Nintendo appeals to retired folk
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Oct 30th 2006 at 10:55AM }
Venturing outside the typical boundaries of a platform launch campaign, Nintendo found itself brushing shoulders with the American Academy of Audiology, Lighthouse International and the Southwest Lawn Bowls Association at Life@50+, an annual AARP-sponsored gathering for elder Americans.AARP's director of national events Bruce Sanders explained that technology is becoming a marked attraction at Life@50+ events, with 18 tech companies on display this year; up from just 10 in 2004. Still, Nintendo looked to struggle when promoting Wii and Brain Training to a demographic that was raised on card and parlor games. That's okay with us. We aren't prepared for the day when grandma owns our asses in Smash Bros.
See also:
Japanese doctors recommend Brain Training for seniors
Brain Training used to defeat dementia
Nintendo doing the elderly (and you) a solid
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JodyAnthony @ Oct 30th 2006 11:14AM
OMG NINTENDO IS TEH KIDDEE
strider_mt2k @ Oct 30th 2006 11:07AM
For what it's worth I'm 40 and just got a DS.
Nintendo is finding ways to make gaming much much more engaging and fun in different ways for EVERYONE.
If this results in some older folks getting on board and being similarly engaged, that's awesome!
(And I won't feel as out of place either.)
Todd @ Oct 30th 2006 11:12AM
That is badass. Seeing people above 40 getting into playing video games, due to the interactivity of the games, is a nice feat. Do games like Mario and Sonic really appeal to this more mature audience, or is a nice type of game being cooked up which fits their tastes?
Lunker @ Oct 30th 2006 11:20AM
lol oldtendo
mykie @ Oct 30th 2006 11:21AM
How could this be possible? There aren't even that many M-Rated games on Nintendo platforms!
I mean, adults only like to play M-Rated games, everything else is for little kids, right?
Darthmario @ Oct 30th 2006 11:21AM
I swung by their booth at the AARP event, my sister was involved as one of the exhibitors and noticed that Nintendo was there. They had a Wii set up and multiple DS showing Brain Training. They weren't so out of place as there was quite a bit of brain excercise software on display and quite a bit of interest in that kind of software from attendees. I wish I could have been there earlier in the day to see the reaction to Wii, I was there about 20 minutes from the end of day and the place was becoming empty. As it was, there were a decent amount of people checking out Brain Training.
steve @ Oct 30th 2006 11:47AM
There's nothing that will make gaming cooler than my grandparents also being gamers. Am I alone in not caring if old people play games?
While everyone seems to parrot the "Wii will bring more people into gaming" meme (good job there, Nintendo; everyone bought it), it's a marketing move. It may benefit Nintendo to create more Brain Age-type games, but if that ends up being the sweet profit center, where will the games for me come from?
Or to put it more simply, when has expanding an entertainment market improved the quality of the entertainment products? Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't think of any.
Rob @ Oct 30th 2006 11:45AM
#2 - I'm above 40 and the first generation of gamers. I was raised on Pong and the Atari VCS (what it was called before the 2600!). I play lots of stuff - Lumines, Uno, Halo 2, Counterstrike, PGR3, Links, and on and on. (Yes - I own an XBOX...)
Look out everyone - we were raised on this stuff and some of us are NOT discovering it for the first time.
I'll be on XBOX live tonight as soon as I watch my TIVO'd "Murder She Wrote" and get those darn kids off my lawn.
iceatcs @ Oct 30th 2006 11:51AM
OMG,
Beware the child Predators!!!
mykie @ Oct 30th 2006 12:16PM
@8 - steve
Doing anything AT ALL that will sell systems could be deemed a "marketing move."
Why don't we just reduce any sort of innovation anyone does as a "marketing move."
Chilly Hollow @ Oct 30th 2006 12:35PM
The old folks (well, those of us approaching 60) are already here and gaming. So the next time a sniper gets you online, it may well be your grandpa snickering in the background.
john @ Oct 30th 2006 2:26PM
All I can say is at least Nintendo is expanding the market while Sony and Micrsoft keep making games for a smaller age group. Leave to Nintendo to keep video games alive. If it wasn't for them we wouldn't have Sony or Xbox. Nintendo made video games cool all over again. They are doing the same thing once again. So the next time you want to bash Nintendo think if it wasn't for them I may not be holding this unchanged tacked on motion contoller for my ps3. Halo 3 rocks and I may not have been able to play it if it wasn't for Nintendo.
Jellodyne @ Oct 30th 2006 5:47PM
So biased, not to mention inappropriate... Oh, wait, I thought the headline said retarded.
some person @ Oct 30th 2006 9:24PM
i'm ready to be beat by my gradma, if i let her (NOT! you don't try to lose when playing a game)
Rose Baker @ Nov 16th 2006 4:25AM
It's a good thing Nintendo has decided to cater to a different market. I think old folks have a right to enjoy too. And Nintendo games is one good way to keep them entertained. This way they can play their usual parlor games even by themselves. And this is also a good way to keep grandparents up to par with their grandkids. What a way to bridge generation gaps :)