In recent years, Nintendo’s distanced itself from the people that made its name, gamers, embracing the casual mainstream market. It’s worked out really well for them financially, especially with the DS and the Wii – which have become sales phenoms the world over. They’re trying to court back the hardcore gaming crowd with the Wii U, and to a lesser degree, the 3DS – but their new 3DS marketing campaign belies that new focus, distancing gamers even further.
“I am not a gamer,” proudly say the stars of their new ads; Olympic gymnast Gabrielle Douglas and Glee actress actress Dianna Agron, as if being a gamer is a terrible thing.
Now the point here, obviously, is that the 3DS is for more than just gamers, that it appeals to a mass audience – but I still think the campaign is misguided, and Nintendo should be trying to bridge the gap between gamers and non-gamers instead of widening it.
“Gamer” is nearly a meaningless terms these days. Nearly everybody plays some sort of game on some or other device, but it’s certainly not a disease.
It’s stuff like this that makes many of today’s “gamers” think Nintendo is a dirty word.
Last Updated: October 4, 2012
