Miyamoto Concerned About Gamer Image Stereotype

kukyfrope writes "In a recent interview with MTV News, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto voiced his concern for the stereotypical image of gamers as kids alone in a dark room. He says that Nintendo wishes to change that image with the Wii, a sentiment made obvious by the wide array of people shown playing Wii in Nintendo's recent promotional videos." From the article: "I think it's time to break free from that stereotypical definition of what a gamer is, because until we do, we'll never truly be part of the national or worldwide culture."

Worldwide?

[SkankinMonkey]

This doesn't seem to be a big problem in Western countries as much as it is in Japan. In America I play games with my friends all the time and we're hardly 'the bottom of the barrel' but here in Japan I've yet to hear something good about people that play games, though huge amounts of people do it, just in secret. But it could also be the way Japanese society works, namely it's a very casted and stereotype producing system.

That's the wrong problem

[$RANDOMLUSER]

It's not the "stereotypical definition of what a gamer is", it's the lack of games that non-hardcore gamers want to play.

consoles have cme full circle

[stubear]

The Atari 2600 was originalyl marketed this way. They tried to appeal to the sense of family gathering around the TV to play Pong or whatever. All their early ads had photos of families in them to reinforce this idea. In reality though, kids who spent much of their time in arcades were the lion's share of the market for the 2600 and that's why consoles have been developed and marketed towards this crowd for the most part.

Re:Worldwide?

[fistfullast33l]

If anything, I think this definitely is still a problem in the US particularly with females. There are increasing numbers of women who play games but I think the stereotype and the most marketed to group is definitely males by far. If the Wii can garner a female market, particularly teenage girls, then it will definitely be breaking barriers. While blogging and ipods have brought more women to the "geek" hobbies more than ever, I still think that until teenage girls adapt to gaming in large numbers, it'll still have a stigmatism attached to it. The Wii is definitely a step in the right direction, especially the image, but I don't think we'll conquer this in one fell swoop. It's going to take several generations of consoles to get there.

uh?

[IamTheRealMike]

He says that Nintendo wishes to change that image with the Wii, a sentiment made obvious by the wide array of people shown playing Wii in Nintendo's recent promotional videos."

I applaud Nintendos efforts to increase the number of attractive models playing video games and am delighted by their commitment to encouraging a wide diversity of hot people playing their console.

However I doubt it'll increase profits that much ...

Re:Worldwide?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I don't think that it will really take multiple generations to attract a new market like teenage girls; all it really takes is a couple of killer apps.

Personally, I think Nintendo is the company to break through the barriers because I have seen it in action in my life. Every girlfriend I have ever had started out not playing videogames and eventually bought one (or more) Nintendo gaming systems for themselves; if I was more popular with the ladies I could single handedly give Nintendo market dominance.

Basically, how it works out is I end up showing them Mario Kart / Mario Tennis / Mario party for the Cube/N64 and they bought the system to play these games on; Animal Crossing and Nintendogs are also very popular titles.

Shows what I know

[Headcase88]

Oh darn, it just got modded funny. Guess I was wrong :(

Re:uh?

[Anonymous Coward]

They're talking about senior citizens, middle-aged adults, younger adults, and children all having fun together. "Hot?"

I think you might be looking at Microsoft's press starring 18-30s breakdancing around the sofa, skipping double-dutch, or playing gunfinger in public. Or maybe you are watching Sony's non-ads starring 18-30s throwing PSPs around in the air at other people after less than 2 seconds of "enjoyment" (along with hot squirrels, hot fuzzballs, hot whitespaces, and other miscellaneous kinds of bullshit ad gimmicks that have nothing to do with gaming).

Sadly, I have to agree

[BitterAndDrunk]

Geek gaming culture is . . . sad at best.

I've given up most online games not because I don't like to play anymore, but I don't want to put up with the subcultures that grow up within them.

Culture shock throws patterns into stark relief

[Brunellus]

With respect: you've passed through the looking-glass.

At home, in uhMURRkuh, you are so thoroughly immersed in your culture and sub-culture that you're not aware of it. You might as well ask whether a fish notices water.

Abroad, in Japan, or elsewhere, you have to deal with a new culture, and how you "slot in" to that new culture. While I accept (and know from my own cultural/linguistic experiences) that many things *are* in fact different in each culture, I have noticed that the very strangeness of a new culture totally changes your relationship/perception with even those parts that are most analogous to your "home" experience.

In your case, you're seeing a great deal of negativity in Japan against people who play videogames, even though you know that millions of people must be playing videogames. Hadn't it occurred to you that precisely the same negativity exists in your home culture? It probably has, at some level, but since you're so comfortably ensconced in your sub-cultural niche, you never gave it much thought. It has taken a cultural dislocation to make you see there are other ways of thinking about games and gaming.

This, folks, is why people *should* travel. Experiencing other cultures doesn't just mean drinking their liquor--although that's part of it, as well.