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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nintendo: Switch Buyers Are Primarily Men In Their 20s/30s

Soundwave said:
MisterManGuy said:

Casuals didn't show up to those games because the Wii U was a badly marketed, unattractive mess. And in the case of Mario Run, even fans of the game admit that it isn't worth the $10 asking price (if it was $4 or $5, it would've done much better). And it's funny how you say Nintendo doesn't make free games, yet they released several free games for the 3DS, and just released a free Fire Emblem game on mobile devices, which brought in way more revenue than Mario Run. Yeah, Nintendo doesn't do free games all right.

Once again, you're taking the wrong perspective with this. Nintendo knows the Switch won't replace people's smartphones. But they do know that it can be a great companion piece to one. The Switch is still marketed to casual gamers. I mean, look at the recent promotional material, and the extended cut for the Super Bowl ad. It wasn't just hip dudes playing Zelda, it was also people playing 1-2 Switch, families playing Mario Kart, and a grandpa playing ARMS with his grandson. It's pretty clear Nintendo wants as broad of an audience as possible with the Switch. 

You're right that they should also serve hardcore fans as well, but they shouldn't rely exclusively on them. Nintendo can make the Switch appealing to casual gamers, and they've done a good job at doing so. 

Part of the reason the Wii U was "badly marketed" is because it tried to be all things for all people. 

If you're going to make a casual system, then make a casual system.

If you're going to make a core centric system then make that. Don't do the shit where you're trying to be both, that's where you get yourself killed. 

There is no room in the middle of road, unless you want to get run over, pick a side to walk on. Nintendo finally did that with the Switch. 

Yes the extended trailer has 1,2 Switch in it, but the actual commercial shown on the Superbowl has *zero* 1,2 Switch in it. And there's a good reason for that.

No grandpas or kids either. Just a college aged kid playing Zelda only. That's their Superbowl commercial, and that was a *smart* move.  

Other experiemental stuff can have it's place, but it's place is in the back seat, not in the driver's seat, successful companies know what works for them.

If you try to make a product for everyone there's a good chance you're actually going to end up with something that makes no one happy. You need to have focus and *priority* in what you're making. There's nothing wrong with making the most rabid buyers of $50-$60 software in the modern market a priority. They should be. 

And kids at least will come along fine, kids want what older kids want, they don't want what "mommy approves" for them, Nintendo has never understood this, maybe now they are getting it. Sony markets almost 0 to kids. But yet they've sold more home consoles to kids than Nintendo has over the last 20 years. Ever wonder why that is? 

I'd argue the Switch is a middle ground. I've explained this already, but Breath of the Wild is a great game to ease casual gamers into more hardcore titles. When you get right down to it, it's essentially a simplified console game. One that has as much depth and challenge as those on the PS4 and Xbox One, but with the Simplicity and Short-bust gameplay of a mobile title. No matter what you're doing in the game, there's always something rewarding to do even if you only have 30 minutes to spare. Just because the commercial had some dude in his 20s playing it means nothing, it just means it was very well marketed. Besides, you do realize casual gamers can be males in their 20s or 30s do you?

What I'm trying to say here is that, a successful console does not succeed on core gamers alone. Hell, even Sony knows this, which is why they hyped up the PS4's social and media features at launch as well. If Nintendo wants the Switch to succeed, it shouldn't limit itself to one demographic, it needs a diverse range of people playing it. 



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This statistics is useless since younger players get their consoles at the holiday season and women do not play games as much in general. In the end the audienced will not differ from any other Nintendo system.



sethnintendo said:
Flilix said:
I suppose that a lot more kids/teens (like me) will buy it during the holidays.

You mean their parents buying it for them.

I always got money with which I bought something. It's nicer to buy something yourself.



That would describe me.



Basically the buyers of the product are those who have a wad of cash and want to play Zelda regardless of it costing €400 to do so, that's why I got my Switch.



Why not check me out on youtube and help me on the way to 2k subs over at www.youtube.com/stormcloudlive

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Ganoncrotch said:
Basically the buyers of the product are those who have a wad of cash and want to play Zelda regardless of it costing €400 to do so, that's why I got my Switch.

You could have just bought it on the Wii U.



sethnintendo said:
Ganoncrotch said:
Basically the buyers of the product are those who have a wad of cash and want to play Zelda regardless of it costing €400 to do so, that's why I got my Switch.

You could have just bought it on the Wii U.

And put it? In my PS4? Also have a wad of cash and want a fancy new toy, I did not want to buy a device in 2017 which people didn't want to buy in 2012 for pretty much the same cost as it is retailing today, would have been the worst purchase ever.



Why not check me out on youtube and help me on the way to 2k subs over at www.youtube.com/stormcloudlive

Ganoncrotch said:
sethnintendo said:

You could have just bought it on the Wii U.

And put it? In my PS4? Also have a wad of cash and want a fancy new toy, I did not want to buy a device in 2017 which people didn't want to buy in 2012 for pretty much the same cost as it is retailing today, would have been the worst purchase ever.

Oh you never got a Wii U.  Well then you'll love Mario Kart and Smash. 



12 year olds don't have $300 to buy it themselves? Who knew.

Also careful where you are going with this. We absolutely do not need another shovelware platform with monthly Madden and COD releases on it.



Johnw1104 said:
Gotta get them teens. It's been a long time since Nintendo appealed to teenagers, pretty sure they're all on PS4 these days and they generate a ton of money.

That tends to require the kind of games Nintendo doesn't get, though.

When Nintendo appealed to teens, video games were still considered nerdy and kids toys by the mainstream. The teens who played video games were playing Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Mario Kart, Street Fighter II, Legend of The Mystical Ninja, Star Fox, Megaman, etc.

 

Those are the people in their 30s who haven't forgotten what video games used to be before shooters and "mature" hyperviolence took over everything.


The majority teen demographic now is all about machismo and manliness and realistic graphics and only playing space Marine and military shooters and competitive games where all that matters is if you can "pwn" someone.

 

I'd rather Nintendo didn't get involved in that crowd at all.  

 

Can only hope the 30 year old Nintendo base is raising their kids properly and not letting them game on iPads and are exposing them to a diverse array of video games proper before they go to school and  only hear about "the latest Call of Duty" daily.