Topic: Lapsed Gamer Appeal

[Dryden]

I'm a lapsed gamer - for all of eight months.  It was shortly after the release of Mario Kart that I encountered a lack of interest in video games.  I sold the collection - four generations of consoles, $1500 of games.

Eight months later, the DS hits.  I bite.  And I'm back in Nintendo's Pocket.

As one of Nintendo's "Lapsed Gamers", I understand where they're coming from.  In fact, if I were on the E3 floor, the very first title I'd want to try out would be Wii Sports.  Not Zelda, not Mario, not Red Steel, but the stupid, graphically laboured Tennis game that looked so... joyous.  I'd ascribe the same joy to games I know and love, like Katamari Damacy, or Loco Roco... or to the first Mario platformer or the Ocarina of Time.

This lapsed gamer tag they've put on me fits, and fits well.  And I know that friends of mine, my family, my girlfriend, etc, will all want to play that Tennis game with me when I get it.  People who gave up video games when they got their first girlfriends (don't laugh - Nintendo once characterized their target audience as being males from age 4 to the age of their first kiss.  Only ten years ago or so.) I don't think Nintendo has anything to worry about this generation - I think they will really manage to connect with people like me and sell through this entire generation.

Reggie talked about how the entertainment industry - television, movies, etc - have 100% market penetration.  Everyone watches or has watched TV.  Everyone watches or has watched movies.  And with something as simple as swinging your tennis elbow, I think Nintendo has made a brilliant move towards getting everyone to play video games.  If you can get the lapsed gamers back in, new gamers will follow.

[BigJim]

I agree and I see where they're coming from as well.

I thought it was a pretty good point when Reggie said the other systems were exclusionary. I watched the Microsoft conference and while it was good, they mostly boasted their intense first person shooters. Sony was a little better with the games they showed, but again an all-mature lineup with intense visuals.

The Wii Sports games and Wario Ware look like good chances to attract some different people. And they're not doing it to the exclusion of those mature-type gamers, which is something I think they had a problem with on GameCube. They have some of those games as well. Disaster looks great to me.  

[SixthAngel]

I am also looking forward to the Nintendo sports titles the most.  I am not a lapsed gamer but if wii didn't pan out I wasn't going to buy a new system but just stick with the DS.

[couchmonkey]

I'm not a lapsed gamer, but in the past few years as I got a job and a social life, I found myself having less and less time for games, and now it often takes me too long to figure a game out.  I dread going back to games like Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, and Tales of Symphonia because I know I'll have to learn them all over again.

The only games that look kind of hard to learn on Wii are Zelda and Metroid, and they still look as easy or easier to learn than their GameCube counterparts.

[Smash_Brother]

I know just how you feel. I personally am only being kept in gaming right now by an occasional battleground in WoW.

I also know several people who were once gamers but fell away from the market. I agree that the sports game is likely what will bring some of them back. It looks like hella fun...

[JoeSmashBro]

Similarly, I was a nearly lost gamer. I had lost almost all interest and never played single player games, and had resolved to not buy a next-gen console because it all seemed stupid... Then the wiimote was announced and I'm back. Basically, Nintendo managed to create a sell out of a customer that, for Sony and Microsoft, did not even exist.

[Ian Sane]

I only lost interest in gaming in the last year or so because Nintendo seemingly stopped giving a sh!t.  The Cube was neglected and the DS seemed more focused on getting my grandma to play then providing games that I wanted to play.  This E3 showing so far has gotten me interested again.

But I'm not really going to praise Nintendo for that since they're the ones who drove me away in the first place.  They are merely giving a sh!t again.  That's good but shouldn't be considered exceptional.

[Nick DiMola]

At first when the Xbox 360 was announced so early to start the next generation I was angered. I felt their was still alot of life left this generation and that we could see alot of the best games of the generation, much like the N64. I pretty much told myself that if Nintendo didn't bring something new to the table I was out.

Thankfully the Revolution was announced and Nintendo made me feel like a little kid again. I can't wait to have one. Gaming has become stale to me and the Wii seems like it is breathing a breath of fresh air into the industry. They even have Sony copying them again! ;-)

[Dryden]

Quote
I'm not a lapsed gamer, but in the past few years as I got a job and a social life, I found myself having less and less time for games, and now it often takes me too long to figure a game out. I dread going back to games like Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, and Tales of Symphonia because I know I'll have to learn them all over again.

Yeah - me too.  And that's just the thing... I mean, I've stopped playing a lot of franchises I've experienced before because I'm too busy.  That's why I'm so glad Mario and Zelda can come to the table with something new each time.

Besides, you can't attract lapsed gamers with a blu-ray or HD-DVD format, not until one is declared a clear winner.  Not only that, but lapsed gamers can pick up this 'new' console, Wii.  The Playstation 3 is for people who bought a Playstation 2.  The Xbox 360 is for people who bought an Xbox.  They're not for people who don't play or have stopped playing video games.  If the last game I played was FFVII, lets say, there is nothing attracting me to the PS3 to get the latest installment.  But if the last game I played was Duck Hunt, Streets of Rage, Final Fight, Smash Bros 64... anything, really - then Nintendo has the best chance of winning me over.