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[Morfeo]

This is seriously getting ridiculous. You have it right.

I'm a J<->E translator by trade. I've done tons of translations here on GAF. I don't know what to tell you, but anyone who is trying to interpret it otherwise has an insufficient knowledge of Japanese to be doing any sort of translation work.

Good then thats settled and I was wrong.

Anyways, I think he is in a way right here, especially if this is about older children. Stuff like Cod and Fifa seems to be much more popular in that group than Mario and especially the other legacy franchises like Zelda who have no relevancy among todays youngs. So aside from the obvious stuff like getting Minecraft etc, it probably would be a good idea to produce some shooters and "mature" stuff for the younger groups. Of course, that would not go in well with the established Nintendo-fans, but how many are those anyways.

 

[jayu26]

This is seriously getting ridiculous. You have it right.

I'm a J<->E translator by trade. I've done tons of translations here on GAF. I don't know what to tell you, but anyone who is trying to interpret it otherwise has an insufficient knowledge of Japanese to be doing any sort of translation work.

Thank you.

Well then...

 

[Madao]

regarding the new thread title:

it's gonna be a tough battle for nintendo since children is the most smartphone-overtaken segment of the market. from personal experience, my sister has 2 young kids and both have only played on tablets and smartphones in their life so far. no handhelds for them (my sister even hates normal gaming consoles because she has never liked gaming. the smartphones are getting past this hurdle in such a stealthy way)

 

[spyroflame0487]

Why does he have so many phones? It's happening.

Obviously I'm kidding but on a more serious note, how are they targeting kids in Japan? Over here, all of the commercials have featured kids playing the game, with some of their online videos and stuff featuring people from Disney Channel or Nickelodeon.

I think directly going after a children's market in particular isn't just enough. A good idea is to target not only them, but everyone. That's what worked in a sense for Wii, and it's why things like Pixar and Disney movies are still excessively popular today. I mean, sheesh look how big Frozen exploded. Those aren't kids making the gif sets on tumblr and hilarious remakes of "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?".

I've seen ads like Fire Emblem and LTTP on [adult swim] before, but there should be more of those featuring games that the 18+ crowd would enjoy. I don't think there's a lack of advertising, just that its not reaching them.
Some of the ads are cool, but a majority of them are bland. There's nothing to really get them in your mind and remember them. The LLTP was a bit because it had the Indiana Jones feel. Compare that to stuff like the "Its Such a Perfect Day" PS4 commercial. That song is stuck in my head all the time and I don't even want a PS4 right now!

tl;dr- they need more commericals, they need entertaining commericals, and they need ones that are memorable and/or "cool". I want THIS back. At least in certain countries.

 

[Gamerloid]

I'll say No.

They should focus on the core market, because they are the loyal ones in this industry. Not only that, but the games for the hardcore gamers also appeal to kid. Xbox and Playststion don't even try when compared to Nintendo in the topic of trying to win over the children, yet they're the ones that get the kid's attention and asked for as holiday gifts. Xbox and Playstation are the "cool" consoles these days.

Going for the core audience these days is like going for everyone. Focus on the core, we all know the IPs Nintendo has that will appeal to children. Dish out some F-Zero, Metroid, 1080, Wave Race, and some new hardcore IPs.

 

[googleplex]

In a weird way I'd agree with Iwata. Nintendo's been putting out games that we as adults think children want. More Marios,ect. But Kids seem to want what their finding on Mobile devices. Very simple touch based games.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Thank you.

Had it right in the meaning that "we did not do enough to attract children" and not "our strategy of appealing to children was not enough."

 

[maquiladora]

This is seriously getting ridiculous. You have it right.

I'm a J<->E translator by trade. I've done tons of translations here on GAF. I don't know what to tell you, but anyone who is trying to interpret it otherwise has an insufficient knowledge of Japanese to be doing any sort of translation work.

So he is clearly saying "not enough" then?

Edit : I see your post above. Thanks.

 

[Nirolak]

It's possible to read it either way, but I'm not a native speaker so I'm not sure which reading is more natural.

Also, if you write it like this, it also can mean both readings at once: "Our approach to children has not been sufficient."

I had it checked by two professional translators.

 

[StreetsAhead]

From Shouta, who has lived in Japan:

5:38 PM <Shouta> "Our approach to targeting children has been inadequate" on first glance

Yes, I would agree with this translation (living in Japan/working as a translator).

 

[A Serious Man]

And thus the great Nintendo/LeapFrog war began...

 

[BrokenEchelon]

I can't believe he thinks this.

I mean, sure, they could target kids even more by following the money and offering cheap, bite-sized experiences to rival phone games on the 3DS, but if there's any market demographic they have been neglecting, it sure as shit isn't kids.

 

[Yagharek]

Whichever way the statement was phrased, they need to be doing more at all ends. They are struggling to get attention of the action game audience like cod/fifa/souls/witcher etc and they aren't capturing the minecraft end of the spectrum either, which is incredibly popular with kids.

 

[SporeCrawler]

Well no shit.

One of the main things nintendo was known for was cheap hardware prices.. Wiiu and 3ds though.. 350$ and 250$ respectively.. Thats not child friendly at all. They need to bring the prices down so that parents would just buy them such consoles without thinking much about price. Also cheap games.. Ni tendp has a library of cheap games with vc but they dont utilize it.

 

[DrLazy]

Games like Bayonetta and the Wonderful 101 are great, but at this point the hardcore gamer isn't going to bite. I think they'd be better off trying to make more unique asymmetric "party" type games that play to the Wii U's strengths. For example, I think a Skylander's type Pokemon spin-off game has huge potential. So would a true Mario Party game where one player is essentially the "party master" with the gamepad. I think targeting Sonic was a smart move, too bad Sega makes shitty games.

 

[UnluckyKate]

I posted this like 2 hours ago in the rapids water of post on the other thread haha

 

[Skiesofwonder]

Wasn't there rumors about some educational tablet coming out of NOA? Could we see something on that today?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

And any of you people who claim to be Japanese speakers and are interpreting it in your own way and don't want to take my word for it, just search for the line on Google and read some discussions on 2ch and other Japanese forums. If you think you're interpreting the line more accurately than native Japanese people, well I don't know what to tell you.

 

[zroid]

The spectre of mobile looms heavily, unfortunately

 

[Takao]

Assuming this comment is in relation to Wii U, I find this comment a bit concerning. All of Nintendo of America's advertising has been specifically aimed towards children, and family. If Iwata feels like they've not succeeded in doing that I suspect they'll double down, and go even further. The reason I say it's concerning is because titles like Bayonetta 2, and X don't gel well with kids and their parents. Is Nintendo already planning on sending them to die?

 

[King_Richard]

Do you agree with Iwata that Nintendo could do more for the children's market?

No. Nintendo's marketing has been mainly to the younger crowd, watch the channels or shows targeted towards kids 8-16 years old and you'll see a bunch of Nintendo ads. So marketing-wise, I say they've gone all out and it still has not happened yet.

I think the significantly bigger problem is fatigue over all the Mario games (such as how similar NSMB Wii is to the Wii U version), which I think is Nintendo's main focus on now (2-3 Mario games a year now, right?), and the lack of advertising to the 20+ age bracket. I would also say the lack of first-party games such as Zelda, Animal Crossing, Metroid, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, etc.

The only way I see Nintendo get out of this mess is if they go all out on first party titles and create a new console without the tablet, which many devs don't really use anyway.

 

[Josh7289]

I had it checked by two professional translators.

Yeah, I'm definitely not going to try and tell them how to do their jobs. Regardless of the translation, Iwata should elaborate on that single statement.

 

[vareon]

So the approach is inadequate, right?

If so then yes, I agree. No matter what type of content they are targeting, children are getting their entertainment from somewhere else.

 

[Nirolak]

Had it right in the meaning that "we did not do enough to attract children" and not "our strategy of appealing to children was not enough."

Yes, I would agree with this translation (living in Japan/working as a translator).

Thanks again.

 

[DashReindeer]

From Shouta, who has lived in Japan:

5:38 PM <Shouta> "Our approach to targeting children has been inadequate" on first glance

Japoanese is so damn ambiguous, I suppose it could mean that, but my takeaway from it is : "Our child-targeting approach has been inadequate"

The phrase: "&#23376;&#12393;&#12418;&#12383;&#12385;&#12408;&#12398;&#12450;&#12503;&#12525;&#12540;&#12481;&#12364;&#21313;&#20998;&#12391;&#12399;&#12394;&#12363;&#12387;&#12383;" I believe can be broken down thusly:

"&#23376;&#12393;&#12418;&#12383;&#12385;&#12408;&#12398;&#12450;&#12503;&#12525;&#12540;&#12481;" = The child-targeted approach
"&#12364;&#21313;&#20998;&#12391;&#12399;&#12394;&#12363;&#12387;&#12383;" = has not been sufficient/enough

I have also lived in Japan, but it was about ten years ago, so forgive me if I am off on this.

 

[Abriael]

"We haven't been targeting kids enough"

and

"targeting kids is not enough"

are both correct grammatically. But while the first sentence stands on its own, while the second implies a "only" that isn't there, and isn't even realistic.

While Nintendo has been targeting kids, they haven't been targeting ONLY kids. As a matter of fact, they have been targeting adults more this generation compared to the past one, even more so in Japan.

On the other hand they've lost a lot of ground on the children segment to the smartphone market, which is why they feel that their marketing with children hasn't been enough. Iwata is recognizing that problem and meaning to solve it.

It's worth mentoning that in marketing terms targeting a segment more/more effectively doesn't implies targeting other segment (IE: core gamers/adult) less.

For the sake of full disclosure, I'm the one that wrote the article on DualShockers, and checked the translation with three other Japanese speakers.

 

[Jarmel]

Had it right in the meaning that "we did not do enough to attract children" and not "our strategy of appealing to children was not enough."

Nintendo is boned then. The child market as stated earlier is highly volatile right now with a large segment shifting to Apple products. Why should a kid ask their parents for a DS instead an iPhone or iPad? There are plenty of games on the iStore that scratch that itch that kids have, along with extra functionality.

 

[Father_Brain]

The reason I say it's concerning is because titles like Bayonetta 2, and X don't gel well with kids and their parents. Is Nintendo already planning on sending them to die?

They're on Wii U. There is no scenario in which those titles aren't sent out to die.

 

[trinest]

I would disagree, targeting children is what caused this. Their whole family approach is ultamently kids and grandparents. They aren't making family games which appeal to all, they are making family games with high level forced learning at times. I think they are slowly getting better at this, they shouldn't regress. Unless they are realising todays kid plays Minecraft, Call of Duty, GTA and Fifa on their Xbox then maybe that means less family friendly content as they start to make "gritty cool hip hardcore" stuff.

 

[Stratostar]

I'll let you gentlemen dicuss this like the civil people you are. I'm off.

 

[googleplex]

Assuming this comment is in relation to Wii U, I find this comment a bit concerning. All of Nintendo of America's advertising has been specifically aimed towards children, and family. If Iwata feels like they've not succeeded in doing that I suspect they'll double down, and go even further. The reason I say it's concerning is because titles like Bayonetta 2, and X don't gel well with kids and their parents. Is Nintendo already planning on sending them to die?

I think the main problem is that Nintendo is just out of touch with what kids want and what Family really look like and what games they like playing.

 

[Mlatador]

I think what he meant is:" we haven't payed enough attention to what the lattest big trends among children are".

How to solve: get Minecraft for Wii U (they're on it)

Then... errr... what are the big trends among children these days? Call of Duty is already on the system, so... I don't know.

 

[sphinx]

when will Iwata stop "announcing" all sorts of mistakes they did with the WiiU and begin talking about how they'll try to solve their problems? we know about the issues since months ago.

Iwata, what is YOUR FUCKING RESCUE PLAN, for god's sake?

stop whining and lamenting, take some action, have some balls and pride.

 

[maltrain]

-If no, explain why and/or what you think is a significantly bigger problem instead (and explain why that is a bigger problem).

Children aren't a solid fanbase in a console market.
* Children don't have money for buying their own games.
* Children play more and more adult games like FPS or GTA, that's the reality.
* Children who want to play little funny games now have 3DS, tablets or smartphones.

That's why most of the WiiU buyers aren't children... is the "fan base" who has always played Nintendo games... and they are less and less on every generation.

That's why WiiU is a BIG failure and will never success. And that's why Nintendo won't ever release a new big console... at less they take the risk of making a console as powerful as the competition and with real adult exclusives games too.

 

[SolarPowered]

Well it's not just "losing kids since SNES". Even on N64 and GameCube, Nintendo had an above-their-weight-class share of things like licensed game sales. Licensed game sales have collapsed. The work-for-hire license industry is almost over now. Many licenses only get mobile games now. That's a worry.

True

It wasn't just Rare games and Capcom exclusives that kept those systems afloat.

 

[Heyt]

From Shouta, who has lived in Japan:

5:38 PM <Shouta> "Our approach to targeting children has been inadequate" on first glance

Thanks for the extra effort.
It seems Nintendo thinks they have to change their approach to young audiences instead of moving towards other audience or expanding. I think Nintendo's strategy towards children/family has made them sucessful until recently, but I think now the profile of someone interested in buying a dedicated games machine is not a child. but a young adult that has been gaiming for a while. This target demographic is able to substain two rival platforms. Children depend on their parents and they have plenty of options to consider before Nintendo. But enthusiastic adults may be willing to spend on Nintendo's products even if they own another device if Nintendo offers them what they want.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

"We haven't been using enough children as targets." would be a hilarious mistranslation.

i guess maybe a way to interpret his statement is that they have been target children enough but they haven't been doing it as effectively as they could?

i agree that kids don't look at shiny, slick, minimalist gadgets as appealing, and instead appeal more to the way the DSlite and such looked. it looked *made* for them. i think the exception with them going nuts for iphones and tablets though is really the content and not the device itself.

so in some ways i feel like maybe nintendo should tweak their content to suck those kids back in over to their hardware, but attacking both fronts would be best. although i've always been squarely in the "stop appealing to kids so much, nintendo" camp for ages. this isn't about my needs though, this is about nintendo weathering the storm they've found themselves in and fixing their business.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Wasn't there rumors about some educational tablet coming out of NOA? Could we see something on that today?

Fake. The person who said it on Twitter was confirmed not to even be an employee of NoA, iirc.

 

[Sandfox]

I think it would be good if Nintnedo could get more software that's popular with today's children.

I can't believe he thinks this.

I mean, sure, they could target kids even more by following the money and offering cheap, bite-sized experiences to rival phone games on the 3DS, but if there's any market demographic they have been neglecting, it sure as shit isn't kids.

Just because the quote says that they haven't been targeting children enough it doesn't mean that they're going to ignore other demographics or anything.

Nintendo is boned then. The child market as stated earlier is highly volatile right now with a large segment shifting to Apple products. Why should a kid ask their parents for a DS instead an iPhone or iPad? There are plenty of games on the iStore that scratch that itch that kids have, along with extra functionality.

Nintendo is going to have to try and find a way to get those kids interested in their stuff as well rather than trying to replace tablets.

 

[Darknight]

Today's children love Angry Birds and Skylanders and Minecraft way more than they do Nintendo, which is a problem for Nintendo's IP. A lot of Nintendo's games, while being child friendly and popular with children who try them, are edging more towards being aimed at young adults who played Nintendo games as children, not children themselves.

So yeah, Nintendo probably should target children more, regardless if that means that people won't necessarily get to play Dark Souls Zelda or Mature Retro Game or whatever they think will solve Nintendo's problems.

Thats a very good point. Nintendo has dismissed 3rd party support though so those types of experiences end up on the competitor's consoles only.

They should also tone down the Nintendo games that cater only to their fanbase. Thats one of my own personal issues. They wont do new IPs which is something I wish they would do more often. And if they come up with new IP, make it for all audiences not just a cutesy game. Have more serious games, take some risks. Try new things to their systems.

 

[Leopold]

Dark and gritty Zelda reboot confirmed?

 

[InsaneZero]

when will Iwata stop "announcing" all sorts of mistakes they did with the WiiU and begin talking about how they'll try to solve their problems? we know about the issues since months ago.

Iwata, what is YOUR FUCKING RESCUE PLAN, for god's sake?

stop whining and lamenting, take some action, have some balls and pride.

Pretty sure he's going to say exactly that in about an hour or so.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Fake. The person who said it on Twitter was confirmed not to even be an employee of NoA, iirc.

you can tell because he claimed to be a current employee, identified himself by name, outed the project he worked on, and then claimed that when he was found out he was "transferred to another division". The whole thing was obvious and total nonsense.

 

[SuperSah]

Iwata needs to go.

 

[SolarPowered]

Assuming this comment is in relation to Wii U, I find this comment a bit concerning. All of Nintendo of America's advertising has been specifically aimed towards children, and family. If Iwata feels like they've not succeeded in doing that I suspect they'll double down, and go even further. The reason I say it's concerning is because titles like Bayonetta 2, and X don't gel well with kids and their parents. Is Nintendo already planning on sending them to die?

This was obvious by the treatment of W101. There is no viable market for games like those on Wii U and it was Nintendo's doing.

 

[Skiesofwonder]

Fake. The person who said it on Twitter was confirmed not to even be an employee of NoA, iirc.

Oh ok thanks, I remember seeing a thread about it but never really paid attention to how it went down.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Nintendo is boned then. The child market as stated earlier is highly volatile right now with a large segment shifting to Apple products. Why should a kid ask their parents for a DS instead an iPhone or iPad? There are plenty of games on the iStore that scratch that itch that kids have, along with extra functionality.

That's the question Nintendo needs to answer.

Nintendo's success has been predicated on that fact that kids like their games. Those kids grew up and are now the biggest purchasers of their franchises, but the fact remains that Nintendo's best work is in games with a younger target. They don't do hardcore military space marines.

Their only options at this point are to somehow recapture today's kids and keep the cycle going or completely change what kind of games they develop.

 

[maquiladora]

Did Iwata just drop the mic after saying that sentence and fall though a trap door?

If only we knew what he said after those words...

 

[JimboJones]

Well they certainly need to do better than having one exclusive Lego game and a lame exclusive Sonic game.

 

[rjinaz]

"We haven't been targeting kids enough"

and

"targeting kids is not enough"

are both correct grammatically. But while the first sentence stands on its own, while the second implies a "only" that isn't there, and isn't even realistic.

While Nintendo has been targeting kids, they haven't been targeting ONLY kids. As a matter of fact, they have been targeting adults more this generation compared to the past one, even more so in Japan.

On the other hand they've lost a lot of ground on the children segment to the smartphone market, which is why they feel that their marketing with children hasn't been enough. Iwata is recognizing that problem and meaning to solve it.

It's worth mentoning that in marketing terms targeting a segment more/more effectively doesn't implies targeting other segment (IE: core gamers/adult) less.

For the sake of full disclosure, I'm the one that wrote the article on DualShockers, and checked the translation with three other Japanese speakers.

Yeah I think you had it right in your article as far as I can tell talking to people I know that speak the language. Unfortunately though, because I just do not see how them doing more to target children is possible in the mobile age and a good thing for me as an adult gaming Nintendo fan.