Nintendo may focus on capturing the younger audience with the NX

Nintendo may be all about attracting a younger audience with their upcoming NX hardware.Despite not knowing what it entails, research firm DFC Intelligence speculates that Nintendo may be targeting the under-12 market, or as DFC calls them, the "lost console generation."

• Mike Nitroy
• July 6, 2016
• in Gaming

Nintendo may be all about attracting a younger audience with their upcoming NX hardware.

Despite not knowing what it entails, research firm DFC Intelligence speculates that Nintendo may be targeting the under-12 market, or as DFC calls them, the “lost console generation.”

“One of the ironies of the latest generation of console systems is how children under the age of 12 have been largely ignored,” DFC stated. “The Nintendo Wii U is the only dedicated system remotely targeted at kids and it has been a failure. Twenty years ago many casual outside observers viewed children as the ONLY market for video games. The fact that console systems can thrive without targeting a younger audience speaks volumes to how the industry has grown. However, it also highlights a major missed opportunity.”

According to the firm, competitive companies such as Sony and Microsoft “don’t need younger gamers” while “the company that has had the greatest success with targeting children is Nintendo.” In support of this statement, DFC argues that games and the way they are played have become overly complicated for the younger gamer.

“The original beauty of the console business was a kid could push a button and in seconds be playing games. In the current generation, that appeal has been lost and the immediacy of being able to play games is now found on Apple devices, the Nintendo DS and even PC games. Of course, it is not only kids that want to get in and out of games as fast as possible. Apple, Supercell, King Entertainment and other major growth stories are all about giving consumers quick access to games,” DFC continues.