Nintendo: Games Still Not Socially Acceptable Enough

[Tom Goldman]

Nintendo: Games Still Not Socially Acceptable Enough

Nintendo says there is still work to be done if videogames are to be as socially acceptable as other forms of entertainment.

In Nintendo's last DS [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2010/annual1003e.pdf] have been explosively successful with demographics of people that weren't previously gamers, Nintendo doesn't want to stop there.

Iwata writes: "When we look at how videogames have been accepted in society, what we call 'social acceptance of videogames,' it seems that the public perception towards videogames has significantly improved over the past years. However, it is our belief that there are still plenty of things for us to tackle to improve the social acceptance of videogames to the level of other general forms of entertainment such as TV, movies, music and sports."

In a Nintendo survey, the company found that more than 50% of people still have a neutral or negative opinion of videogames. This is compared to the results for television, movies, and music, of which less than 25% of respondents had a neutral or negative opinion. Sports also fared better than videogames overall in the survey, with only around 20% of people saying they liked videogames "very much."

Iwata says Nintendo will try to spread the joy of videogames by furthering "the penetration of the Wii by encouraging communication in the living room of each household through continuous software launches, which will positively surprise consumers with brand new game play." In addition, "Nintendo will release the Nintendo 3DS that allows people to play videogames in 3-D without the need for any special glasses, and will strive to satisfy more people by offering innovative gameplay with Nintendo 3DS," he writes.

If you've got a negative opinion of the Wii, just remember that it's being used to make the world better accept videogames. Whether it's capable of that or not, that's part of Nintendo's goal. I've seen it: It's possible for someone that has never played a game before to start playing magical [http://www.amazon.com/Professor-Layton-Unwound-Future-Nintendo-DS/dp/B003O6E7DI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1281365538&sr=8-1], so it's likely to have the impact that Iwata desires.

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[Woodsey]

Pfff...

Oh well? The more I hear about "casual" gamers and the more it can sometimes feel like things are being catered to them and not me, the less I give a crap about them.

Especially when I see articles like this: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/706746/will-portal-2-scare-off-casual-gamers.html

 

[nelsonr100]

I'm glad nintendo are undertaking this kind of study. Convincing more people to at least tollerate videogames is great and if I had to pick a company to do it, it would definitely be nintendo. Their games are usually what I use to introduce friends to gaming, just to let them in easy.

Also i'm sorry to say I sniggered quite a lot at, "the penetration of the Wii"

 

[The DSM]

They are socially exceptable enough.

There isnt a critical mass but they are pretty common now.

There just going to get more and more popular as Nintendo sucker in more casual gamers then they move on to bigger and better games.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

<3 Nintendo.

It seems like one of the few companies where the people involved are there because they love what they do and aren't just watching the clock or the balance sheets.

All their first party releases are quality efforts even the tech demos like sports and play.

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

if they mean by the usual surveys through club nintendo...they aren't trustworthy I do those things for coins to buy stuff...I dont pay attention.

survey=poll=most unreliable way to get data in the world.

 

[Proteus214]

As long as video games are:

-expensive (ie: not publicly available for free use)
-frowned upon in academic settings
-encouraging an idle lifestyle

they will never be socially acceptable.

 

[The Procrastinated End]

Video games aren't socially acceptable? Since fucking when?

 

[PunkRex]

Society can suck my joy stick.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

Less games about brightly coloured plumbers flying through space? God knows that sort of stuff could easily put non gamers off in my books.

 

[10BIT]

If you've got a negative opinion of the Wii, just remember that it's being used to make the world better accept videogames.

But that's why they hate it. These people enjoy being seen as social outcasts by playing games and hate the idea of it being considered normal.

OT: Just give it time, Iwata. Video games will be socially acceptable soon enough and there is little chance of decreasing/increasing that time no matter what action you take.

if they mean by the usual surveys through club nintendo...they aren't trustworthy I do those things for coins to buy stuff...I dont pay attention.

survey=poll=most unreliable way to get data in the world.

I agree. Without knowing how they found the data, I have no idea how trustworthy the survey is.

 

[JEBWrench]

If you've got a negative opinion of the Wii, just remember that it's being used to make the world better accept videogames.

But that's why they hate it. These people enjoy being seen as social outcasts by playing games and hate the idea of it being considered normal.

Don't say it! Somebody might hear you! Then you know what will happen, right? RIGHT?!

 

[GodKlown]

Even as I grew up in the Nintendo generation, there weren't very many people that didn't video game. Hell, even my parents liked Tetris and Dr. Mario, and my mom still has trouble today working a television remote control. Nintendo still proves it doesn't take overly fancy graphics or realistic gravity simulations in games to draw people in. They still make games that don't require hours of practice to just get good enough to beat the games, they at least try to make it fun to play them first.
I don't own a Wii, but I do have a DS that I enjoy using. I still mainly game on the 360 as far as consoles go, mostly because there isn't enough room to make good use out of the Wiimote without knocking something over. I say good for Nintendo in attempting to make it more socially acceptable to be a gamer, without being considered a "gaymer".

Social networking games are still debatable as to whether they should be considered serious games since most of them are simple point-and-click basic structure without much skill or problem solving ability on the part of the user. They really aren't very deep, and you can easily just walk away after playing one without knowing anything about the story of the game or the motivation to keep you playing after the first time. Sure, it might be fun to play them to compete against friends and give you some sort of bragging rights for your FB wall, but it is pretty easy to lose interest in such games. Zynga makes a lot of attempts to introduce new material into their games, but often at a cost of having to pay to unlock things instead of trying to make the games more challenging or involving. It's like saying that riding a skateboard is as complicated as driving a car... you get the same experience, but just on much different levels of involvement. Social games won't reach the same level of acceptance as console or PC titles, and I don't think many would argue that. They are just time-wasters to keep you sitting on SNS so they can brag about how many people are sitting on their servers at one time.

 

[The Hero Killer]

Nintendo needs to go back to being socially acceptable to all gamers again before they can worry about the outside market.

 

[Jared]

I think alot of people still attach the old stigmas when they see./hear about gamers. More has to be done by the community too to improve the image

 

[Terramax]

Well Nintendo could at least do their bit and not just make cash ins for 10 year olds all the time. Hypocrits.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

I'm scared to see what nintendo will come out with to 'tackle the problem'. :/