Recently I've read in some threads here on VGChartz and abroad people bringing up this whole Nintendo targets children but with their under 6 years old warning they will loose that market. I didn't reply in the threads but I have put some great deal of thought into it.

Will Nintendo really loose much market share because they advize pre-6 year olds not to play? How much of Nintendo's market demographic is under the age of six?

This got me thinking even more. What kind of parent buys their 3-5 year old a handheld games console? I have seen kids with DS's but none under 8 ever since launch. I myself didn't get my first GameBoy till I was around 8, none of my friends owned GameBoys until a similiar age.

When a parent buys a 250$ handheld console would they trust a five year old to take care of it? If so what are they thinking giving such an expensive device to a five year old.I mean only really wealthy parents can afford to throw money away like that. I highly doubt many intelligent parents would buy their 3-5 yr olds a 3DS.

As a five year old did you want to play handheld games? At the age of three I beat Super Mario bros on my NES. I also played Atari 2600's games to shit. But I didn't really have much interest in playing GameBoy infact I didn't even know GameBoy existed untill around grade 3. 

Which games would a kid play on 3DS? With the 3DS launch line-up are their many games that would appeal to five year olds or younger?  I know THQ has a few Nickelodeon games planned but honestly are those aimed at infants. Out of the launch line-up which games are aimed at children that young?

Is Nintendo aiming at 3-5 year olds? Many people call Nintendo kiddy and such. Many of these doom sayers refer to Nintendo's target of children. But of the title's we know of how many are targetted at Children. Infact is Nintendo releasing anything that actually is even interesting for a 3-5 year old? Is Paper Mario going to be played by a kid who can't or barely can read? Is PilotWings a title that a five year old will want to play? With OoT and StarFox these titles are aimed at the last generation which grew up on 64 not the newest generation.

So in the end am I missing something. Is Nintendo actually targetting kids? Will they loose that demographic. If they will loose that demographic how much of the market do you honestly think is under 6? Will this be a problem or am I right and Nintendo is really not going to loose any marketshare to this?

Did you own a GameBoy, GameGear before you turned six? Were you planning on buying your 3 year old a 3DS? Also their is no evidence that 3D actually does damage children's eyes so far it hasn't been studied and its just a theory will some parent's ignore that warning and buy their 3-5 year old a 250$ handheld?

PedoBear is disappointed......

There are people who give their children who are under the age of 6 handheld systems, but most of these systems would be "Hand-Me-Downs" or late generation systems (like buying a Gameboy Advance in 2006 or a Nintendo DS in 2012). For a current generation handheld, 6 would be about the youngest you would see ...

Actually, from working at Gamestop, I find lots of parents buying their children under the age of 6 a video game system.  I assume for most reasons it is to "give them something to do/out of their hair", but also it is a mainstream form of entertainment and they are going to ask for it.  Whether it is responsible or not for a parent to buy their child under that age a gaming system, is up to the parents themselves and no one else.  My personal opinion is that gaming won't harm them as long as parents make a point that it can't become a center of their life.  Need to say this is just A form of fun they can have while also pushing other kinds of games including ones that involve physicality outside.  

Now for those that do buy it for that age group, 90% is that of a DS.  And if they are looking to get them something else, I usually tell them not to.  DS is easily the lowest maintenance system on the market.  And by using cartridges, there is no worry of scratching discs.  A great things about the DS was also how easy it is to use and operate compared to the other systems.  It also has a large game library that is catered to less reading-intensive games and even a large variety of educational games.  So DS was and still is a viable system for that market.  

Now will 3DS turn away that market?  It's really doubtful as there isn't a stigma by parents against 3D movies.  I mean most of the movies made in 3D are catered towards kids and kids that age see those movies, in spite of the "usual" warnings.  So I doubt the 3D aspect will actually change that in parents.  And I still think the system will be viable for that market, as parents are going to stick with the brand they know is good for their children and Nintendo has been that brand.  But once again it will be up to the parents to make sure they are playing in moderation, taking breaks, and seeking other activities.  

As for the pricing, this may have some affect as parents don't want to buy young kids something too expensive out of fear of them breaking it.  But it is doubtful young children will be of the early adopters.  When this age group starts buying it, it will probably have gone down in price.  

I thought this was another Gilgamesh penis thread.

I had a Gameboy Color at 5. (I'm young, shut it!) Later I got an Advance SP. Then I stopped getting handhelds. Had a N64, PS2, and PS3. Might get a PSP2, but the 3DS doesn't really interest me.