Nintendo: Games Still Not Socially Acceptable Enough

Nintendo says there is still work to be done if videogames are to be as socially acceptable as other forms of entertainment.

In Nintendo’s last annual report, president Satoru Iwata emphasized that he doesn’t think videogames are as socially acceptable as they should be. Even though the Wii and the DS have been explosively successful with demographics of people that weren’t previously gamers, Nintendo doesn’t want to stop there.

Iwata writes: “When we look at how videogames have been accepted in society, what we call ‘social acceptance of videogames,’ it seems that the public perception towards videogames has significantly improved over the past years. However, it is our belief that there are still plenty of things for us to tackle to improve the social acceptance of videogames to the level of other general forms of entertainment such as TV, movies, music and sports.”

In a Nintendo survey, the company found that more than 50% of people still have a neutral or negative opinion of videogames. This is compared to the results for television, movies, and music, of which less than 25% of respondents had a neutral or negative opinion. Sports also fared better than videogames overall in the survey, with only around 20% of people saying they liked videogames “very much.”

Iwata says Nintendo will try to spread the joy of videogames by furthering “the penetration of the Wii by encouraging communication in the living room of each household through continuous software launches, which will positively surprise consumers with brand new game play.” In addition, “Nintendo will release the Nintendo 3DS that allows people to play videogames in 3-D without the need for any special glasses, and will strive to satisfy more people by offering innovative gameplay with Nintendo 3DS,” he writes.

If you’ve got a negative opinion of the Wii, just remember that it’s being used to make the world better accept videogames. Whether it’s capable of that or not, that’s part of Nintendo’s goal. I’ve seen it: It’s possible for someone that has never played a game before to start playing Professor Layton or Wii Sports and to elevate to other genres besides those considered “casual.” Plus, I hear that the 3DS is magical, so it’s likely to have the impact that Iwata desires.