I think that game companies should start making videogames again

[Cherrim]

Isn't the average gamer age something like 30 nowadays anyway? :( I could probably grab some stats/articles on this but I'm at work and don't care enough anyway. Point is, there is no proof aside from your own opinion that games are for children.

I won't argue that some of the greatest games were made more with children in mind than anyone else. But I think what made those games so great (I'm thinking Pokémon, Mario games... okay, most Nintendo IPs) is that you didn't have to be a child to appreciate them. A child (7~12 is my definition) could have just as much fun as an adult could. Those games are often rated E for everyone--not just kids. :/

I think the problem nowadays is that kids aren't a very interesting market for the gaming industry. Yeah, their parents will buy them video games but the parents make the final decision and aside from time-tested favourites like Pokémon and Mario... what are they supposed to choose? Any video game is just a video game, right? So they pull the shovelware off the shelf and bring that home. And the kid (arguably) doesn't care--it's still a brand new Wii or DS game.

But the more intelligent consumers? The ones who actually care about the games they're playing and how their money is spent? Those are the "core" gamers that every company is trying to impress nowadays. And since an interesting game seems to be synonymous with dark, mature, dreary, shooters these days... well. :( That's what we get. Yeah, some of these games are genuinely good and a lot of the "great" games we look forward to these days are geared toward teens at the very least. Video games aren't all for kids, and they aren't all for adults. Different games target different demographics.

Video games aren't just toys anymore... I'm not here to argue that they're an art form, but they're definitely a medium of entertainment... and go ahead and look at other media. Not all TV shows (or even cartoons, a medium formerly hailed as kids-only) are geared toward the same groups. Spongebob is a cartoon and it's definitely a kids show, whereas I probably wouldn't want my young kids watching South Park which is another cartoon/show. In cinema, it's the same. You can go to a theatre and see a kids movie, or you can see an R-rated films for adults, or you could hit up a PG film with the whole family. Same with books, comic books, music, and any other form of entertainment you can think of.

To say a video game isn't a video game unless it's geared solely toward kids is as ignorant as saying a cartoon isn't a cartoon unless it's geared solely toward kids. It may be your opinion that the genre is childish and should remain that way but clearly the industry disagrees. I definitely agree that more games should be playable by all ages and I'm getting a bit sick of the "LET'S MAKE ALL OUR GAMES RATED M TO KEEP PEOPLE INTERESTED" thing that's been going on the last few years, but if a game genuinely fits into its M-rating and is a good, fun game... I'm not gonna complain too much. :/

 

[Fox♠]

Of course because it's black and grey are mature.
The primary colours aren't.

Hardcore isn't about skill and difficulty, it's about guns and blood.

..

No.

The Hardcore and Casual argument is absolutely pointless, and of course now the Wii has gained a label for the "casual" gamers option, Games with colour are automatically thrown in the "casual" pile, so those "hardcore", "serious" gamers won't got near it. And Serious? honestly? anyone who takes gaming seriously is pathetic. Gaming is meant to be a piece of entertainment, of course you can get annoyed at games if things don't go to right, but if people are taking it seriously, they are what's wrong with gaming, not the third parties looking to jump on the money train by pumping out a Wii party game that took them about 4 weeks to make.

But now look, Natal and Move are coming out, uh-oh...Looks like your precious "hardcore" consoles are going to get a massive shovelware dump placed right on their heads. But of course, what are sony doing? trying to market Move as the "hardcore" alternative to the Wii. Motion Fighter? If you asked someone to make a parody of what a PS3 version to Wii boxing would look like, it would be that.

Anyway, Nintendo themselves have basically scrapped Motion control, It's all about 2D platformers now, And then Sony and Microsoft will jump on the bandwagon again..With Nintendo being one step ahead.

Well, considering that the Wii is a parody of the current gen I don't see why Sony and MS shouldnt be allowed to cash in on it as well. You cannot deny that 90% of Wii games are casual shovelware, regardless of what colour the box is.

 

[KnilShadowLink]

The average age of a gamer in the US is 35 years old and they have been playing games for over 12 years. Video games are, and were never meant to be for kids only.

Ah yes both of these systems are quite clearly for the 'serious' gamer!
That's why Microsoft and Sony are investing in casual gaming!

If we have to pick a platform for the 'serious' gamer it would be the PC given that the majority of e-sport competitions are focused on this platform.

...I really don't want to get into this, but I have to strongly disagree on the statement 'Video games were never meant for kids' How many adults that you know/knew avidly played Super Nintendos & Sega Genesis at the age of 18 or older? (When they were new) I find that statement to be somewhat offensive. Ungh I really don't want to get anymore in depth in this argument, so I'm going to stop here (Anyways many people have stated my opinion so I don't see any reason to post a long drawn-out response...)

 

[Barney.]

Well, considering that the Wii is a parody of the current gen I don't see why Sony and MS shouldnt be allowed to cash in on it as well. You cannot deny that 90% of Wii games are casual shovelware, regardless of what colour the box is.

Oh they're allowed to cash in, certainly..I just don't think people realise that the third parties will soon enough also turn to the PS3 and 360 to place whatever new shovelware they've got in their Arsenal.

And no I can't deny that, Only about 5 third party games are worth getting. First party of course are pretty much all brilliant classics, excluding the odd few. I think that WiiWare is a gamers getaway for Wii, there are so many brilliant games for that service it's unreal. Also Virtual Console..Which I think is reason enough to own a Wii and not let it gather too much dust in my opinion.

I just don't like that the console itself has got this label, because there are many games that are just some of the best that this generation has seen, on any console, And people seem to overlook that.

 

[Avatar]

...I really don't want to get into this, but I have to strongly disagree on the statement 'Video games were never meant for kids'

That's not what I wrote. Go back and read my post again.

 

[Ninja Caterpie]

damnit jolene, you're such a good troll. just LOOK at the responses!

...I really don't want to get into this, but I have to strongly disagree on the statement 'Video games were never meant for kids'

You forgot the last part. "Video games were never meant for kids only." Meaning that video games were always targetted at, well, everyone. Kids and kids-at-heart (which is just about everyone :D)

 

[Crystal-Heart]

Yes, those are the kinds of games I am talking about: games that are made for children, but can also be enjoyed by teenagers and older people because they appeal to our inner childishness.

Those games are mostly certainly not made for children. They are games that are made purely to be fun. Last I checked, fun didn't have an age limit.

No, I think that children's games should appeal to adults at the same level that they would appeal to a child. Like a family movie - adults don't watch those because there is a deep hidden meaning. Adults watch them to feel like children.

I don't watch cartoon or family movies to feel like a child, I watch them because they are enjoyable, why should an adult not be able to enjoy the whimsy of magic and fantasy without trying to feel young? There usually are messages that an adult would get but not a child. For instance, a variety of the Genie's transformation's in Aladdin, most of them were stars that children would probably not know. Then there are the times in cartoons when they reference Mythology, Old Mature Movies, and various other things. Thats why theres a difference between family entertainment, like Aladdin, and actual movies and shows made for children, like Sesame Street.

 

[Empty Pot]

When was the last time you picked up a rated E game (besides Pokemon) and said it was the best game ever?
T games and higher have more sales then E rated games. So game companies make more teen and mature games to make more money.

 

[Jolene]

When was the last time you picked up a rated E game (besides Pokemon) and said it was the best game ever?.

Last Monday. It's Super Mario Galaxy 2, by the way.

 

[Eldrei]

True, true. I even saw a cover of a video game with seductive & lewd girls on it. Yep kids these days...!!!

 

[vibratingcat]

We don't don't need more children's games, we need more games that anyone can play. Examples of games that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age are Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, MegaMan (Classic), Kingdom Hearts, Pokemon, Donkey Kong, and a few others. There need to be more video games that aren't directed at the more mature, gritty crowd, or the whimsical and naive children crowd. There need to be games that have both a light hearted story and/or characters that kids can get into, but also a deeper meaning behind certain things, that adults would be able to get into to.

i would love to see a kid try and get through the original style megaman without crying with frustration, but anyway.

It is sad that the current gaming climate has tricked you into thinking that health(?), sex, violence, morales(?) are necessary for a good story.

Yes, those are the kinds of games I am talking about: games that are made for children, but can also be enjoyed by teenagers and older people because they appeal to our inner childishness.

none of those games are made for children, they are made for everybody. Games that are made specifically for children are like those kids shows on ABC (australians will know what i'm talking about) at around 4pm in the afternoon, the stuff that most people who aren't 6-12 in age won't enjoy. But yeh, i can still see which games you are talking about.
I guess you just got to keep your eyes open. There heaps of awesome E games out there. Unfortunatelly most are made in japan and never make it overseas as america are dumb like that. Somebody asked what E games have you played recently that you thought was awesome. Well i thought i would write up a list of some nice everybody games that i hav played over the last year, minus the obvious nintendo and sega ones as they are pretty obvious. Unfortunatelly some are japan exclusives.
-Megaman
-Little Big Planet - it so cuuute!!
-Inazuma Eleven - the only sports game that that i really enjoyed
-Taiko no Tatsujin - a happy japanese version of guitar hero with drums
-Moero nekketsu rhythm damashi - another rhythm game.
-Final Fantasy CC Ring of Fate - one of the greatest games on the ds i have played.
-Kingdom Hearts - the story can be a bit complex, even more than XIII, but i can see kids quite enjoying it.
-Katamari Damashi - one of the few ps3 games i have completed. it is just so awesome.

Oh I've clearly been tricked in forming my own opinion, how could I have been so blind to their treachery?!

Yes, all them things ARE needed for a good story because without them you have the likes of a princess being kidnapped for the umpteenth time. To identify with a real audience, in my opinion, you need real issues, not the clichéd crap Nintendo are spoon feeding us.

coz story is the only thing that makes a game good. although its opinion based, gameplay of mario and zelda is alot more enjoyable than alot of games on other consoles. some games don't need a good plot. they're just fun to play. don't get me wrong, i do enjoy having a good plot in games and feel that playing yakuza was time well spent, just its not the only thing thats enjoyable in games.

And no I can't deny that, Only about 5 third party games are worth getting. First party of course are pretty much all brilliant classics, excluding the odd few. I think that WiiWare is a gamers getaway for Wii, there are so many brilliant games for that service it's unreal. Also Virtual Console..Which I think is reason enough to own a Wii and not let it gather too much dust in my opinion.

I just don't like that the console itself has got this label, because there are many games that are just some of the best that this generation has seen, on any console, And people seem to overlook that.

Virtual console is definatlly good. and if ur looking at having childish fun, its always nice to play the old games from when you were a kid as you also get nostalgia.

 

[Pokémon Ranger ✩ Moriarty]

I think that game companies should start making videogames again. Because recently, they haven't been. Sure, game companies have been making stuff Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty - "mature" stuff, but those aren't really videogames. Videogames are meant to be for kids. There aren't enough good videogames for kids.

There are only a few companies who put any effort into developing children's games nowadays. For most game companies, children's games are just a side thing that they do to make some extra money to fund their new "mature" game. I think that is bad. I think it is okay to have some mature games, but most games should be for children.

I think it is really a shame that the videogames industry is moving in this "mature" direction. I go into a game shop, and there aren't enough game cases with primary colors on them. And all the games have really grim titles. It's so sad.

Mmm...in one way I can see what you're saying. Yet arguably, video games were marketed at children originally, but those children have now grown up and are still playing video games. Naturally this means that games have to 'mature' to meet their audience. To look at an example now a bit obscure, Gerry Anderson (think Thunderbirds) began his career with puppets making a pretty airheaded show called The Adventures of Twizzle, and ended with Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, in which people died in HORRIBLE WAYS. He understood that the audience who had started with Twizzle were growing up, and matured his shows to match.

This being said...I am growing fed-up with the number of games out there that are basically "shoot person x in face" and the competition that ensues around which console shows the most detail in the ensuing brains. The Wii is lambasted on games forums world-wide for its 'kiddy' content, despite the fact that many adults enjoy playing Wii games because they're a break from the sepia-toned battlegrounds displayed on the Playstation and Xbox. (That's not relevant to 100% of their games, of course). I wish people would stop equating sex and violence with maturity. Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is one of the most violent films I've ever seen, but I love it because it has a mature and interesting (not to mention TWISTY AS HELL) storyline. But when you translate something like that into a game, either the extreme violence has to go, or the storyline. And most of the time, it's the storyline. As I love games solely on how interesting the characters are, or how much I love the mystery, that means that violent games aren't for me. On the flip side of the coin, however, there are gamers who don't care about storylines - they just want to blast some heads, and as someone who spent her teenage years avenging myself against school bullies by blowing off heads in Unreal Tournament, I can see where they're coming from.

So you have two main things to consider: 1) video games are not just for children, and that means there has to be more violent games out there, as this is the basic nature of the human race; and 2) Nintendo will always be there to provide the games that interest people not interested in violence.

tl;dr violent games for the most part bore me, I wish people would give puzzle games a break, Gerry Anderson's shows were awesome, I'm off to blast some heads on UT.

 

[Sneeze]

coz story is the only thing that makes a game good. although its opinion based, gameplay of mario and zelda is alot more enjoyable than alot of games on other consoles. some games don't need a good plot. they're just fun to play. don't get me wrong, i do enjoy having a good plot in games and feel that playing yakuza was time well spent, just its not the only thing thats enjoyable in games.

Unless a game has truly exceptional gameplay than I personally find without a story I grow tired if a game quickly. Mario rarely cuts the mustard for me there, and tbh Zelda has a pretty decent story imo, well, some of them. But even then I could still reel a list of games that both have better gameplay and stories then both them, imo, at least.

 

[Avatar]

There heaps of awesome E games out there. Unfortunatelly most are made in japan and never make it overseas as america are dumb like that.

These games don't make it outside of Japan because they based on a culture different from ours, and a lot of the references in the games won't make any sense to a person who does not live in Japan.

Your weeaboo is showing.

 

[KnilShadowLink]

Last Monday. It's Super Mario Galaxy 2, by the way.

Super Mario Galaxy is overrated. While I've yet to play SMG2 I'll assume that it will be overrated as well as the first one. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed SMG, and I intend on playing the 2nd one, it's just that I felt that the game was great, just not perfect like everyone makes it out to be.

O_O Damn, I keep commenting...must resist urge to comment.

Oh and Avatar, I apologize...I went back and reread the post. That's why I didn't want to get involved in this thread, because my emotions would rise (I know this is silly...) and I would read only what I want to read. -_-'
Sorry, again...

 

[Barney.]

While I've yet to play SMG2 I'll assume that it will be overrated as well as the first one.

No. No. No.

It's better than it's predecessor, it's brilliant don't make assumptions. AAAAHHH.

 

[vibratingcat]

These games don't make it outside of Japan because they based on a culture different from ours, and a lot of the references in the games won't make any sense to a person who does not live in Japan.

Your weeaboo is showing.

thats true i guess, though there is only one game which didnt make it (rhythm damashi got changed to elite beat agents). Doesn't mean it's a bad game. those games are relevant to the topic, games which are made for anybody including kids. Japan just has alot of them. Westerners usually try and make more mature games.
Also i'm half japanese. so i aint a "weeaboo". god thats such a horrible word. puts down people for liking something that other people don't necessary like.
i thought moderators were nice people :(