6th Gen Target Market

[curiousnathan]

Do you think Pokemon X and Y will appeal to the older generations of players who've grown with the franchise ever since RBY? Or do you think these games will continue to appeal to the newer, younger generation of players (like Pokemon BW/BW2 did).

 

[Mama-Mamo]

I feel like the complexities of the features of the newer games tries to appeal to somewhat of an older audience.

But then again, young kids have access to all sorts of technology now a days...

Being a part of online communities such as PC shows that a older audience still has a love for Pokemon. The online compatibility of the games could be inspired by fan communities such as these.

 

[shengar]

With that cutesy Pokemon style? I think it revert back from slightly older audience they've targeted for BW to younger audience again. Well I can't really know unless they show us more information about this new generation. Though I'm always and never stopped hoping for Pokemon that mainly targeted to older audience. Pokemon suffers too much for being "everyone" games without any spin-offs.

 

[Kura]

I think it'll appeal to everyone. Especially the oldies who always wanted a 3D pokemon game.. now their wishes have been granted so of course they'd jump at the chance to see how it plays! And it's pokemon.. so of course the younger audience will be grabbed too!

 

[Miss Doronjo]

Yeah I agree with all the comments here; while I think it'll appeal to kids (since the game will be rated E for everyone I bet) maybe it'll have a darker and more mature tone to it; like in BW. It was pretty successful that way~

 

[Ho-Oh]

B/W appealed to the older generation too, I mean they had teenagers as opposed to kids, and from the looks of it these characters are teenagers, so I think it might try to keep an interest in the older fans brought in from Unova, and the young fresh ones just starting their journey.

 

[vaporeon7]

I think they will continue to target everyone, and they'll probably succeed at it to. A fun and exciting storyline for the little ones, with a rich deeper meaning for more mature audiences.

 

[Lord Varion]

Though it generally is targeted at ''everyone''
I believe GameFreak have tried to keep the age within the fan base from when R/B were released. In case you've not noticed, it's kind of drifted the Evil Team's goal from Money to world Domination of some form. Heck, In B2 and W2, the player finally is attacked, by the orders of the evil team.

I'm hoping they keep the dark theme and head for more older, not too old, audience.
Like move it from 3+ to around 7 - 12+

 

[Ω Ruby and α Sapphire]

I think this game is going to grab peoples attention in different ways. It'll appeal to kids because, well because its Pokemon! They always have cool commercials and advertise the games well so the word gets out. I'll also attract the players of RGB, because so many of them have wanted to experience Pokemon in a 3D environment.

Then again, I would not be surprised if a few people still liked the old ways better, and don't like this new look, I could understand that.

 

[Bluerang1]

No X and Y sound really far from what you'd expect out of Pokemon and this is what GameFreak what to attract a broader audience, especially those Zelda and FF fans who don't pay attention to Pokemon.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

The mascots don't look cutesy at all...well than again the last cute mascot was Pikachu...

Anyways I don't think it'll appeal to teenagers anymore than it already does. Seriously gen V barely did much to bring in older not already older fan or ex fans who are old into the table. So my expectations for this gen's older appeal are low. Oh well I still love them.

 

[Deokishisu]

Honestly, if someone hasn't played since R/B/Y, they'll do some research, be completely appalled by the new Pokemon, and not buy X and Y.

The only thing Nintendo could do to keep those of us who've been with them since '97 is to deepen the storyline. There's no going back now that the Gen 5 Pokemon are actual Pokemon, and the mechanics are set in stone. The Pokemon and the mechanics will not be the draw, it'll be the storyline.

However, a deepened, darkened storyline would mess with their E rating which is something they'd probably not wanna give up in a main series game.

Either way, I predict that the storyline will be the biggest factor in the target demographic.

 

[C Payne]

However, a deepened, darkened storyline would mess with their E rating which is something they'd probably not wanna give up in a main series game.

Either way, I predict that the storyline will be the biggest factor in the target demographic.

I'm sure they won't go that deep, haha. They can however go pretty deep in the sense that a younger audience will understand the basics of what's going on but then the older audience could obviously get the full effect of what's going on by potentially understanding more.

An example would be how a younger player(in general; there of course are those who know more) may see Plasma freezing Opelucid and think 'Those bad guys are freezing the city; let's stop them' while an older audience would usually have a better understanding of their motives for doing such and are more aware of what's going on. :P

 

[Deceit]

I think it will appeal to people of all ages, as other members mentioned. I kind of liked the Black and White approach, and that's what I'm hoping these games turn out to be. But it is still pretty early to make these assumptions. All we have right now is a 1 and a half minute trailer.

 

[Nick]

I'm a firm believer that they aren't targeting a specific demographic in any main series game they release; now, or in the past.

 

[blue]

iirc Black & White was aimed at the more mature generation so I think they could easily follow that trend and do the same for these games.

 

[Kura]

I also came across this picture:

Honestly I think it's so true. For the people who grew up with pokemon, I am sure so many of them want to see what the new gen has to offer. And gameplay-wise, it is a game so simple (yet so complex) that even people who have never played a game before can easily get the hang of.

Though for some reason, even though the game will grab everyone, I have a feeling the majority of players will be in their late teens or early 20s :3

 

[Guy]

When Pokémon first started off, they may have catered to a younger audience. As of late and for quite a little time now, however, I believe they stopped trying to cater to just one specific target audience and expanded their horizons. One could argue that introducing darker elements and more complex plot lines, making the protagonists older in Gen V, but still keeping every game like it's someone's first time playing and keeping it simple enough to where everyone can play, targets a much broader audience than where they may have first begun. So I don't see why they'd stop doing it now.

 

[Guy]

I think in Japan Pokémon is definitely a big hit with the kids, because it's still very much a big and influential franchise in the home market. Whereas in the US and other international countries alike, Pokémon has faded in popularity quite a bit. It's more of the fans who grew up on Pokémon that are the ones who are still into it more so than the younger kids today, who are more into whatever big things are dominating the children's selling market at the moment. It's so rare I see a young kid, especially around the age of 7-12, playing Pokémon on their handheld compared to some other game.

I wouldn't entirely rule out the young audience in the international markets though. I'm sure they are still very much a driving force to sales, but I also think the audience who grew up with it and are still into it, are also a pretty strong force as well, if no stronger, in terms of sales outside of Japan.

It'd be nice if Nintendo of America had any data on that at all today.

 

[Miss Doronjo]

I guess to add on to what I've said before, Game Freak pretty much recognized that while Pokémon is a game that targets children, they wanted more people - a broader audience - to play Pokémon. I mean, look at the context of Black & White, that means slightly older characters (teenagers rather than preteens) and a more in-depth story beyond "collect 8 badges, beat the Elite 4, stop whatever plan is being hatched by the villainous team. They've even added some features like 'inferred' that would make connecting with an older audience easier. I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same for Pokemon Y & X.

Of course, the core of Pokémon will always be accessible for younger gamers new to the series as well as older ones who've grown up with it. There will be an audience who has never played Pokémon before and there is the advanced player who has always played Pokémon.

An international audience is always there too; there's a good sale opportunity for targeting them as well.