Nintendo Called Out for Ignoring Kids

The company that built its fortune on games for kids is now being chided for not being kiddy enough.

Of the three major video game companies, Nintendo has always been the one most associated with kids - sometimes to its detriment. But one analyst says that Nintendo is losing its focus, which nowadays lingers on the DS and attracting a broader spectrum of people - gamers or not.

"Nintendo is focusing its energy on DS, but it has not done that well with it so far in the United States, in part because of a delay in some game launches," BNP Paribas analyst Takeshi Tajima told Reuters news service.

"The company has also been criticised for ignoring the kids' market, focusing instead on capturing women and older adults."

Tajima's comments come as Nintendo sees its profits fall, mostly because of the slowdown of the GameCube as it prepares to be taken out of service. The DS is still on the up, but Nintendo has made a conscious effort to make ever more broadly appealing games, such as Nintendogs and the Brain Training series.

The GameCube, which will get one last push with the release of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess early next year, has weighed Nintendo down in this generation, and the company's share of the video game pie has been on a steady decline for the last decade.

Nintendo is hoping to fix this with its new console, codenamed Revolution. Revolution is an extension of the philosophy behind the DS, which through its dual screens and stylus controls brought everyone, veterans and neophytes, down to the same level.

Revolution is expected to be released in Japan around the summer with North America and Europe following not long after.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games