So many gamers these days are criticizing Nintendo for not being more mature. They try and make the argument that Nintendo hasn’t grown up with them but instead insist on making “kiddie” games. Gamers want more mature experiences not found in games like Mario or Zelda. Gamers have supposedly outgrown Nintendo because they are now adults. Well my response to that is if your so grown up, why are you still playing videogames? Could it be that your not as “all grown up” and as mature as you think you are? Yes. That is it. What else could it be?
A Gamers Definition Of Mature
A gamers definition of mature can’t possibly carry any weight behind it. How can a toddler lecture an adult about the facts of life when that child can barely wipe his/her own butt. Gamers are too busy burying their heads beneath the swearing, violence and perversion to understand what real maturity is. From a gamers perspective maturity is gritty, bloody, dark and full of swearing and dismemberment. Subdued colors, explosions and guns make up the bulk of what today’s gamer thinks of as mature. Its a sad truth, but the truth no less. Its as if gameplay no longer factors in anymore so long as there is competitive multiplayer matches where prepubescent brats can scream and curse at one another over their choice of online service provided by Microsoft and Sony. How long can this obstructed view of gaming maturity hold up? If the last generation was just a sign of what is to come then the gaming industry is in trouble. In its current form its becoming a joke. A shell of its former self in the sense that gamers are loosing sight of what has made gaming what it is since the beginning. It has been, should be, and should forever more be about having fun.
Let Me Guess, Should Mario Smoke Crack Too?
You see the image above? Do you think that looks cool? Do you think it would be a great idea if the Super Mario games went all GTA and let gamers shoot Kooplings and bang Toadetts? If you do then your not alone and your also what’s wrong with gaming today. I remember when I visited a local Gamestop and one of the employees said to me that he thought it was time for Mario to grow up and go “GTA”. He actually thought it would be a good idea to make Mario more mature in the sense that he would now curse, kill and steal from the friendly citizens of the Mushroom kingdom. As humorous as watching Mario go Kart jacking would be, it would be the dumbest move Nintendo ever made allowing their famous mascot to be apart of a GTA style world. Why do people think Nintendo should make Mario mature or any other franchise for that matter? Should Mario sell crack too? How about smoke it? Clearly the people bashing Nintendo for its family friendly image are smoking it.
Nintendo Is Like Disney. Family Comes First
Would anyone be taken seriously if they actually suggested that Disney make a Mickey Mouse Penthouse cartoon in which Mickey sexes Minnie, mouse style? How about a Disney Pixar film in which the protagonist is kills people and uses profanity? Would Mickey ever be seen smoking a cigar? The answer is HELL NO! Disney is a family company. They have been around since the 20’s and have catered to the young and old ever since. How come no one criticizes Disney for being too kiddie? Where are all the adults who grew up on Disney demanding that Donald pimp out Daisy? You know why you don’t get that from Disney fans? Its because they understand what family entertainment is. They understand the value of leaving something positive for the next generation after them. The gaming industry is the most childish and immature of them all. How dare you demand that Nintendo forget about what made its company in the first place. Do you know what the name of Nintendo’s fist console was? The Famicom. What does Famicom mean, you ask? FAMILY COMPUTER. Emphasis on the word FAMILY. Simply put, Nintendo provides entertainment for families. Yes I understand that Nintendo’s core audience as of right now are made up of gamers in their late 20’s and early 30’s but lets not act like the gameplay experiences that Nintendo provides isn’t as good or in most cases better than anything out there. Name one action adventure game that does what The Legend Of Zelda does as well or better. Name a better platformer than Mario. How about a better mash up fighter than Smash Brothers? Cant? Didn’t think so. So when gamers sit there and say they can’t enjoy Nintendo games anymore because they are too kiddie, what are you really saying? Your saying that you don’t care about gameplay. You want state of the art graphics and you want to watch crap blow up. Oh, and you want to shoot, stab and kill things. Be honest. What is the top game mechanic used this entire last generation? Shooting. Doesn’t matter if it was a 3rd person shooter or a 3rd person shooter, just shooting.
My point is that Nintendo thinks about how to best serve the family. Not everyone gets off by shooting people in the head or cutting their throat in a videogame. There are still those of us who just want to save the princess and that’s ok. Nintendo’s titles may look kiddie at times but if you know anything about gaming you understand that their games often represent the pinnacle of gameplay and best represent what is good in this industry. Sure, they don’t give you everything you may want on a technical level, things such as blood and sweat dripping off a character model but just look at how beautiful Super Mario 3d World looks. Its like a Pixar film. Immediately Pixar films appeal to children do to their colorful nature but behind it all is a deep and rich story in which all adults can enjoy. That is Nintendo. Simple yet complex.
Look, I’m not saying that liking games that feature explosions and shooting is wrong. What I am saying is that if you feel that EVERY game should be similar to that and anything that is geared towards family is somehow inferior, then you are just plain dumb. I understand that most people who play games today are adults but how can you expect a family company to forget about its most important customer…the family? Nintendo will always cater to its core fans with titles like Mario and Zelda but they can not deny the younger audience who will one day take our place as Nintendo’s core fan base. Think about the experience today’s kids would be getting from gaming if all they hat to play was GTA and Gears of War? Is that fair? No. We all grew up on Mario and it turned us into the core gamer we are today and it even turned some of us into developers. There is little substance in today’s gaming. You aim and shoot. Little more. With Nintendo they do their best to preserve the legacy of what gaming is all about. Fun gameplay. You shouldn’t be able to separate the too.
A Little Mario In All Of Us
Lets stop being critical of what Nintendo is doing in the industry and start being more supportive. I hate when people make the statement that they “used to be big Nintendo fans” until they got older. Nintendo’s emphasis on gameplay is the same its been since the 80’s. If you were a Nintendo fan all those years ago, why should you stop now? Sony and Microsoft can often behave like Zombies. They rarely innovate, they just feed. On your wallet of course. The regurgitate the same ideas over and over again except that each time they just add more. More power, more power, more money you have to spend. Nintendo thinks about how they can deliver the consumer a fun experience that won’t violate their bank account. Listen we need all three console makers to survive and do well so that this industry can do well. When you route for Nintendo to fail, you route for the industry to fail. Period. Grow up.
WiiUmad GAMERS 
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November 11, 2013 at 1:51 pm
I am a “hardcore gamer” I play all types of games on different platforms from PC-ATARI and all in between. You made a big leap from Mature to violence. Mature games about a lot more than just violence, sex, and drugs. There are complex situations, moral grey areas. Mature games have good characters depth and stories. If you think lack violence is the main thing gamers are complaining about, you are very out of touch with gamers. Complexity, attention to detail, and depth are why hardcore games like games like Skyrim, not skooma!
November 11, 2013 at 2:01 pm
No,no. When gamers talk about maturity the first thing they talk about is violence. The first games that are referenced are games like GTA an COD. Do you understand that when studios try and do thes “mature” titles they rely on violence. Give me ONE example of a mature game that doesnt feature killing or blowing anything up? You cant. Its because content doesnt make a game mature.
November 11, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Killing? What do you do to enemies in Zelda? Hug them? What happens when you jump on somethings head in Mario? How many kisses did you hand out in Metroid? Art imitates life, and death is one of the biggest parts of life. I can give you a big list of Mature games where the killing is not the main focus. ALL MGS games, Last of Us, Metroid Prime GC, Crysis, WOW, Mass Effect. Your theory is just wrong you don’t have to show heads exploding to make a hardcore title. Can you show many any main Nintendo titles where you don’t kill something?
November 11, 2013 at 5:13 pm
You say that as if Mario, Zelda, and Metroid have the same level of gore and violence as the “Hardcore” games. Remember that Zelda and Mario usually only get an E rating by the ESRB. There’s a reason for that, it being that these games never go too far with their “Violence.” When you kill an enemy in Zelda:OoT, it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t get sawn in half like in Gears, it just disappears with a poof of smoke. Same with Mario; there isn’t any gore, there’s only mild violence, not intense gut-spilling brutality.
EVERYONE
Content is generally suitable for all ages. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
MATURE
Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.
Two direct quotes from the official ESRB website. Notice the fine line between the two, and like WiiUMadGamers said, the perception of “Mature” in video games.
November 11, 2013 at 6:27 pm
I agree with Cole Cameron
November 11, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Ok I see where your coming from and I respect your opinion. Just do me one favor…lets not pretend that there isn’t a HUGE difference between Mario stomping on the head of a Goomba and Marcus Phoenix running a chainsaw through the neck of Locust as blood and guts splatter all over the screen. Presentation is key. Nintendo will not present violence in a way that is disturbing to families. The most violent thing I have ever seen in a Zelda game is Link running his sword through Gannons face in Ocarina of Time. Yes the blood was red, until changed to green. Then blood was never seen in Zelda again as far as I can remember.
Thanks for reading my article and I really do value your opinion. I harp you stick around for future posts.
November 12, 2013 at 10:06 pm
@ Darthzoolu it seems you are maybe mixing up two different uses of “mature”. It looks lile wiiu is referring to games that earn a mature rating which cole showed almost necessarily have violence. On the other hand, when you said that mature games have “good characters depth and stories” you are explaining a game that a mature individual can appreciate through a dictionary definition of mature. The issue is that you are jumping between the two. I enjoyed Skyrim because it has deep gameplay and moral choices. I don’t enjoy Skyrim because it has “Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol” which is why it received a mature rating. This is wiiu’s point: games should be fun without the adolescent need to fill it with excessive violence, sex, OR (not AND; any of these get on my nerves) swearing.