| Soundwave said:
Switch's demographics show it's very clearly an adult centric platform and that's OK. There's a thing that happens to kids ... it's called growing up. What's happening now is kids who were 9-10 fifteen years ago have grown up, but they still love Nintendo and have their own disposable money and are driving Nintendo's business today. I would bet even for Pokemon Lets Go ... it ain't little kiddies buying the majority of those games or even smartphone users. It's the core Nintendo fanbase -- which is large today, much larger than 10-15 years ago. Every time I see someone buying an Amiibo it's not some kid, it's some 29 year old dude with a full blown beard, lol. This is the same thing that happened with the comic book business, the majority of comic book fans/audience for those movies are adults, not children anymore. You have multiple successive generations of kids who are now grown up and they out number whatever number of kids. The casuals who can't play a damn game any more complex than Super Mario Bros. are gone to smartphones, they're not coming back, Nintendo knows that. They're not going to waste heavy resources on that crowd anymore, you can't compete with Apple/Android, unless your game is giving free blow jobs there's no value proposition at $50 that works for a non-gamer when you put your game up against ... Candy Crush for free on their phone. This is a new era for Nintendo where demographics are simply different for them and there will be new software trends. The Wii/DS era is long in the past, step into the present, it's plenty interesting. 12 fucking million copies of Smash in one month is something pretty damn new, not even the Wii could dream of doing that. |
You do realize that casual gamers can be adults too? I think your basing your claims on early demographic charts for the Switch at launch, and those aren't accurate currently. Early adopters are always the hardcore. Even the Wii and DS had a mostly male audience in the first year of their lives. There's already data to suggest that many people who were introduced to Pokemon with Pokemon Go! on their phone, bought a Switch for Pokemon Let's Go! Nintendo themselves even said that.
"The casuals who can't play a damn game any more complex than Super Mario Bros. are gone to smartphones, they're not coming back, Nintendo knows that. They're not going to waste heavy resources on that crowd anymore, you can't compete with Apple/Android, unless your game is giving free blow jobs there's no value proposition at $50 that works for a non-gamer when you put your game up against ... Candy Crush for free on their phone."
This right here is complete BS. I already explained. Super Mario Party, Pokemon Let's Go!, 1-2 Switch, Nintendo Labo, Even Mario Kart and Smash all appeal to casual gamers and have sold very well. The Switch appeals to everyone from casual smartphone gamers, to hardcore console players. There's nothing to suggest Nintendo is going more niche or focusing on hardcore mature games for mature gamers. They've actually said the exact opposite.
"The current market environment for smart device applications is showing signs of maturity, and the competition is becoming even fiercer. Also, it’s becoming difficult to create different game experiences on different devices. And, with the pervasiveness of smart devices, the gaming population has expanded rapidly beyond the reach of Nintendo's dedicated video game products. We will continue to propose products that are not limited by the definition of “game,” and that bring entertainment to various consumers regardless of region, gender, or age. However, the term of “gaming population expansion” itself does not fit in the current situation. In this market environment, we believe that the strengths Nintendo has cultivated historically will become even more important. It is the strength of being in a position to create the value unique to Nintendo, through developing both hardware and software as integrated products, and is the strength of being able to create the entertainment which can be enjoyed by anyone including families and friends, both children and adults, with a lot of fun when they get together."
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/190201_2e.pdf
If anything, they're doubling down on appealing to casuals. They're just not focused on trying to appeal to non-gamers because those people don't really exist anymore
