Nintendo Trying to Appeal to a Larger Range of Gamers

When a game is usually released with “the casual gamer in mind”, it’s usually nothing but a poor excuse for developers to cover up simple and shoddy gameplay with a tag line that might make some more people interested. Don’t get me started on the games created solely for females, either. I think they pull more girls out of gaming than they do in. However, Nintendo is looking to change the definitions of games for the “casual” or female gamers, creating quality games that appeal to their respective subjects in who they are targeted to, while even pulling non-gamers into the fold.

Nintendo has always been one of the leaders in innovation in the gaming industry. Now Nintendo is once again innovating, and targeting new types of gamers. Nintendo has been releasing tons of great software throughout the months that would appeal to both casual gamers and hardcore gamers alike, such as Nintendogs and Animal Crossing. Anyone can pick up and play these games and have a good time, and no gameplay was sacrificed in creating these games. These are perfect examples of casual games, and they will appeal to a larger range of gamers.

However, casual gamers aren’t the only ones Nintendo’s trying to target. When you think of games for females, you usually think of garbage like Barbie Horse Racing. While lots of hardcore female gamers exist, with an image like this, there’s no wonder why there’s not more girls who play games. Simply put most games that target females are trash, plain and simple. However, the newly released Super Princess Peach combines tried and true gameplay with new features, along with a simplicity that will appeal to more females who want to have a good time but aren’t too hardcore into gaming. Also, look at the spelling of the DS LITE. ‘Lite’ is spelled like one of those diet drinks. Tell me they’re not trying to appeal to females with a title like that.

Nintendo is also trying to get non-gamers into the fold. Look at the unique controller for the Revolution and a quote from Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Nintendo

“Not everyone will pick up a controller, but anyone would pick up a remote”.

It’s obvious that Nintendo’s trying to appeal to gamers in brand-new ways similar to when they entered their first game system in the market with the NES in the 1980s. Combining great gameplay along with new ways of playing, simplicity, and plain fun, Nintendo is appealing to a much larger range of gamers than ever before. And I salute them for attempting to get more gamers in into the fold without sacrificing quality gameplay.