I bought the Wii u at Launch for my then 8 year old Son s b day-  It was clear the Wii U did not have a well defined target audience-  There were few games for "family" and most of the "core" games were older ports from 3rd party Dev s-   eventually, the Wii u, by default became primarily a core Nintendo fan console with some minor effort at their traditional family market-   you can see by their numbers and by Nintendo exec s statements at their latest earning release/investor Q and A s that they want to regain lost market share of the "youth and family" maret they once dominated.  Minecraft and mobile alone really took ALOT of Nintendo s traditioal youth/family audience during the last 2+/- years of the Wii and nearly all of the Wii U s lifespan

Who will Nintendo target with the NX and how will they do it?

   During the same earnings interviews and Investor Q and A mentioned above, they did say they wanted to regain the youth/family market and double down on gaining a larger % of the female demographic -  that sounds a little bit "casual" to me but I would think to have a strong launch they will have to appeal to the core fan base and core gamers that are more likley to buy a console at launch or close (at least initially)  

I think the NX will end up being targted at the casual/family market but will start like it is aimed at the core

Edit 2:  Link from Nintendo Investor Q and A in Feb 2016  https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/160203qa/02.html

The above  link (see Q5)  is re regaining the younger market

the below link (see Q8) is re increasing female marketshare

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/160203qa/03.ht

I ll link the quotes re increasing female demo shortly-  done see above

Edit  This was supposed to e in Nintendo discusion- not sure how it ended up in Website feedback-     is it possible to change it?

Along the lines of the Wii audience.

Alot of people are suggesting they go head to head with the PS4/Xbone, which is about the stupidest possible strategy. Even if they launched at the same time Nintendo would have a hard time getting the COD/Madden audience based on their reputation, their franchises, and their staffing. Coming three years into the PS4's lifespan will make that challenge several times more difficult. Unless the NX is a true technical behemoth (like as strong in raw power as a mid-high end PC) then I don't see them stealing away many consumers from Microsonysoft.

Whether they can or not, they need to recapture the Wii audience, out of a matter of necessity. They either have to climb Mt Everest, or complete a successful manned mission to Mars. One is going to be incredibly challenging, but the other is nearly impossible.

Link please.

Nintendo will always be a platform for kids. People need to get over that - it's not a bad thing. It's okay to like things meant for kids. It doesn't make you a kid or an inferior human being.

That being said, the Wii was not just for kids. It was for everyone - except core gamers. I think the NX will be for the audience Nintendo wanted with the Wii U - everyone including core gamers. It's not going to be your cool-kid super adult hardcore mature box, and it doesn't need to be. More DS than PS4.

But if anyone seriously things that a platform with Mario as the mascot is ever going to launch a hardcore console targeting hardcore gamers, you're setting yourself up for a purgatory of disappointment. Hardcore gamers will get a focus, but far from the defining focus like with the PS4 and XBO.

And to clarify, when I say "hardcore," what I really mean is "16-35 year old western males."

So casuals.

i hope its the casual female youth market because they certainly have no other market to chase. Core gamers are firmly with ps/xbox/pc. just push minecraft/pokemon/splatoon/smash/animal crossing/ etc hard real hard and hope consumers take notice.

It's a wild card as of now. It can do anything really. I would imagine it would be the Wii audience but if it is a powerful enough device it could take in more but I doubt it. Gaming audiences are becoming like the audiences of computers. You either hate apple, hate microsoft, love both or whatever. I don't think NX can get back PS and XB gamers because those consoles are so different from Nintendo's and I'm not talking about specs but more of the capabilities of those consoles. With that being said, there's 7 billion people on this earth, I think Nintendo could garner `100 million units without having to dig into PS and XB install base.

I think they are aiming at that "wii" audience too (or todays version of it), but I have no idea how they are going to get it- that will be a tough market to capture in any real size- I also wonder if they have the will to invest the $ s it will take as well-

The audience will be whoever is interested in the console. To know that, we need to know what the console is and what games and services has.

No, they aren't. Core gamers are firmly undedicated to anything. They'll go to whatever looks the best for them. NX can easily be that for them. They just need to take a page from Disney when it comes to software aka Marvel/StarWars/Pirates/etc.

Nintendo need to target a slightly more mature audience.
The Tablets and free 2 play games too away alot of the crowd nintendo used to target and I doubt they will ever get that back. The solution is to get in the game, and aim for a more mature crowd.

Get the teens and early 20s that want to play action/open world rpgs, and first/3rd person shooters.

A more serious and bigger budget Splatoon for NX, would be a start.

Getting 3rd party back would help as well.  Mario Open world RPG? make it happend nintendo.

*edit:

Imagine a witcher style Mario RPG ? :D would be epic.

A Call of Duty styled Splatoon.

Time for nintendo to take inspiration from whats on the market and selling well, that people love.

Just pour abit of nintendo style flavor into it (the characters they own) and that should be a win.

Just release Xenoblade 3 and I'll be on board Nintendo, just don't f that up.