Mature Gamers
November 20th 2006 06:37
Today I had a personal experience, one of those moments geeks tend to have. On the bus, home from my last difficult exam (which turned out to be really short and not so difficult), there were two lads. High school, senior high I believe, and they were talking about videogame consoles.
Well here they are, around seventeen years old, so I decided to ‘overhear’ their opinions on the next-gen (so-called) consoles. Well it looks like the Xbox 360 was on top of their most wanted list, with the Playstation 3 being the dream machine both knew was too far away to reach.
So what of their opinion on Nintendo’s entry, the Nintendo Wii? ‘Nah, just a gimmick’, at least I think that’s what they said, I was half asleep so I wasn’t exactly full concentrating on what they were saying.
Just a gimmick? Well you can tell that to the many people in their mid-thirties buying into it, rather than the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. The truth is, the Nintendo Wii is by far targeted at the maturer audience than either the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.
While the Nintendo Wii rocks the media world with people from thirty to three hundred getting into it kids still want the Playstation 3 most, and the Xbox 360 second most. Why? Cool factor, at least I assume it’s that. Is the Wii cool? Hell no, of course not, it’s from Nintendo, since when was the GameCube cool? The Wii is just a gimmick.
Recent statistics released show that most kids aged between five to eighteen (evenly divided) in fact want a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 more than the Nintendo Wii. Sure is saying much...
Sony and Microsoft can claim they have the mature games and are attracting the mature gamers, but in reality it is Nintendo that’s doing it, and is already doing it with the Nintendo DS. Just because a game has lots of blood and gore in it does not make it ‘mature’, an eight year old can play it just as well as a thirty year old could.
But give a thirty year old a game such as ‘Brain Age’ and then you’ll see the men are separated from the boys. Most eight year old kids won’t like it, that’s a garanteed, but what about the so-called ‘mature gamer’? The thirty something who plays all the violent games, will he like it? Probably not, because to put it quite frankly, he/she (lets not be sexist) is not a mature gamer, he’s just some guy looking for violent fun. Nothing wrong with that mind you, but it hardly makes them mature.
You could play on a DS, but that doesn't make you mature
So what of their opinion on Nintendo’s entry, the Nintendo Wii? ‘Nah, just a gimmick’, at least I think that’s what they said, I was half asleep so I wasn’t exactly full concentrating on what they were saying.
Just a gimmick? Well you can tell that to the many people in their mid-thirties buying into it, rather than the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. The truth is, the Nintendo Wii is by far targeted at the maturer audience than either the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.
While the Nintendo Wii rocks the media world with people from thirty to three hundred getting into it kids still want the Playstation 3 most, and the Xbox 360 second most. Why? Cool factor, at least I assume it’s that. Is the Wii cool? Hell no, of course not, it’s from Nintendo, since when was the GameCube cool? The Wii is just a gimmick.
Recent statistics released show that most kids aged between five to eighteen (evenly divided) in fact want a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 more than the Nintendo Wii. Sure is saying much...
Just because you're into violent games does not mean you're mature either
But give a thirty year old a game such as ‘Brain Age’ and then you’ll see the men are separated from the boys. Most eight year old kids won’t like it, that’s a garanteed, but what about the so-called ‘mature gamer’? The thirty something who plays all the violent games, will he like it? Probably not, because to put it quite frankly, he/she (lets not be sexist) is not a mature gamer, he’s just some guy looking for violent fun. Nothing wrong with that mind you, but it hardly makes them mature.
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Comment by katyzzz
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you are doing such a great job, and still a student. Bravo.
katyzzz
Comment by Ahmed
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Comment by Justin
The Wii will always have a "fun" tagline packaged with it, especially for undecided gamers choosing their next console and as such the kiddy-friendly, bright graphics and the sports games packaged with it points to the younger population, not the suits, the older gamers or the disenfranchised.
Comment by Ahmed
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What I'm getting at is, it doesn't make you mature if you're going to be playing violent games, it doesn't prove anything, in fact it can do the opposite.
However throw in a game, a real game targetted at the older ages bracket and see how much that 20-something 'mature' guy likes it. Something real and tangible that challenges that persons thinking power.
Gears of War for instance is like a picture book, run and gun, simple play mechanic, right? hat does that show for the 'maturity' of the player? Nothing. I'm not saying it makes them imaturer or anything like that, but simply that it dosn't show much. Just because they are old enough to play doesn't make them mature.
Nintendo's targetting everyone, not just mature or imature, games like Wii-Sports though are targetted at casual people, but kids would probably like it.
I know a few 'hardcore' gamers in the US and Canada who have been playing wii-sports like crazy, sure they also have Zelda and Red Steel to fall back on, but they openly admit they like Wii-Sports.
Comment by Cibbuano
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I just want something unique with playability!
Comment by Ahmed
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Maybe you're just etting too old for games now Cib? Well good thing you'll be the first to get a kick out of the Wii now...
Comment by Justin
There's mature-related games based on violence which you argue against (which I agree with), but then there's the perception of mature-related games (or consoles) which having connections to maturely percieved games (like those violent ones) which makes them likewise for mature people by association.
In reality, mature people might not want to play "mature"/violent games, but yet they still might not want to play bright sports games either. Though, the association with violence being mature, or at least prohibited to an older market via the ratings system that the average person will correlate violent games with maturity (or non-immaturity) and choose it nevertheless.
Thus even though you have a valid point, it still may not detract from violence being perceived as mature, at least in the games department, from associational links or from opposing perceptions of other consoles like the Wii.
Comment by Ahmed
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What is showing with the DS is that expanding market basis is key to selling more, and to do that you have to get mature people to play, contrary to Sony's claims of providing a game console for mature people, it is simply targetting eighteen to twenty somethings the same things they have come to expect.
I understand what you mean, since the game is flashy and fun and older people like it doesn't make the game inherintly mature, but what about something that just doesn't have a 'Mature' rating slapped on it that is still targetted at people over 30 for instance?
Those games attract people who are of mature character, not of age, hence, Nintnedo really is targetting mature people, as well as kids with their games.
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Enjoy
Comment by Ahmed
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