Skip to content

Nintendo Stresses The Importance Of Catering To All Types Of Players

Nintendo has stressed the importance of catering to all audiences through its games. In an interview with US Gamer, Nintendo designer Katsuya Eguchi explained that the company wants their projects to speak to a wide variety of players. To make this possible, Nintendo developers consist of experienced and lesser-skilled players alike who work toward settling balanced difficulty levels.

“In terms of games like Mario, an action game, a lot of audiences are obviously very good at action games, but there are also more inexperienced players, like children, who still enjoy playing Mario,” said Eguchi. “There’s a varying range of skill levels. To match that kind of target audience, we make sure that our team setup matches that. If we have only skilled players making the game, we end up having a game where the difficulty level is a little high, or the problem-solving involved is very challenging. By including people who may not play games as much, or are inexperienced in gaming, having them as part of the dev team makes us realize some things that we maybe wouldn’t have if we only had core gamers making the game.

“And that’s just one aspect. There are lots of different perspectives that go into creating even a single title. In that sense, it’s very beneficial to have diversity in our staff, and that’s something I like to keep at the forefront of my mind as we build toward other projects.”

159 thoughts on “Nintendo Stresses The Importance Of Catering To All Types Of Players”

    1. yah and they can’t even add decent communications or online capabilities to games nor the SYSTEM because they are obsessed with kids and their delicate minds…
      -__-“

        1. I think he means non fans idiot…but I kind of agree, I think they are focusing too much on that respect…its no wonder why gamers are becoming more and more dumber each year. I mean where is the challenge now these days? So far, a last gen game gears of war 3 was a challenge between players…I hope harder games come soon no matter the platform they are from…I’m getting tire of “hold your hand” games…goes for pc, xbox and playstation too…

          1. The retards appeared once gaming became their only hobby. They accept anything companies do to them fearing they’ll otherwise have to resort physical activity and sunlight.

      1. LMAO, I’ve owned ever Nintendo system since the NES. So don’t act like those of us who don’t eat any shit they try to give us haven’t put in $10s of thousands of dollars too.

      2. Indeed. I think people forget that a business is about the customer. It’s ignorant to ignore your customers these days. Even Apple is slowly losing it’s grip on their “My way or the highway” mentality.

        1. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

          Yes but an empire like Nintendo was not created out of the minds of slav…I mean customers…

          If Nintendo only listen a bit more then fine but if they went full retarded like most of the western ones then they would have crumbled ages ago…

          Being unique in a world full of enslaving empires is top priority…

          1. Listening to us fans is good & all but not at the expense of their own ideas. Zelda, for example. I want to see what Nintendo has in mind for future Zelda titles, not what the fans have in mind for future Zelda titles.

              1. That doesn’t count as it’s a remake of an old title. I’m talking about future, original titles.

  1. Not to sound like a dick, but better take their own advice and spice the variety of their first-party output in the genre department this generation. Enough plataformers, they need to spice things up a bit more.

    1. Exactly. They seem to think having a 3DS Mario, Sidescroller Mario, Sports Mario, Racing Mario, Fighting Mario, etc. is catering to all types of players.

        1. I was giving Metroid a pass since it’s not strictly a plataformer. Wario as well since we haven’t had a Wario Land game since forever. You’re right about Kirby, though.

          1. Ok then lets look at all the platformer games Nintendo came out with this generation: On the 3DS we have Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Kirby Triple Deluxe, and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (I don’t personally count that though since it’s a remake and not a new game.)…That’s only 4 platformers, over the span of like what 3 or 4 years? That’s not a whole lot. On the Wii U we have Super Mario 3D World, New Super Mario. Bros U (And I’m not counting New Super Luigi U as that is DLC), and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, that adds up to a grand total of 7 platformers over the span of like 4 years across 2 different consoles, my point is we aren’t really over saturated with Nintendo platformers.

            1. Thank you!! I don’t know where people are getting this “too many platformers” from. If anything, there are too many shooters.

            2. Compared to other genres? Yes, we are. It may not seem a lot in numbers, but it’s more than enough when you realize how much of the total output of first-party games it represents. Ports are still games that take a time to develop, so they count as well, both for my argument (DKCR3D) and against it (OoT3D).

  2. EN TER eD
    CO NQUER eD RE TIR eD
    U N B E A T A B L E
    N D E F E A T E D
    D E N I A B L E
    I S P U T E D
    s
    Pu
    T
    E L I T E
    D
    G O D
    ST aPl Er

    I a M G O   D

  3. I wish Nintendo would stress the importance of catering to the types of players who buy console video games.

    1. The fact that Mario doesn’t have a revolver and isn’t a fps does not make Mario a kiddie game , in fact, many of the mario’s games are really challenging. Action stands for quick movement in levels with enemies…. Basically al Mario games

  4. Mario is an action game? Since when?

    Nintendo just needs to stop with their babyish. Supposably they have a variety of team members yet all the games they have made this generation and past generation has been easy and it’s sad.

    1. Not exactly, easy to finish the game. Not easy to collect all the starcoins etc!

      Mario games are fun for everyone, because the levels are quiet easy to beat But the more advanced players will still have the challenge to get all the star coins or the additional levels or the time challenges etc..

    2. Since your ass was still in diapers.

      And what he means is Mario and action separately. Mario is not technically action but it has its moments. Fighting huge bosses, having a time limit, racing against characters, all indicates action elements.

      Nintendo will stop “kidizing” when everyone stops bitching about how hard their games is, learn how to play with patience and practice plus they must stop kissing COD’s ass too where all types of garbage gamers resides.

      1. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

        I find it hilarious when people sayour empire is “kiddy” but then can’t even beat a game that is “hardmode” compared to very easy-easy difficulty in the ancient times…

        It’s pathetic…

        Games are not fun if they are not challenging enough, period…

        Anything else is civilian matter…

  5. I love Nintendo and its games, but they need to actually start catering more mature audiences. I mean, I do enjoy their games (really hyped for Splatoon), but I feel that Nintendo needs to try to make serious games. They are definitely going the right way with games like Bayonetta, Fatal Frame and Devils Third, but they need to have FIRST PARTY titles that are serious, like Eternal Darkness!

      1. Actually, Nintendo only owns the publishing rights to all FF games and spinoffs from the Wii to date. So, I guess that makes it a second party title since Koei Tecmo is the full owner of the IP O.o

          1. Nope. Nintendo owns a small piece of Fatal Frame, so they can dictate what console they go to but they don’t have control over the development.

    1. Uhm… they do make serious games. Metroid, Star Fox, & Legend of Zelda all say hi. But I get the gist of what you are saying, though.

  6. Except you CAN’T make a game to cater to EVERY person. It’s impossible. If you want to make a game that’s easier for kids, then make it separately instead of dumbing down another game which will disenfranchise the rest of the userbase. Good grief.

      1. Absolutely, which is what they need to do. I think trying to take a “one-size-fits-all” mentality for games isn’t the best approach for them and will be detrimental in the long run.

          1. Ha. Sorry, you’d have to deal with the wrath of my girlfriend in that regard, as my dick belongs to her.

        1. I think Nintendo means about having a game system that caters to all gamers alike by serving a variety of gameplays not just making too many platformers or in this particular case, too many shooters which is what morons are wasting money and raving about. Its the modern gamers of today that are part of the problem, bitching about original Super Mario Bros. being hard and camping their asses off in every COD spam imaginable and they dare say they have skills. What a fucking joke newbie gamers are today.

  7. NES games were hard as fuck and recruited more child gamers than any system has before or since.

    Hard games are okay, Nintendo! You can make one. I believe in you.

  8. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

    Cater to everyone except graphicwhores and media gimmick lovers…

    *Cybernetic cough* Sonyans and Xbots *Cybernetic cough*

    1. What kind of messed up logic is power=bad gameplay?

      Power=pretty graphics
      Power=more gameplay opportunities

      1. To be fair, some of the most creative titles ever were created with much more restrictive tools. More power usually means developers get lazier on the creative aspect of their work and try to make up for it with impressive visuals.

      2. Valve Admiral GLaDOS

        Because it also gives them room to be lazy. Try to be more perspective than being fanboy of hardware.

          1. Valve Admiral GLaDOS

            Wrong, PC renegades and Xbots are, and most recently The Sonyans.
            Rarely will I see a Nintendite get a boner over hardware.

    2. So the Wii and Wii U aren’t based around gimmicks? Come on now, Commander. Let’s be real here.

      1. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

        No because their products was entirely focused on gaming in mind while one of them just copies us for the sake of cheap success “PS Move Gimmicks” and the other one caters to the retarded species, the Xbots, with non gamng things, “Media Gimmicks” which is even worse…

        1. Is retarded really an acceptable word to be using so often? Have you ever took a moment to think that one of your children, if you spawn, may end up becoming mentally retarded?

            1. No kidding. If you act like you do in life as you do on here youll never find companionship. Just don’t use retarded anymore. I already have to cringe at your opinions, you might as well make them less offensive and try to make yourself sound like less of an arse. Plus, kids or not, theres no reason to say that. Can you imagine saying that out loud to a group of people? Take some time to think before typing.

              1. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

                Anyone who Thinks I act like this in the real universe is obviously an idiot…

                But yes I will not use that word anymore, I prefer the word primitive…

                I despise most humans so I don’t care whether I have companionship or not…

        2. Eh, just because they had gaming in mind doesn’t mean they aren’t making gimmicks. I can respect Nintendo for trying to do something different, but I just don’t think their execution of it so far, at least with the Wii U for the most part, has been competent or smart in general.

          1. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

            I’ll admit that the one thing they can improve when it comes to hardware is to make them a solid stable product…

            I don’t want to experience defective Gamepads or consoles ever again…

        1. Clearly you haven’t played the games that have used the Gamepad in intuitive ways. Oh and the DS & 3DS handhelds will also disagree with this statement as they are roughly the same thing just smaller & the second screen is actually physically attached to the main screen.

          1. Woo, an extra map screen. Awesome. How innovative. :/
            There are some decent applications for touch screen controls and a second screen, but in general I don’t think it necessary or important enough to base an entire console around.

      2. Considering these “gimmicks” have caused their competition to copy them (Playstation Move, Xbox Kinect, Vita TV, Smartglass,) I say they evolved from simple gimmicks into revolutionary tools for gaming. Anyway, not all gimmicks are bad. In fact, some of the things we use in video games today were considered gimmicks back in the day. I can see motion control & a second screen becoming the future of video games when Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, & the 3rd parties are able to master it.

      3. Yeah let’s. Xbox 360 = Kinect, a POS gimmick that never thoroughly worked nor needed from fans and even developers, not even on Xbox One either which also help screw the system’s launch opportunities to compete even Wii U and Vita.

        PlayStation 3 = PSMove, a mere carbon copycat of Wii’s popular Wii Remote motion controllers that also failed to capture anyone’s attention but Sony fandorks who claim to dislike Nintendo and say Sony version is better. If it was superior, why the support behind it is CRAP? Like Kinect, no developers and gamers wanted Move anyway so its a bust too.

        Talk about gimmicks that were never accepted. At least Nintendo tries to be original. What about Microsoft and Sony copying the shit out of each other? Because they have no originality but Sony is passable at times. Microsoft’s Xbox was a waste of time and money because of one thing: PC already exists, does and have tons more with less BS.

    3. oh here he comes abusing everyone as usual with his pointless bullshit opinion, ‘primitive ape ape ape ape ape ape ape ape ape ape ape ape ape primitive empire empire empire empire blah blah blah blah blah blah more bullshit blah blah blah blah’

  9. Nintendo doesn’t need M Rated content or extremely hard games just fun gameplay and visual emotion.

    1. Who are you too say m rated games and extremely hard games don’t have fun gameplay and visual emotion for many many people?

  10. Nintendo can you make a Nintendo theme kingdom heart style game play…please listen to your fans thank you.

  11. “We are targeting those who bought Wii and would be interested in the Wii U offerings. That is slightly different than what other companies are aiming for.
    Thus, in the sense that we attract consumers interested in this category of video games”

  12. sasorideidara obi the puppet master clown destroyer

    does nintendo care to read on forums…. no … so what’s the point starting wars… oh i guess already those refreshes *ads = jack pockets.
    i wouldn’t be surprise alba also has an xbox one like sickr lol.

    1. tree house reps stated they go through forms and collect data, but people start wars by doing stupid things

    2. You’re one huge ass retard. You never watch the Treehouse segments at all? They are reading fan opinions and request forms to decide which project is the next top request and which ideas to implement to cater those fans.

      GTFO and go read some more because I hate ignorant fools who sit on their asses pretending to know reality by watching a certain BS news program that I know and hate.

  13. You do have the franchises nintendo, but u need to push them
    Mario: for everyone, or starting point for platformers(other spin off can count in this too)
    Zelda: For more core gamers, a good area to introduce adventure games
    Metroid: For gamers that love atmosphere, and adventure
    FZero:Hard core racing crowd, gives players the hardest difficulty in racing game.
    ect.
    They do have franchises for everyone, though some gamers will judge by appearance. Hell look at a game like bad fur day it looks cute but that mother can be one hard game(and in many other areas). A game like pikmin, DK, or punchout may look easy but thoughs games will test u, most gamers like that, most games treat gamers like idoits by giving a liner experience, nintendo has been making some liner games, but they seem to be going back to exploring. Hyrule warriors love it or hate the DW series is trying to expand the zelda to DW fans. I do think they have stuff they just need to push more

    1. They need to create other franchises/characters, as well, to not wear out the appeal of their existing ones. They should’ve experimented with a few during the Wii’s success. (Miis=joke.) They also need to work on developing a system that caters to outside developers. And as harsh as it sounds, they should fire useless employees.

  14. Most of the people who own Wii U’s right now are not children, but gamers. Its fine to make a couple of your games have lower difficulty levels to appeal to families and children, but not ALL of them need to be that way. Finding your largest audience and making it so most of your games appeal to them is the best way to go. There’s nothing wrong with appealing to kiddos and their families, but its a complete waste when that family is only likely to buy 7 games for the rest of the gen opposed to the other gamers who are likely to buy 20+ games. Balance is good because even gamers want a relaxing break in between games, but when none of your games offer a challenge or can be completed in a few hours, things become stale and you lose fans. At least offer difficulty settings like Fire Emblem games have. :/

      1. And its all you read. No wonder you people misjudge shit too quickly. Instead of reading the entire story, you just judge the cover which is “How to not be a prejudice 101”

  15. I know we’ll probably never have another challenging Mario platformer again (lost levels), but at least Mario Maker will have people making some cool levels. I think that the core franchises should cater to the older crowd while Mario caters to everybody and the Wii series caters to casuals. But it wouldn’t hurt to mix it up once in a while. Hugs to you all!

  16. I think Mario has achieved a good compromise with difficulty, where beating the game is straightforward but there’s plenty of challenge if you want to collect everything.

    1. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

      It needs to be truly challenging by making the enemies and specially the Bosses like 3 times harder…

      There is nothing more disappointing than having a challenging level only to face a breeze easy boss…

      1. This is true for most bosses. 3 jumps and boom they go. There are those that are a pain in the ass though. I struggled with the dragon from SMG 2. Hiss!

  17. Mario wii U was well design on that aspect, Accessible for all and have enough challenge for the hardcore gamer (9-3 or 9-2 was challenging) to complete the game. Saying that they should have a IP for hardcore gamer where the persona means game for expert users. The people will know straight away those games means serious business.

  18. We meet the man behind “The Letter”

    How old is Treefall Studios, and how big?

    EB: The entire thing is about two years old. Now we have three people, but when I did “The Letter” I did it by myself. We haven’t made any complete games until recently, really. We’re pretty much brand new.

    What was the first game Treefall Studios developed and what do you think of it now?

    EB: The first game we ever developed was a small game called “Journey of a Special Average Balloon”. It had a Kickstarter Campaign, it was an indie game on the PC. It’s really, really short, almost like a little app. It’s kind of cool, I like looking back on it now, seeing where I’ve come from, but it’s very small.

    Who first came up with the idea for “The Letter”?

    EB: Me, I did.

    Do you feel as if you/he/she captured that idea sufficiently within the game, why or why not?

    EB: Not really. See, the game was really short and not what we really wanted it to be was because our funding goal was (chuckles) nonexistent. It was supposed to have a budget of $5000.

    How much did you end up making?

    EB: $377.

    Damn.

    EB: Basically, to complete the game I would’ve needed that much money to allow myself more time to work on it, but basically I had to take the $377 along with some other money. I had to work another job at the time, so I could only work on it part-time for about 1-2 months. So it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been if the goal was met.

    What games did you take inspiration from in producing “The Letter”?

    EB: I was listening to a lot of horror music from other games, stuff like that. Some of my favorite horror games that I liked to think about while making this would be Eternal Darkness, that whole Gamecube era. I listened to some of the ZombiU tracks, I even listened to some of the Call of Duty Zombie tracks. Not taking inspiration from that though. I guess some of the older Resident Evil games as well, but I didn’t get to really put a whole lot into the game, so not a lot really dripped off those titles.

    In the music track for the first level, there’s someone asking “Hello? Can you hear me?” in the background of the melody, as well as another case of a man speaking in Construction Valley. Why did you include these vocal additives?

    EB: They’re not actually in the music tracks themselves, they’re depending on the areas you walk in. Like, the “Help Me” comes from the [Teddy] bears. The closer you are to one, the louder it is. The “Can you hear me?” thing is hiding in a wall towards the hidden letter, and when you walk over to it you’ll be able to hear it, and, uhh, I just put them in there because they’re kind of creepy.

    The scale of the objects in the game ranges from being oversized to normal, sometimes in the same area. Was this intentional, and how old is the main character, Michael, supposed to be?

    EB: (Chuckling) Totally no reason at all. I don’t even know how that happened, exactly. I’ve changed the sizes of everything in the first update.

    Are there any sort of future projects in store that you can share, be them Nintendo-related or otherwise?

    EB: Yeah, but I can’t share too much about it yet. I’ve got a few more updates coming out for “The Letter” after the first one. I’m working on another secret project for the Wii U. Everything we’re working on right now is Wii U specific. And then there’s a much larger game that I’m working on with my whole team. That game will have another indiegogo campaign, and we’ll be revealing it in about a month or so.

    What would you, personally, rate the game out of ten?

    EB: It really is a biased question since I made the game, it could’ve been much better. I think it will be a lot better after some updates, we’ll be adding new levels, more content, and save files, but the game as it released… I’d give it a 5 or 6 out of 10. I wouldn’t just destroy it, but it’s not there yet.

    Can we get a sequel?

    EB: (Chuckles) That’s a possibility, but I’m actually going to be extending the story, kind of like games like The Walking Dead, but yeah, if there’s continued support for the game I’ll keep adding on to it. But possibly, as we get better, maybe there’s a sequel, but as of now there’s no plans for it.

    Who has the movie rights?

    EB: (Laughing) The movie rights? Well, right now we’re not planning a movie, but if you want to make a movie, go for it!

    Before we go, is there anything you’d like to add?

    EB: Yeah, just don’t give up on the game yet if you’re a hater out there, I guess. I’m working on it best I can, I had no money, and I’m just getting started at this game development thing. Hopefully I’ll be able to improve it, but we’ll definitely learn from our past mistakes like what we’ve made with this one, but there’s a lot of people out there who have enjoyed it, so thank you a whole lot for your support.

    Thanks again to Treefall Studios for the interview!

    1. During the Cold War, the British government was concerned that Soviet germ warfare could devastate the country. Luckily, they found the perfect location to test the effects of dangerous germs on an island just like Britain: Britain. Between 1945 and 1970, the UK military carried out a series of biological and chemical weapons tests on its own people. Many of these were largely benign, involving the release of harmless strains of bacteria to study how they spread throughout the country. But some of the tests involved genuinely dangerous substances. For example, between 1955 and 1963, RAF planes dropped huge amounts of zinc cadmium sulfide across the country. The fluorescent substance was easy to track and provided a perfect example of how more dangerous chemical weapons might spread. The substance was not tested for toxicity before it was released. On another occasion, E. coli bacteria were released from a ship anchored off the coast, potentially exposing up to one million people. Other tests have been accused of causing miscarriages in Dorset. The British government continues to insist that all the tests were safe, but either way, exposing your citizens to mysterious substances without telling them remains pretty creepy. Not that the British were alone in this. In the 1950s, the US sprayed zinc cadmium sulfide across low-income African-American areas in St. Louis. Local officials were told that the government was testing a smokescreen that could protect the city from aerial observation. The real reason was that the military thought St. Louis resembled Russian cities that they might need to attack. Schools housed the motorized sprayers that distributed the chemical. It has been suggested, although not proven, that radioactive particles in the substance might be responsible for high cancer rates in the city.

  19. lets see. . .
    ·animal crossing a game for little girls
    ·pokemon a game for little kids
    ·mario a game for everyone under the ages of 10
    ·mario kart a game for 12 yr olds
    ·smash bros a game for prebuscent teens
    ·zelda now a game for 12 yr olds
    ·metroid a game for big kids
    ·earthbound RIP
    ·mario party a game for mewling babies
    ·wii party a game for kids with special needs
    ·wii fit now we’re talking! a game for an older audience ( made up of soccer moms)
    ·nintendogs a game for little kids
    ·starfox a game for furry kids
    ·kid icarus a game for the cool kids
    ·tomadachi life a game for homo bashing christain kids
    ·donkey kong a game where grandpa can finally play as his role model cranky
    ·f zero racing a game for the hardcore kids finally hitting their teens
    ·fire emblem same as f zero
    ·yoshi a game for little girls
    ·kirby same as yoshi

    yeah, myb they do need to cater to other groups. . . .

    1. Call of Duty – For wimps especially kids with dumbass parents who can’t play nor take a bullet/loss for shit
      Battlefield – For graphic hungry jockeys who hate COD and other shooters they won’t claim to suck at camping in far reaches of huge maps and just buy the games to watch shit blow up.
      Assassin’s Creed – For dull ass new “stealth” players who wanna use the game for historic references for a high school exam besides Wikipedia and never heard of Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell which are superior stealth games.
      Watchdogs – For stupid ass “gamers” itching to bite on another “next gen” bait like an idiotic fish just for instant gratification of wasting $400-500 on a “next gen” system that’s technically not as “next gen” as once promised to be just so they can look cool for shallow friends on the Internet.
      FarCry – Another unfortunate COD-esque spammer of Ubishit.
      Any from EA – Shall I dare spell these simple words out for you on this one?

      1. Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed do not belong on that list. T_T You do not automatically regenerate health in Far Cry and you cannot explore an open world in Call of Duty. The story and historical events in Assassin’s Creed is what makes if amazing. All those other games on the list, yes. You are right. I just felt like defending those two games. :P

  20. Mario games should not be difficult who said games had to be really hard and difficult to play and complete?

  21. Don’t just blame Nintendo, gamers are also the reason why Mario games are so easy. Nintendo made a test with many gamers and found that most of them couldn’t complete the first level of Super Mario Bros.

    1. i asume you are talking about the younger generation. because i finished the first smb when i was between the ages of 5 and 6. back in 90-91!!! yes it was hard but doable. dunno where the kids are getting the newer ones are hard O_o

  22. hold your hand games is nintendo future when it comes to supermario that is want i call nintendo seal of quality holding players hands is want gameing has allways been about i am not a corenintendo fans

    1. Please tell me English is not your best language so I can forgive the butchering of it. Twice you used want instead of what.

  23. nintendo holding gamers hand is a relasion ship with games and makes miiverse the way it is without nintendo holding peoples hands with games then vidiogames are boring the nintendoseal of quality has all ways ment holding people hands in vidiogames that is my defenision of want makes a great game why make a 3ds sucksessor and make games harder than holding someones hand why then by new nintendo consoles for the same hardgames that casual gamers would find to hard to play that they would be wasteing there time playing because it would be to hard for them

Leave a Reply to AnonymousCancel reply

Discover more from My Nintendo News

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading