IGN graphs Nintendo's image.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/762/762567p1.html

[spoiler]

February 7, 2007 - Is Nintendo a kiddy company? If you're a fan of the Big N and have been paying even the slightest amount of attention to trends in gaming lately, you've heard this question come up countless times. On one hand you've got a company that got its beginnings over two decades ago, brought such famous titles to the world of gaming as Super Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. On the other hand, you've got games like Pokemon, Pikmin, and Wii Sports; titles that show off a much more age-friendly presentation. Sure these are amazing games - Pokemon is one of the most successful franchises in the history of gaming - but it's hard to be a hardcore Nintendo fan and constantly be bombarded with the perception that Nintendo isn't a company aimed at the "mature" or "hardcore" audience.

Obviously the company has been attempting to shake the image over the last few years. The Big N decided to shed the purple console plan, began creating games for players age 6 - 60, attempting to not only break down the barrier of the younger audience, but actually surpass Microsoft and Sony on the high end of the consumer age spectrum as well; and it seems to be working. In the world of handheld the DS Lite paved the way for more mature gaming, with titles like Brain Age and Big Brain leading the pack. On Wii, Nintendo's focus has carried out ten-fold, as families everywhere seem to be squatting in front of the ageless Wii console to create Mii characters, play Wii Sports, or surf for news and weather with intuitive cursor control. In short, Nintendo is broadening its horizons, and it's paying off.

But what about the actual numbers? It's one thing to talk marketing strategies, but it's a whole other achievement to actually see the market expand. With a primarily young line-up (in terms of ESRB rating), it looked as though the Wii's initial sell-through may in fact follow the GameCube's younger trends. What we found after compiling the first two months of sales, however, is a bit on the surprising side.

Listed below is a graph of total unit sales for the Wii during November and December, divided between ESRB ratings.

So what's it all mean? Well obviously Nintendo is hitting the Teen audience just fine so far, obviously with the help of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, followed by Red Steel. This info is no surprise to us, as we knew Zelda was in the lead for sales with Ubisoft's FPS following in a somewhat distant second place. What is interesting to note, however, are the actual numbers of titles available in each category. As far as ESRB ratings go for the current sales charts, there are 10 titles rated E, 12 games rated E 10+, eight T rated games, and only two M titles. T titles are outnumbered by both E and E 10+, and yet we're seeing more support from the Teen category.

Still, it isn't fair to tack up the overall success of T titles on Wii to only Zelda and Red Steel. T ratings are destroying the competition, with five out of the eight games selling into the six-digit range (those titles include Zelda, Red Steel, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Call of Duty 3, and Trauma Center in order from most to least). The surprise, however, is that the E and E 10+ categories, which make up 22 of the 34 Wii games thus far, still don't add up to the amount of sales within those core eight teen-rated games. Throw in the two M titles (Far Cry and Splinter Cell), and the gap is closed only a bit more, still unable to surpass eight core Wii games.

In fact, a look at the average number of units sold per game in each ESRB also turns up similar results, though the numbers are skewed even more in favor of T rated titles.

Once again, the E 10+ category - which has the most saturation on shelves with 12 titles - is cut down in a huge way, while T rated games still push over 200,000 units per game on average. Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - the highest selling E 10+ game - sits at just under 100,000 units, and even with games like Madden 07, Rayman, and Monkey Ball coming in at just a bit higher the E rating category still has a relatively weak amount of sales due to games like Happy Feet and Monster 4X4.

Obviously the Wii's lifecycle is only beginning, and it's anyone's guess how these numbers will evolve over the next months and years, but it's obvious that Wii owners want more than just E - E 10+ titles for their system. It should be noted that highly rated games such as Monkey Ball, Rayman, Zelda, and Madden have sold well regardless of rating, but that sales numbers show higher average sales in T rated games across the board.

[/spoiler]

According to IGN, Nintendo is not 'kiddy'. In fact, Nintendo is even more 'mature' they make games for real adults, not just 30-year old gamers.

Discuss.

Agreed. A kiddy image is just a perception anyway, it is how one person views the maturity of another thing. So kiddy to one person is mature to another. Like model trains.coreygames

Model Trains is actually a perfect example.

Some people think that making your own layout with the trains you collected is kiddy.

When in fact, it is one of the most prominant pasttimes for retired citizens!

this guy dont understand it doesnt matter the rating of the games, its the characters and world, if its colorful, cartoonish like a tv cartoon for children and something similar looking to many infantile books, then IT IS KIDDY!!!!! for gods sake, the first level of mario 64 looks like the land of the TeletubbiesGears360

The first level of Mario 64 was a battlefield! 

The problem with this graph is that there aren't enough GOOD games out for it to be worthwhile. Maybe, if they do that again this time next year, we'll see what the sales of different ESRB rated games really is.Jandurin

A games rating doesn't tell us who is buying it.

I buy teen games all the time and I'm not a teenager.
cakeorrdeath

(sig/icon) foxhound_fox

Their chart is flawed. We all know Nintendo makes great games. Because the teen games sell the most (especially this early) doesn't really prove much. This needs more time to chart properly. Plus, it would be interesting to see this graph compared to a graph for what percentage of total game releases are in each category. If 80 per cent of all games are E, despite the teen games selling best, that would certainly explain the kiddie image wouldn't it?ZIMdoom

Wow, nice changes. When did you decide to do all this?coreygames

[QUOTE="coreygames"]Wow, nice changes. When did you decide to do all this?foxhound_fox

Their chart is flawed. We all know Nintendo makes great games. Because the teen games sell the most (especially this early) doesn't really prove much. This needs more time to chart properly. Plus, it would be interesting to see this graph compared to a graph for what percentage of total game releases are in each category. If 80 per cent of all games are E, despite the teen games selling best, that would certainly explain the kiddie image wouldn't it?ZIMdoom

A games rating doesn't tell us who is buying it.

I buy teen games all the time and I'm not a teenager.
cakeorrdeath

http://wii.ign.com/articles/762/762567p1.html

---

[spoiler]

February 7, 2007 - Is Nintendo a kiddy company? If you're a fan of the Big N and have been paying even the slightest amount of attention to trends in gaming lately, you've heard this question come up countless times. On one hand you've got a company that got its beginnings over two decades ago, brought such famous titles to the world of gaming as Super Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. On the other hand, you've got games like Pokemon, Pikmin, and Wii Sports; titles that show off a much more age-friendly presentation. Sure these are amazing games - Pokemon is one of the most successful franchises in the history of gaming - but it's hard to be a hardcore Nintendo fan and constantly be bombarded with the perception that Nintendo isn't a company aimed at the "mature" or "hardcore" audience.

Obviously the company has been attempting to shake the image over the last few years. The Big N decided to shed the purple console plan, began creating games for players age 6 - 60, attempting to not only break down the barrier of the younger audience, but actually surpass Microsoft and Sony on the high end of the consumer age spectrum as well; and it seems to be working. In the world of handheld the DS Lite paved the way for more mature gaming, with titles like Brain Age and Big Brain leading the pack. On Wii, Nintendo's focus has carried out ten-fold, as families everywhere seem to be squatting in front of the ageless Wii console to create Mii characters, play Wii Sports, or surf for news and weather with intuitive cursor control. In short, Nintendo is broadening its horizons, and it's paying off.

But what about the actual numbers? It's one thing to talk marketing strategies, but it's a whole other achievement to actually see the market expand. With a primarily young line-up (in terms of ESRB rating), it looked as though the Wii's initial sell-through may in fact follow the GameCube's younger trends. What we found after compiling the first two months of sales, however, is a bit on the surprising side.

Listed below is a graph of total unit sales for the Wii during November and December, divided between ESRB ratings.

So what's it all mean? Well obviously Nintendo is hitting the Teen audience just fine so far, obviously with the help of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, followed by Red Steel. This info is no surprise to us, as we knew Zelda was in the lead for sales with Ubisoft's FPS following in a somewhat distant second place. What is interesting to note, however, are the actual numbers of titles available in each category. As far as ESRB ratings go for the current sales charts, there are 10 titles rated E, 12 games rated E 10+, eight T rated games, and only two M titles. T titles are outnumbered by both E and E 10+, and yet we're seeing more support from the Teen category.

Still, it isn't fair to tack up the overall success of T titles on Wii to only Zelda and Red Steel. T ratings are destroying the competition, with five out of the eight games selling into the six-digit range (those titles include Zelda, Red Steel, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Call of Duty 3, and Trauma Center in order from most to least). The surprise, however, is that the E and E 10+ categories, which make up 22 of the 34 Wii games thus far, still don't add up to the amount of sales within those core eight teen-rated games. Throw in the two M titles (Far Cry and Splinter Cell), and the gap is closed only a bit more, still unable to surpass eight core Wii games.

In fact, a look at the average number of units sold per game in each ESRB also turns up similar results, though the numbers are skewed even more in favor of T rated titles.

Once again, the E 10+ category - which has the most saturation on shelves with 12 titles - is cut down in a huge way, while T rated games still push over 200,000 units per game on average. Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - the highest selling E 10+ game - sits at just under 100,000 units, and even with games like Madden 07, Rayman, and Monkey Ball coming in at just a bit higher the E rating category still has a relatively weak amount of sales due to games like Happy Feet and Monster 4X4.

Obviously the Wii's lifecycle is only beginning, and it's anyone's guess how these numbers will evolve over the next months and years, but it's obvious that Wii owners want more than just E - E 10+ titles for their system. It should be noted that highly rated games such as Monkey Ball, Rayman, Zelda, and Madden have sold well regardless of rating, but that sales numbers show higher average sales in T rated games across the board.

[/spoiler]

According to IGN, Nintendo is not 'kiddy'. In fact, Nintendo is even more 'mature' they make games for real adults, not just 30-year old gamers.

Discuss.

Willy105

But a game intended for adults - say a puzzler that is really difficult but doesn't include violence or swearing - will get a low age rating, but it is not intended for kids.

RATING =/= TARGET AUDIENCE

STATISTICS FTW

Only kids are afraid of looking like kids.HeedleGlavin

[QUOTE="HeedleGlavin"]Only kids are afraid of looking like kids.xBALOx

[QUOTE="HeedleGlavin"]Only kids are afraid of looking like kids.xBALOx

You know nothing about kids then.

People that age usually play Grand Theft Auto!

Kids that age haven't been playing Nintendo games simce the 90's. I know. I was a kid in the 90's.