a console that is known for ads where arms fly out of peoples mouths? Or a console that Bill Gates "can't wait to get his hands on?".

I think not, and Nintendo are fully aware of this and are exploiting it well. However, with the Gamecube, Nintendo have recognised the fact that a huge majority of its fan base who were brought up on the NES and SNES are now 15-20 years older than they were back then, and although in theory Nintendo could carry on milking the pre-teen market, they also seem to have acknowledged, going by their Gamecube release lineup, that there is also a huge market for 'mature' games there as well.

So for them it's a balance. Can they really get away with selling blood n gore hack 'em ups and still keep the trust that parents have bestowed in their company up until now? Or will the profits from the mature gaming market seriously outweigh the risk of losing the faith that children have in Nintendo as the provider of good clean fun games?

For Nintendo I suspect, like all companies, that profit could be the driving motive here. But then you have to consider that they are a Japanese run company, and in general the Japanese are considered to be very scrupulous business people, with honour and ethics perhaps ranking more highly than cashflow and profit when it comes to the way they run their businesses. Hence the balance.

Yes but let's face it, all console gaming is aimed at kids in some way or another. It's not just Nintendo...

Agreed, Nintendo really need to get their act together on the audience front. The GC just screams childish at you. Purple? Cube? Small? And the games are undeniably geared to children.

Nintendo say they're trying to aim more at the mature gamer but to be honest, they're not really doing a very good job of it.

Also, I think the first step should be axing NOM. Just look at the Ninty forum!