Nintendo 3DS Targets Core Gamers at Launch

The upcoming launch of the Nintendo 3DS handheld will be specifically targeted at hardcore fans of the Japanese company, as Nintendo is bringing in all of its big franchises in order to make the 3DS irresistible.

In recent years, following the success of the Wii and DS consoles, core Nintendo fans have been saying that the company is losing sight of them, in favor of the more numerous "casual" market.

That isn't true, at least according to Nintendo of America Senior Director of Corporate Communications, Charlie Scibetta, who shared his views about the 3DS and the core fans with IndustryGamers.

The executive said that the launch of the 3DS, which would happen in the next couple of months, was directly geared towards the hardcore gamers.

"We know right at launch that the people that will be most interested in buying the 3DS are people that have been buying previous versions of the DS, that are Nintendo loyalists, and people that are core gamers."

"There was a perception years back that we were somehow moving away from that crowd, and not making games that catered to that crowd, and that's absolutely not true. With this launch, we especially wanted to make games for them and give them what they wanted."

In the long run, however, Nintendo wants to expand the 3DS demographic to almost anyone with a remote interest in playing games on the move.

"What's our target audience down the line? It's really all ages, both male and female, because we certainly have the software support from third parties, and then from our own first party development to make games that appeal to everybody. We don't feel that you have to concentrate on one segment at the expense of the other."

The words of Scibetta are backed up by the impressive catalog of games already confirmed for the 3DS in its first few months after release, which includes The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Kid Icarus, Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Star Fox 64 and more.

The Nintendo 3DS arrives on February 27 in Japan, on March 25 in Europe and March 27 in North America.