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[Aquamarine]

Let's assume that "We haven't been targeting children enough" is exactly what Iwata meant, and his intent is to more heavily invest into the children's market.

I feel that the Wii U is a console that's already somewhat catered to children and families. It's deliberately underpowered to focus on lower power consumption, compactness, etc. It doesn't prioritize graphics or a hardcore audience that appreciates current-gen graphics.

The actual audience on the Wii U buys the colorful, kid-oriented games on Wii U in more volume than the gritty, hardcore-oriented games. Non-horrible-selling games on the platform include Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Disney Infinity, etc.

But direct ports like Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Call of Duty: Ghosts don't seem to fare nearly as well on the platform.

With that said, I do believe there is more that Iwata can do to appease the children's market. I've had experience with 3-5 year olds attempting Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U, for example, and crying at how challenging the experience was for them.

Nintendo Land and Super Mario 3D World (at the beginning) are more accessible, but there still can be a level of difficulty to Nintendo's Wii U games that can make them a bit off-putting for very young children who are playing alone / with other very young children. The Wonderful 101, for example, can be quite difficult.

I think, if Nintendo wants to prioritize young children more, they would do well to design more titles that have that Pokemon aspect to them...very simple and immediately enticing to young children, but have a hidden depth that you can unlock over-time. The $300 + $60 premium pricing is also a big issue.

For example, Just Dance, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Disney Infinity / Skylanders, etc. are all very simple, immediately appealing games to very young children.

If they don't want to do that (and there are real reasons for that), Nintendo could always approach the kid model through diversifying their revenue streams and greater licensing their IP.

Pokemon is well-managed in that regard, but Mario is somewhat under-utilized.

 

[Catchpenny]

I'll be in the extreme minority, but I agree that Nintendo hasn't really been targeting kids with the Wii U, at least not successfully. The problems:

Aimless marketing and hardware design. As has been discussed to death on these forums, Wii U doesn't seem to have a target audience in mind. I don't think there's much about the console that screams kid-friendly, other than maybe the controller.

Media. Other than Pokemon, which isn't on Wii U, are there any cartoon series starring Nintendo IP right now? How much of a merchandise push has there been of late?

Updated and/or new IPs made with kid appeal. Mario, Zelda, and Kirby aren't exactly out of style, but they were designed for a generation enthralled by Debbie Gibson and Cabbage Patch Kids. Nintendo makes more new IPs than people give them credit for, but they haven't been targeted towards children very often. Oh, and get a real Pokemon game on a console. It's beyond overdue.

 

[Morfeo]

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.

I think this in particular is a very important point that Nintendo fails to realize. Their cutesy, gameplay-driven games probably only targets old-school Nintendo fans at this point, and those have work, obligations and kids and not much time to play games. Their audience is probably the oldest there is, and they sell way less hw and sw because of it. The smart thing to do would probably be to pump out M-rated shooters like everybody else, even though that would be terrible for us

 

[shinra-bansho]

Japanese kids play a lot of mobile-social stuff. Western kids play Minecraft and Angry Birds and mobile stuff. These are kids growing up recognizing Mario more from merchandise than from his games, or more as "just another gaming character" than as the king of games. I think Nintendo has absolutely lost some of their younger market. Moreover, they learn to purchase games very young, and because the costs are so low they learn that they should be able to expect their parents to buy them the game when they want. The same kid asking for a $30 game would get rebuffed. This reinforces a culture where the kids grow up thinking of gaming differently.

Many people will respond with "LOL BUT NINTENDO MAKES TONS OF KIDS STUFF???? TARGET ME NOT THEM FOOLS", but I think this is a Big Deal from Nintendo's perspective.

Pretty much this.

They need accessible systems and accessible software pricing. They need to realise there's a generation of children growing up gaming on smart devices now, for which Angry Birds and Candy Crush vie against Mario for mindshare; where a game is incredibly cheap or even free. 3 year olds are on iPads.

It's why whatever they do or don't do with regard to mobile is crucial.

 

[rpmurphy]

If he is talking globally, yes, Nintendo has lost significant mindshare among the young demographic for their products. In general, more and more parents are buying iPad minis and similar devices for their children instead of dedicated portable gaming devices, and part of that I think is Nintendo's diminished success in marketing efforts and ability to secure releases of popular games here. But the market changes are a foregone tale and Nintendo needs to face the reality.

It used to be that the popular handheld games would later get releases on the mobile platform (which continues to eat away at the longevity of the handheld platform), but now we're now also seeing the exact opposite. This is eventually going to affect Nintendo's own software as well. If Nintendo's visibility in the gaming space continues to diminish because people rely more and more on Google Play and Apple App Store featured games, there's no good chance of recovery from this. Nintendo does really need to put its foot into these mobile app stores and gain visibility. It's a very tricky road, but unless by a miracle, Nintendo makes another DS or Wii phenomenon, I don't think they have much choice to gain a foothold longterm.

 

[StreetsAhead]

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.

Indeed. There may be more, but the only NoA employees I know of with personal accounts linked to Nintendo in any way are Dan Adleman, Bill Trinen and possibly Aubrey Drake.

 

[Platy]

Question: Do you agree with Iwata that Nintendo could do more for the children's market?
-If yes, share an idea of what they could do.
-If no, explain why and/or what you think is a significantly bigger problem instead (and explain why that is a bigger problem).

Yes.
Pay money to Rockstar to have an exclusive GTA.
It can be an spinoff in the ways of "Liberty City Stories".

To atract more children you have to show that yu are not kiddy

 

[metalslimer]

The Wii U will never be a real draw for kids with in its current form. The lack of usability means that parents won't really consider dropping that much money when they could get their kids a Kindle Fire and some games for half the price.

 

[jedimike]

If Iwata thinks they haven't done a good job at targeting children and gamers think that that's what Nintendo has excelled at than in essence, Nintendo has been targeting nobody.

Which explains poor sales. Older gamers want an edgy Zelda and children want Skylanders. Nintendo has been aiming for the middle where very few consumers exist.

 

[jroc74]

This is wild.

But...maybe he means...todays children. I know many kids that play FPS...and barely play the Wii, Wii U.

If he means kids in general....isnt that what Nintendo does best? I mean as a Nintendo fan over the years...even tho they are becoming a distant choice for me...I got my kids a Wii and Wii U.

I wound up playing it more than them...and the only time they do play is when I play it...all other times they gravitate towards the PS3 and 360. I cant imaging whats gonna happen when I get a PS4 (and maybe an XBO)

 

[royalan]

Question: Do you agree with Iwata that Nintendo could do more for the children's market?
-If yes, share an idea of what they could do.
-If no, explain why and/or what you think is a significantly bigger problem instead (and explain why that is a bigger problem).

Yes, I think Nintendo could be doing a hell of lot more to appeal to the children's market.

I think the first thing they need to do is accept the fact that the children's market doesn't look the same as it did in the 80s.

Kid gamers today aren't easily won over by bright, technicolor games with unoffensive mascots. Kid gamers don't want to be directly pandered to like that. Kids, as is the case with most technology these days, want the things the adults/big kids want. They don't want the kids phones targeted at children - they want the iPhone/Galaxy. They don't want a never-ending stream of brightly colored platformers - they want the latest and greatest franchises that all the adults around them are playing (they want COD, Assassin's Creed and Uncharted). They want the games they see in the trailers for movies they're technically too young to even be watching.

Nintendo can do a lot more to target children effectively, and the necessary start is by diversifying their library and, funnily enough, going more adult. Nintendo needs to realize that shoving their legacy mascots into every game they press to disk is not going to appeal to what the kids of today want.

 

[Saganator]

Great. Now we'll never get an F-Zero or Metroid =/

 

[Nirolak]

As a side note if we get more context later or find out it was the opposite translation I'll reboot the thread with full details.

 

[Snakeyes]

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.

Yup. He still doesn't get it.

 

[Haint]

Purple Wii U with handle rebranded the Kid U incoming.

 

[-COOLIO-]

does the quote sound vaguely pedophillic to anyone or is that just my own sick mind?

Spoiler

jk

 

[Morfeo]

Yes.
Pay money to Rockstar to have an exclusive GTA.
It can be an spinoff in the ways of "Liberty City Stories".

To atract more children you have to show that yu are not kiddy

Pretty much.

 

[Justzisguyukno]

I think this in particular is a very important point that Nintendo fails to realize. Their cutesy, gameplay-driven games probably only targets old-school Nintendo fans at this point, and those have work, obligations and kids and not much time to play games. Their audience is probably the oldest there is, and they sell way less hw and sw because of it. The smart thing to do would probably be to pump out M-rated shooters like everybody else, even though that would be terrible for us

Pretty much my current situation, and while I would hate to see Nintendo "pumping out M rated shooters like everyone else", I think its obvious from all of the sales threads that its just what a majority of people really want now.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

All they've ever done is target children and young adults. What the hell is he talking about?

.

 

[tipoo]

Hah, I guess both of the initial translations I saw were wrong. The first was "targetting children is not enough", the second was the "we haven't been targeting children enough" but in the wrong context like the OP says.

If it was the second one without the "our approach to", I would have said that seems their opposite problem, they don't market to adults enough.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

Lol - seriously, more kid-oriented than their actual games? Are they going to develop games for kids 1-3 years old?

 

[Jarmel]

Nintendo needs to drop the Wii U is what I'm getting from this. It's been a disaster on all fronts and isn't targeting any market remotely well. Afterwards they have some soul searching to do and either go all in on the handheld market, create a gimped console more for kids, or a souped up console that can play with the Xbone and PS4.

 

[thepotatoman]

I think "Our approach to targeting children has been inadequate" and "Further price cuts are unlikely to spark fresh demand for the console" are both at odds with each other.

Don't you need cheaper prices to entice parents purchasing these things for their children? I mean iPads are popular with children, but adults can justify the price because they actually can use those things as well.

 

[Zombie James]

All they've ever done is target children and young adults. What the hell is he talking about?

Exactly my thoughts.

 

[Grizzo]

I don't get the impression that kids these days would want to play Nintendo games either way, outside of Pokemon and maybe Animal Crossing. I mean, maybe a 6 years old could learn to play and love Mario Kart or Super Mario 3D World, but I feel like 12 years old kids rather play CoD or Fifa on other platforms.

I know South Park is not exactly an exact depiction of what's happening in real life, but in the last season, there were three episodes where all 10 years old kids from South Park wanted to get an X-Box One or PS4. None of them mentionned the Wii U, not even once. And yeah, I get that since most of SH episodes are now supposed to be topical, they had to talk about the release of the latest systems, but I thought it was quite an accurate portrayal of "kids" these days, even for South Park.

 

[SolarPowered]

I think this in particular is a very important point that Nintendo fails to realize. Their cutesy, gameplay-driven games probably only targets old-school Nintendo fans at this point, and those have work, obligations and kids and not much time to play games. Their audience is probably the oldest there is, and they sell way less hw and sw because of it. The smart thing to do would probably be to pump out M-rated shooters like everybody else, even though that would be terrible for us

People don't want M-rated shooters for Wii U and M-rated shooters won't make gaffers or people like them (lord knows how many "core" 360/PS3 gamers never set foot on the net) want one.

 

[wrowa]

He's right, but I'm not sure if he takes the correct consequences from it.

Nintendo has failed to react to the current trends in the children's market, instead they are just releasing new entries in their traditional series that play to the most part the same as their predecessors. That's obviously not a completely bad move -- they are still selling millions upon millions of Mario games on the 3DS, after all --, but at the same time they aren't doing enough to keep up with what's hot today.

Both the 3DS and the Wii U have been priced (initially in the case of the 3DS) in a way that they are out of reach for children. Parents don't pay $250 for a handheld, or $300 to $350 for a home console. Nintendo neglected that.

However, this doesn't mean that
a) Nintendo should make their games even easier and even more hand-holdy
b) Nintendo should neglect the "non-children market".

I'd say ignoring the wishes of older gamers is also one of the more important reasons why the Wii U failed to take off.

 

[qizah]

This could just be Iwata referring to how smartphones/tablets have taken away from their kid market in the console space as well. It's easier to hand off your kid your iPad/iPhone to play a few free games than to buy them a Wii U with Mario on it. I don't really get people here freaking out and saying things like "they're going to be even MORE kid friendly now!?", that's not what he's saying.

 

[Morfeo]

Pretty much my current situation, and while I would hate to see Nintendo "pumping out M rated shooters like everyone else", I think its obvious from all of the sales threads that its just what a majority of people really want now.

Yep mine as well, and its precisely because of that they probably should change if they want to stay relevant.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

does the quote sound vaguely pedophillic to anyone or is that just my own sick mind?

Spoiler

jk

Jesus christ you sick man... :/

 

[Spaghetti]

all well and good to be targeting kids but... they don't have any fucking money

 

[WillyFive]

Iwata is right. Nintendo is losing children fast.

Children nowadays increasingly don't think about Mario or Zelda anymore, but Minecraft and Call of Duty instead. Those will be their Mario and Zelda.

Great. Now we'll never get an F-Zero or Metroid =/

Nintendo made those games for a gaming market whose audience was significantly younger than it is today. When Nintendo targets adults, they think of stuff like Wii Sports and Wii Fit.

 

[PhoenixDawn]

If you want to do this Iwata, I have one simple thing you need to do. Get Minecraft on Wii U asap, it should have already been on there ages ago. It would be great on 3DS too, but I don't think 3DS could handle it although it'd be good to be proven wrong.

 

[Onesimos]

Nintendo should try to appeal as many people that it can do: children and adults. One piece of reform is to better marketing of its products to targeted demographics.

 

[thehypocrite]

I agree with him. The 3DS, a handheld which selling feature cannot be enjoyed by kids under 6 (I think), high cost of games on the portable side, a horrible account and online store with games that cost too much, the high price of the 3DS/3DSXL, etc.

It's true Iwata, you lost the plot.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I feel like I'm harping a bit too hard, but too many people trying to interpret it another way will derail the conversation. For those of you who have some understanding of Japanese, just take a look at how the quote is being discussed on Japanese discussion boards instead of checking it with your other non-native Japanese friends.

Here's a good one: http://jin115.com/archives/51999684.html

Jin's little ASCII art commentary:

＞子どもたちへのアプローチ

子どもたちへのアプローチするのはいいんだけどさ
そのゲームを買うためのお金を持ってるのは大人だよね
あ、そっか大人はWii　fitやるからいいのか
じゃ、よゆーで立て直せますね！　よかった！

Some comments (and rough translations for those who don't read any Japanese):

あれ？
コアゲーマー狙いは？

What happened to focusing on core gamers?

ガキばっかり見ててもロクな利益でないだろ

Focusing only on little kids won't amount to much profit.

ガキをだませば儲けられる・・・マジでそう思ってるんじゃね

He really thinks he can make money by tricking kids, doesn't he?

え？子供たちしかみてなかった気がするけどｗ

Huh? I got the impression they were already focusing ONLY on kids.

もっと子供から搾取します！

Time to exploit the kid audience some more!

今でも十分ガキ向けだろうがボケかますなよ
こりゃゼルダもメトロイドも零も絶望的だな

What a dumbass. They're already focused enough on kids.
There's no hope for Zelda, Metroid or Zero (Fatal Frame) now.

子供へアプローチしたいならタブコンを捨てろ

If you want to focus on kids, get rid of that tablet.

こういう子供にターゲットを絞る、みたいなパイを小さくしちゃうような発言って株主はどう思うんだろうか？

I wonder what their shareholders think when he says they're going to tighten their focus on an even smaller part of the pie like the kid demographic.

子供特化はニシくん切り捨てるってことだけど
まぁ元々声だけでかくて購買力はないから別にいいのかなｗ

Focusing on kids means they're going to have to drop the Nintendo fanboy audience.
Not like it matter. Those guys have always just been vocal despite not buying much anyway.

あれ？Uのときのコアゲーマーガーはどうしたの？

Wasn't the Wii U supposed to be about core gamers?

コア取りに行く発言とは
一体なんだったんだ
ちん○頭

What was all that talk about going to get the core gamer?
Dickhead.

原点に戻ってトランプ作ろう

They should go back to basics and make playing cards!

その子供も日本では減少傾向にあるんですけどね

Problem is that there are fewer and fewer kids in Japan every day...

見た目は大人！頭脳は子供！なら沢山いるんだがなｗ

There are a lot of people out there that look like adults but have the brains of children...

これから更に子供向けに・・・
もう任天堂ハードには何も期待できない

They're going to become even more focused on kids?
My expectations for Nintendo hardware can't go any lower.

でも既にポケモン出しちゃってるしね・・・

But they already released Pokémon

子供に売れないベヨネッタ２とかこの先どうなるのやら

Wonder what's going to become of Bayonetta 2. Kids won't buy that.

子供向けを理由に手抜きのゴミゲー乱発してるからこんなことになったんだろうが

The reason they're in this position in the first place is because they shit out a bunch of garbage games.

岩田！　ミニゲームだ！！

Iwata! More mini games!

要約すると、買わない豚になど微塵も期待していない、出来ない
と言ってるんだ

What he's really saying is that they aren't (and can't) count on Nintendo fanboys anymore.

そもそも任天堂はSCEやMSとは別世界なのに、
同じ世界の住人のように振る舞う人たちがいた（WiiU初期における任天堂自身も）。
その誤りが終わるのであれば、それはもう素晴らしいことだよ。

Nintendo is in a totally different world than Sony and Microsoft.
When the Wii U was launch, there were people who pretended that wasn't true (even inside of Nintendo).
As long as that mistake is ending, I couldn't be happier.

子供へアプローチすんのにモンハン強奪する意味がわからんのだが

If they're trying to target kids, I have no idea why they tried so hard to steal Monster Hunter.

Just some examples. Seriously, no one is interpreting it the opposite way, nor should they, because that would be odd.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Haha, so the other way of taking it, as in "Iwata is right there that they need some adult games" was wrong.

He really thinks Nintendo doesn't target children enough. He's gone absolutely mad. Couple hours til the motherlode.

 

[Urko]

If that quote means what I think he's trying to say then he is truly delusional.

 

[Morfeo]

People don't want M-rated shooters for Wii U and M-rated shooters won't make gaffers or people like them (lord knows how many "core" 360/PS3 gamers never set foot on the net) want one.

Really? To me it seems these are the games that sell, and all anecdotal evidence I have is that children and young adults prefer to play shooters and other M-rated stuff like GTA and not Nintendo-games (who basically only gets played by old gamers that grew up with the nes/snes).

 

[jroc74]

Yes.
Pay money to Rockstar to have an exclusive GTA.
It can be an spinoff in the ways of "Liberty City Stories".

To atract more children you have to show that yu are not kiddy

This might seem backwards but you are right.

Even something like playing a female character in games....its off putting to lil boys I've seen play my consoles....but yet they dont mind playing a female in Tomb Raider.

But let it be a cutesy looking game like Eternal Sonata.....they make the eeww face...or they hit me with "you're a girl, you're a girl"

 

[Nirolak]

Haha, so the other way of taking it, as in "Iwata is right there that they need some adult games" was wrong.

He really thinks Nintendo doesn't target children enough. He's gone absolutely mad. Couple hours til the motherlode.

I don't think he's wrong actually. Young age tablet use is actually a potential problem to their core business as it exists today.

Sure, it's not the answer to gaining huge new audiences, but they do probably want to retain children strongly as it makes up a notably healthy part of their audience, especially with handhelds in the West.

 

[Father_Brain]

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.

Nintendo can close the performance gap easily enough, but what about every other respect in which they'd need to become competitive with Sony/MS?

They're far behind in online infrastructure. As far as Western first-party support, third-party relations, and core perception of their brand go, they might as well be starting from scratch.

Given that status quo, is it really possible for Nintendo to produce a console in a few years that will make PS4/XB1 owners say: "Wow! I'm ditching this for the Nintendo Corebox!"?

 

[_Ryo_]

Welp, if the Japanese source has further context and he/she is saying that it is translated correctly as they're not doing enough regarding children. Wow.

Nintenfail.

 

[Canis lupus]

Sure Iwata did target children, but he didn't realize many children have smartphones now. The mobile revolution isn't something he could've prevented from happening, Nintendo lost customers not to Sony or MS, it was an external factor. I'm not sure if Iwata thinks making more kid games will make them buy 3DS systems because "sw sells hw"" is an outdated concept, Nintendo should learn that by now after Mario 3D World.

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

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 directing 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?".

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Haha, so the other way of taking it, as in "Iwata is right there that they need some adult games" was wrong.

He really thinks Nintendo doesn't target children enough. He's gone absolutely mad. Couple hours til the motherlode.

Question: do you think that Nintendo is doing a good enough job being the premiere video game brand among children.

 

[TreasureHunterG]

If he really meant "we did not do enough to attract children"/"We haven’t been targeting children enough.", it's another evidence that no change will happen and how delusional/out of touch Iwata and his management really is.

 

[Jarmel]

Honestly I don't even know how they fix this unless they spin off a studio and dedicate them solely for iOS/Android stuff.

 

[EMT0]

There are far too many ways to take that quote to get anything out of it of value. Considering Iwata has been mum about what he plans to do, I'd say that this is just another throwaway admission of messing up that will ultimately not reflect on what he does in the end, whatever that may be.

 

[pieatorium]

My nieces and nephews get pretty much all of their gaming info from either their friends or youtube personalities and lets plays. They all have 3ds and ps3 but what they wanted for christmas was an xbox for minecraft.

I really think all three companies (and third parties too) need to start running their own lets play series on youtube and facebook etc. Anyone who thinks these things hurt sales are insanely out of touch. Its some of the best and cheapest marketing going around right now.

 

[Abriael]

If that quote means what I think he's trying to say then he is truly delusional.

I'm sorry, but he's not.

He simply recognized the problem that smartphones have been eating away Nintendo's following between the younger generation, especially in Japan. And Nintendo simply can't afford ignoring that problem.

I see a lot of people making the link "we should market more to children" with "we'll market less to adults."

That link is fallacious. In marketing terms you can definitely market more to one segment without reducing of a dime your marketing support to other segments.