Like what?  Yoshi's Wooly World?  Or Captain Toad?  Or Mario Kart / Party / Tennis / 3D World?  How are any of those games any more difficult than the "average" M-rated game?

Compare the most recent entries in the Zelda series for example to any M-rated WRPG like Witcher, Elder Scrolls or Fallout, and tell me Zelda is harder.  The hardest part of the last few Zelda entries are the patience-trying companions and Skyward Sword's janky motion controls.  Xenoblade at least offers a proper challenge, but it's no more difficult than the average mature game on other consoles.

The toughest recent Nintendo games are pretty much DK Tropical Freeze, Bayonetta 2 (neither of which were developed by Nintendo themselves), and the controls in Star Fox Zero.  The purple coin and perfect run challenges in the Galaxy games are probably the most difficult levels Nintendo has done in awhile, but the bulk of the games themselves are a breeze by comparison.

That's the opposite of what I wanted

I don't know if that's quantifiable but if you think about it, the 80's were the last time when Nintendo was the end-all, be-all of console gaming. The NES and Gameboy were the unchallenged kings and most kids from that time would be in their 30's now. 

In the early 90's, Genesis took half the market. By the mid to late 90's, Sony stole even more. So, there's probably less 20 somethings that identify as die-hard Nintendo fans than 30 somethings.

But again, there's no data on this. It's just speculation.

Sure, there are easier games like the ones you mentioned, but that doesnt mean they are easier than the usual M rated game. Games like Rhythm Heaven, Punch-Out!!, Pikmin, Fire Emblem, Donkey Kong Country, Kid Icarus, NES Remix etc...all have higher difficulty than many other games.

Im not saying Nintendo makes harder games than everyone, but they most certainly dont make only easy ones.

Targeting the core gaming audience is more like it, but yes

Grand Theft Auto sells massive numbers I guess for a reason, but yeah Mature games don't have to be like the games you mentioned but Nintendo have often stated that they like to make games that anyone can pick up and play.

The Wii was perfect example of the success of this idea, but it also has the draw back of low attach rates meaning many Wii gamers were more interested in the motion controls than the actual games.

So Nintendo need the variety of games, not a unique controller to attract the type of people who will buy their hardware for Nintendo's games.

The little Nintendo has said about the NX and its target market, it would seem they are going to attempt to recapture lost market share in the youth/family market, try to continue growing the female audience and focus on the "blue ocean"
From what they have SAID so far, it would seem they are targeting the more casual side of the market
I have not read any quotes from Nintendo execs that indicate they are going for the older/mature gamer- I think they are making a mistake

I think the OP is bringing about the wrong question, because it's not whether Nintendo games are to simplified, as all of the biggest selling titles on other platforms are fairly easy. I think the OP is confusing people's intentions to buy games and it's more to do with overall theme of the games and not game play content that's selling these titles...

blah blah blah

another closed minded hater just spewing nonsense. the average Nintendo game (at least fully realized adventure or platformer game by Nintendo) is harder than what other companies are putting out

things like Uncharted or Grand Theft Auto are not actually hard per say.

and if you don't already recognize that Nintendo already DOES appeal to a lot of 30 year olds then you're out of touch. who the hell do you think is buying all of those 3DS's and Pokemon games? Probably MORE 20-40 year olds are than kids requesting them.

I do think it would be nice to see some IPs from Nintendo that are a bit more adult related and aimed, maybe some horror and adventure with more serious tones. however this strange behavior that Nintendo needs anything huge in the department of change to succeed is just silly

the Wii U didn't fail because people didn't like the games, it failed because it was named "Wii" and had no similar motion controls to its predecessor, confusing casuals. The marketing was awful. it also failed because it was relatively speaking expensive for a Nintendo system, and it failed because it had a big awkward tablet controller which is not accessible to casual fans and even SOME Nintendo fans (like me).

their last console that was more organized in terms of marketing and realization, i.e. the Wii, was a massive success. similarly their last handheld which was straight forward and accessible was also pretty successful. 60 million 3DS's is nothing to scoff about, especially when its older than the Xone yet outselling it weekly to this day on average

Nintendo will undoubtedly succeed with the NX as long as it is marketed clearly and straight forward (no Wii name obviously), has a fairly accessible and regular controller, and either has some sort of large software library (combined handheld / home console?) OR has relatively good specs

the Nintendo fanbase is quite large and I would argue that virtually all casual gamers are fairly open minded to playing Nintendo games because the vast majority of people alive today from ages 10-50 have played a Mario or Zelda game at some point in their lives

at any rate the naysayers are hilarious. Nintendo made about the worst decisions they could possibly with the Wii U and yet have not really lost much of any money at all. I mean for gods sake they didn't even bother to change the price of the system, thats how unconcerned they were with building momentum at later points. My point being that Nintendo is extremely aware (as they should be) that they have a big fanbase and that casuals WILL buy their system where and when they get it right. No need to panic.

I also can't emphasize enough that simply releasing their next home console with something like a solid home console Pokemon game OR a Mario Galaxy title would gurantee great sales out of the gate.

the thread is humorous though considering that NIntendo's fanbase arguably compromises MOSTLY of 30 year olds who are either buying their systems for themselves OR buying Nintendo's systems for their kids (sort of for themselves)

Pokemon and Mario games are not the most difficult games around yet they sell insanely well. There is a logical hole here if any of you are trying to make the argument that the type of games Nintendo are making is the problem.

the 3DS has solid hardware AND software sales with the same type ofi Nintendo games as are released on the Wii U. in the end its quite simple- the Wii U was a poorly conceptualized piece of hardware and marketed badly. the software was not the bigger factor when compared with the hardware in this case (although obviously it played a part).

in the end NO First Party developer is going to be able to successfully cater to all age groups and demographics on their own. Its similarly why you don't see a lot of successful Microsoft/Sony games aimed at kids (at least at the level that NIntendo achieves in software sales).

the real defining issue is the third party support. that's it. that simple. to say that "Nintendo needs to appeal to older people" on its own is a silly statement because they obviously do have a segment of older gamers and because no console manufacturer on their own is ever going to be capable of targeting all markets based entirely on their own actions

you need to work with the third parties or at the very least make your system quite accessible to them.

what NIntendo simply needs to do is make sure that the NX is easy for third party developers to bring games over to. ports. its that simple.

too many people overcomplicate it. In the end the only thing Nintendo needs to adjust is how their hardware agrees with third party developers. I'm laughing at the concept of some of you possibly thinking that what the big N needs to do is create Grand Theft Auto or serious racing games to magically take control of the market. That's the sort of thing you leave to someone who already is doing it (for the most part)

and I can't reiterate enough that the demographic Nintendo arguably is missing lately are like the teenager demographic. 30 year olds are exactly the people who grew up with Nintendo and are buying the systems for themselves or their kids