Post by: BigJim on April 25, 2005, 11:11:07 AM
The above information isn't new, but could this be what Nintendo means about expanding the market to new customers??
While PS3 and Xbox 360 pander to the young males already playing their games, is Nintendo's plan to also capture the moms that are also hooked on playing online games? No other console is even trying to reach them, so why not?
Naturally they have to keep making the Marios and Zeldas, but what if Revolution also became a champion of hardcore moms, connecting to some online game service? This is starting to make sense... all their talk about simplicity, wireless, and controller sharing, etc.
Actually, there is a touch of genius there. Moms also control the majority of spending in the household. Get on the good side of the moms, and the kids end up with Revolutions.
Maybe two of them because mom will want her own. Heh.
Post by: Ian Sane on April 25, 2005, 11:25:01 AM
Why would a 40 year old mom buy a Rev when she can be perfectly satisfied playing free games on her computer? That's the very reason why no console yet has tried to reach them.
Post by: RickPowers on April 25, 2005, 11:44:26 AM
Post by: Ms.Pikmin on April 25, 2005, 12:17:15 PM
As far as the women mentioned in the above article that are said to go online when the kids go to bed, I wonder if any of them do have consoles in their homes. It would be interesting to know if they did or did not just to see if they are ignoring the potentional for decent games sitting right in their living rooms.
Post by: Bill Aurion on April 25, 2005, 12:25:35 PM
And I'd like to bring up just why these women are playing these free online games...It's because they are simple and easy to get into and play...There aren't a dozen buttons to memorize the position in and there aren't many game genres that fit a 40+ year old woman's tastes...For example, my mom isn't on any game that involves a lot of violence, but will gladly watch me play Animal Crossing or Mario Kart...She even enjoys playing Mario Kart every once in a while since she only has to press a few buttons to actually play the game, but put her in a game like Zelda and she'll draw a blank and stare at the controller...What Ninty plans to do with the Rev is make the interface more intuitive in a manner that will hopefully attract this and other non-gamer crowds...Making something more intuitive can only make a system more attractive to those not comfortable with the complicated interfaces used in this gen...
Post by: Ms.Pikmin on April 25, 2005, 12:34:37 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
Because we all know 40+ year old soccer moms are the only non-gamers out there...
Bill, wtf, come on now. Are you seriously saying that because it's known this group doesn't largely play that they should be targeted? This sounds like someone making a silly argument just because he'd probably break out in hives if he agreed with both Ian AND Rick in the same thread.
Post by: Bill Aurion on April 25, 2005, 12:36:23 PM
Post by: Ms.Pikmin on April 25, 2005, 12:39:47 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
For example, my mom isn't on any game that involves a lot of violence, but will gladly watch me play Animal Crossing or Mario Kart...
But she isn't playing. Who is going to spend $100-$200 on a console to watch someone else play? And if what they want are simple games, why would they spend the money on a console for 2-3 puzzle games when they're satisfied with the stupid free crap on the internet that they can play while bragging about what medal little Johnny just won in the science fair?
Post by: Bill Aurion on April 25, 2005, 12:40:50 PM
Post by: Ms.Pikmin on April 25, 2005, 12:46:20 PM
Post by: couchmonkey on April 25, 2005, 01:16:00 PM
Well, anyway, I agree that Nintendo is not going to make a lot of money from moms.Having said that, when did Nintendo claim it was targeting that group anyway? It's repeatedly stated the DS is aimed at male gamers in the 18-21 age range (or something like that, the ages might be off a bit). I know the company has also said it wants to build new markets of non-gamers, but I don't think that is going to happen to the exclusion of the hardcore gamers. Looking to first and second-party GameCube releases this year such as Zelda, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, and Geist, there is really very little to appeal to non-gamers in the selection. The DK Bongo games and Mario DDR pretty much sum it up.
I guess I'm just saying, don't panic! Yes, if Nintendo hoped to target just "moms" or other non-gamers, it would be in big trouble. No, that's not what's going to happen.
Post by: trip1eX on April 25, 2005, 01:54:47 PM
It wouldn't take much to offer those games. I'd sure half of them are practicallly public domain.
Post by: Bill Aurion on April 25, 2005, 02:20:14 PM
i'm still waiting for a decent reply in the hardcore moms thread
Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
And I'd like to bring up just why these women are playing these free online games...It's because they are simple and easy to get into and play...There aren't a dozen buttons to memorize the position in and there aren't many game genres that fit a 40+ year old woman's tastes...For example, my mom isn't on any game that involves a lot of violence, but will gladly watch me play Animal Crossing or Mario Kart...She even enjoys playing Mario Kart every once in a while since she only has to press a few buttons to actually play the game, but put her in a game like Zelda and she'll draw a blank and stare at the controller...What Ninty plans to do with the Rev is make the interface more intuitive in a manner that will hopefully attract this and other non-gamer crowds...Making something more intuitive can only make a system more attractive to those not comfortable with the complicated interfaces used in this gen...
Done...
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 25, 2005, 02:29:05 PM
I feel like I've read that somewhere before
Post by: Ian Sane on April 25, 2005, 02:36:00 PM
I'll agree that that is a reason they play these games but I think the fact that they're free plays a big role as well. And if the internet is already offering this kind of simple, "easy to get into" games why would anyone switch to Nintendo where they would have to pay at least $20 for these types of games? With the "regular" gaming market Nintendo only has to compete with Sony and MS. With the "non-gamer" market they have to compete with the internet, cell phones, free windows games like Solitaire and Minesweeper, and anything that people can play simple little games on. Nintendo can't compete with that type of competition. It's much more severe than the current console market and they have to compete with something that they cannot possibly price match. No one will pay for Nintendo's version of Bejeweled because they can get it for free and play it on hardware they already purchased for another reason.
Plus this demographic tends to only play a few games and not much else. Any mom I've met that plays games plays like two games tops and that's it. My friend's mom plays Kirby's Pinball Land on the GBC. You won't even TRY any other game. That's all she needs. One game can last her forever. Even if Nintendo managed to sell consoles to this group they couldn't count on these women to buy several games a year like current gamers do.
Post by: Spak-Spang on April 25, 2005, 02:49:57 PM
You know this is why the portable market will become more and more successful, and why Nintendo's DS is a brilliant system.
People want simple, fun games to play. Business men, moms, internet surfers like free online games because they are free, accessable anywhere, and easy to play.
You say nobody would pay for a console system that is partially true, but if you can tell them they can play their games literally anywhere at any time then they will play. But again it has to be simple and creative to play. AKA: The DS.
Now, once Nintendo has the audience that bought the DS, they maybe able to capture that new audience with Revolution and their favorite games.
The trick isn't that this new audience won't pay for the games. They just haven't felt the need to buy the system. This new market must be nurtured. It will take time, but it will develop.
Post by: KnowsNothing on April 25, 2005, 02:51:05 PM
Gross. Please don't ever say that again.
Post by: BigJim on April 25, 2005, 02:56:17 PM
It's true that the games are free, but who's to say someone wouldn't crank out a disc of 20-30 of these games on a disc, on the cheap? Or supply the games online for free like they do on PCs, or even bundle the disc? The storage and bandwidth requirements are so minimal that many games can be re-downloaded each time and held in RAM or a memory card or something.
Basically I wasn't thinking Nintendo would change the dynamic of the mom games, just do what they do on a PC, but on an online game system that will be cheaper than a PC. I know it doesn't sound "cool" but what else could they mean by expanding the market? Who else do they reach out to that they don't already try to tap?
Well it was a thought, but I'm not ruling it out yet.
KnowsNothing, join the MILF club buddy.
j/k.
Post by: KDR_11k on April 26, 2005, 09:27:08 AM
Post by: RickPowers on April 26, 2005, 10:08:26 AM
Once upon a time, there was a world-class cell phone manufacturer named Nokia. Nokia found that their cell phone game "Snake" was the single most played game of all time. Nokia then came to a realization ... people love to play games on their cell phone, and no one makes better cell phones than Nokia! Nokia decided that they should make a cell phone that played more sophisticated games than Snake, and then they could single-handedly take over the portable game market. They launched this new cell phone, spent a lot of money courting developers, but in the end, it was a disaster. The End.
What is the moral of my tragic tale? Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc. For those not familiar with Latin, it essentially means that one thing leads to another, but it's rarely (if ever) true. The existence of a thing does not mean that something else must have happened. Why do (did) people love to play Snake? Because it was on a device they already owned and carried around with them constantly. It was a diversion, it was simple, it was short, and it was FREE. Does this mean that people enjoyed playing Snake? Doubtful. It was just there. Would these same people buy a special cell phone just to play games? The obvious answer is no, but Nokia's culture and groupthink blinded them to this eventuality.
So now we're at the exact same situation. Non-gamers love playing simple web games. Does this mean that they'll play simple games on a handheld machine that they have to buy? Of course not, but this is the conclusion that Nintendo (and others, incidentally) have come to. A high adoption rate for simple web games at $20 each does not mean that same demographic will purchase a $150 machine to play similar games. What will get them to adopt the machine? The answer is startlingly simple .... NON-GAMING FEATURES.
Huh? That's right, people will perceive additional value in the $150 machine if it can do something other than play games. This is why I keep saying that Nintendo releasing a PDA type application for the DS is so critical ... because all of a sudden, the device becomes more than just a game console, it becomes something that they NEED to carry around with them all the time, and once that happens, they'll be more receptive to buying game software for it.
Quite frankly, if a company like Nokia or Motorola teamed up with Nintendo to develop a game console that was a decent multi-function device as well as a good game system, a device where each company could leverage their strengths (instead of one trying to branch out into something that is not their core competency), I think they'd have a major hit on their hands. That is, if the PSP doesn't beat them to it.
Post by: Nile Boogie on April 26, 2005, 10:27:20 AM
Post by: ShyGuy on April 26, 2005, 03:55:30 PM
For little extra cost to Nintendo, everyone, including Mom, can play Dr. Mario anytime they want, which equals more time with the controller in hand, which equals mindshare!
Or something like that, I donno.
Post by: Don'tHate742 on April 26, 2005, 11:09:08 PM
Anyone? Anyone at all?
*sigh*
Post by: ThePerm on April 26, 2005, 11:38:13 PM
Post by: Hostile Creation on April 27, 2005, 05:11:27 AM
Post by: Robotor on April 27, 2005, 06:13:47 PM
Post by: Savior on April 27, 2005, 09:07:14 PM
Quote
Quite frankly, if a company like Nokia or Motorola teamed up with Nintendo to develop a game console that was a decent multi-function device as well as a good game system, a device where each company could leverage their strengths (instead of one trying to branch out into something that is not their core competency), I think they'd have a major hit on their hands.
the iBoy half iPod half Gameboy
Anyways i actually disagree... i think the DS can atract moms and dads. Hell ive seen it personally, My dad is the ultimate Anti Gamer, and once i showed him Nintendogs he actually wants to play it.
The Right Software can attract the biggest Nongamer.
Post by: couchmonkey on April 28, 2005, 07:51:00 AM
Post by: RickPowers on April 28, 2005, 10:20:59 AM
Post by: wandering on April 28, 2005, 10:39:44 AM
Post by: Rancid Planet on April 28, 2005, 10:48:17 AM
And yes the DS needs not only a GREAT PDA application but numerous other cute little planning devices as well. Or maybe just the greatest PDA program ever.
Anyway, I start too many sentences with conjunctions...
Post by: Hostile Creation on April 28, 2005, 08:34:10 PM
Post by: couchmonkey on April 29, 2005, 06:48:37 AM
