I was working at Gamestop/EB the week before Christmas. This 60 year old man came in and asked me what games were good. I asked him who he was buying for he said himself and his wife. Apparently they hadn't been buying any games for the last few months because they'd been content with Wiisports/Play and a fishing game he had. He bought LoZ:TP and couldn't get very far in it because they had difficulty using the interface. Long story short, they had gotten bored with the games they had and needed some new ones. I suggested a few including Mario Party (which he bought) and as a joke Resident Evil: UC. His ears perked at the mention of Zombies but had reservations about the controls because of his expierience with TP. I further explained that the game moved your character for you and all you had to do was shoot the zombies as they came on screen. To my suprise the man bought it. I had convinced a 60 year old man to buy a game about zombies for himself.

The point: Every one has claimed as of late that the older generation who has bought the Wii did so just for one or two games and that they have no interest in buying any others. When they get bored they won't buy any more. I call shinannigans on that line of thought. Anyone who knows the older generation knows that they tend to spend their money wisely and will not drop 250 dollars on a toy unless they continue to support it.  Furthermore this story is not an isolated incident. Many older folks came in during the holidays and purchased multiple games (usually 2 or  at a time). Some even asked about our trade in program and a few of them brought old games back the next day. (Including the 60 year old Zombie nut who brought back LoZ:TP. He picked up the Zappper with Links Crossbow Training with his credits in case anyone was curious).

All this just goes to show how incredibly brilliant Nintendo was at expanding the market to larger demographics. As this generation progresses you can be sure that the older generation will continue to spend their retirement checks on games perhaps even developing a play schedule similar to the 14-18 year olds who still live with their parents and go to school. That's a far stretch I know, but the do get up at 6am and don't necessarily have to go anywhere at all during the day. They are retired and have signifigantly larger wallets than the teenage gamer.

Great anecdotal stuff! JayLu (the prognosticator formerly known as John Lucas) will eat this up!

Thanks for posting this. It will be interesting to see how the retirement crowd develop as VG consumers, but whatever they spend is extra sales Nintendo is getting that Sony and MS can't touch.

Why didn't you recommend Brain Age Academy? I looks like this generation will be well supported by both Nintendo and 3rd party as both are coming out with simpler games that anyone can pick up.

@Gamerace

I did in passing, I haven't played that game so I only knew what I read about it. I couldn't give him as detailed information as I like to so BSed my way through that conversation. I suggested MoHH2 but he said jokingly and I quote: "I was in a real war and have no intention of pretending like I'm back in that hell hole." I laughed a little at that and thats when I jokingly suggested UC.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/14/ngame114.xml

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_page_id=1965&in_article_id=481658

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,260990,00.html

 

GO GRANNY 

fkusumot said: Great anecdotal stuff! JayLu (the prognosticator formerly known as John Lucas) will eat this up!

Yes he does, fkusumot. Yes, he does.

Nintendo put a common sense approach to the market this generation.

E for Everybody.

The boys' clubhouse is dead. Welcome to fresh air & sunshine.

Nintendo will remove the stigma from videogames being a child/manchild/womanchild's hobby with the WiiDS combo. And the pointless words called hardcore & casual will further lose the tenuous meaning the're barely hanging onto now.

I love stories like this. I want videogaming to be seen in the same light as traditional gaming like poker, dominoes, checkers, chess. Entertainment, diversion, and fun for just that purpose. Only with a technological edge. 

John Lucas 

Splendid post, its good to see that you convinced the elders to get some hardcore games. But I understand he bought it, but how are we suppose to know that he played it just like how he played Twilight Princess.

I guess we'll know if he trades it in. In all honesty the game isn't that hard unless you play it on hard. I can whip through it in a 4 hours or so on easy. I bet he plays it two or three times.

Wow, that was actually a really good read.. I may read it again

Thanks for posting it rasone, its great to read anecdotal stories like this

Yes, most everyone likes something new after a while. Hard to imagine, isn't it? LOL

The games you'll want to recommend to that crowd are going to be a bit different perhaps than for others that you usually recommend. I imagine the difficulties he encountered in LoZ:TP were NOT the interface per se, it was just too hard for him and his wife to do some of the actions that the game required, so it became frustrating. Button smashing on the X360 or PS3 would have the same frustration as well.

Bowling, for example, in Wii Sports, has none of the 'do it now and right or you die' game play about it, which are the games you will need to promote. Decent ones, but ones that most would say are too easy. Having an easy mode (novice, etc) is a definite plus, as in the Call of Duty games. Endless Ocean sounds like another game that might be liked by the older crowd.

Other games that allow you to compete without dying could be Excite Truck. Or to try and better your score, Link's Crossbow Training.