Nintendo Switch My Way: Targeting Families through Game Play

The Nostalgia of Video Games
As a younger Millennial who has a brother on the border of Millennial and Gen Z, I grew up with gaming systems like the NES 64, Nintendo GameCube, and PlayStation. Handheld consoles like the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and Advance SP were popular in my home. When Nintendo released the Nintendo DS, we were hooked. One year about three days before Christmas my mom drove to a Wal-Mart 45 minutes away just so I could have the Metallic Rose Nintendo DS Lite. It never failed that every year right around Halloween the next big console would be out and he would add it to his birthday/Christmas list (if you have a birthday after Halloween you understand having a list to cover both events).
I lived through the Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, Just Dance and Wii bowling crazes. I’ve played classics like Donkey Kong County, Pac-Man, and Super Mario Brothers. We’ve owned almost every PlayStation or Nintendo console in the last twenty years. Those memories of sitting in the backseat on a long car ride trying to get past that one Donkey Kong level or getting sucked into the Nintendo DS Imagine series with games focused on being a figure skater, fashion designer and more. The hours spent mastering the Guitar Hero level for “I Wanna Rock N’ Roll All Night” by KISS or a Dance Dance Revolution level. Even as a recreational gamer, I still have many memories around time spent playing video games with my brother and friends.
Changing the Video Gaming Landscape

In early 2017, Nintendo released the Switch, a hybrid gaming console that supports portable game play on the go, as well as stationary game play connected to a television. Nintendo took the concept of their Wii U, which was a handheld system connected to a stationary system, a step further by making the Switch a system that could be played on the go like a Nintendo Game Boy or DS, while also being able to connect to a television for group play or just for the pleasure of playing on a larger screen.
Target Audiences
When the Switch was released, the focus was on portability and easy of use, which can be seen in their early tagline “The Nintendo Switch “Anytime — Anywhere — With Anyone.”
In a presentation by Nintendo, they mention that this “play style concept has captured the interest of many different consumer demographics.” However, their main demographic was males at 86% and users between ages 25–34. This isn’t too surprising as this age group, like myself, grew up with handheld consoles and stationary ones, but as we grow older and move into the work force, having a device that is portable while also has the same strong content as a stationary console is appealing.

Thinking Outside The Box
While it is established that younger millennials and men are stronger users of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo is still after other target audiences as seen in their ads. Many ads show different demographics from race, age, profession, roles in the household, etc.
I think that from many of their recent ads, their target audience is older millennials with children. Nintendo wants you to see the Switch as a console that anyone in the family can enjoy, from the littlest member to the seasoned grandparent. Their early tagline was “The Nintendo Switch “Anytime — Anywhere — With Anyone,” but recently is has shifted to “Nintendo Switch My Way.”
This change shows that the consumer understands that this console is designed for game play at home or on the go, and alone or with someone else, but now it is focused on how you as the gamer can enjoy your games how you please.
Targeting the Parents
Many of the ads lately target parents. Like dad who can take care of his baby and enjoy playing The Legend of Zelda or the mom who travels for work but can play Mario Kart 8 from her hotel room. There is the couple with a baby who they drive around in the car to get her to sleep or the dad who comes home from work to play with his daughter and catch up on her day.
Parents are the target audience for Nintendo Switch, and not just parents buying it for their children, but parents buying it for themselves or for them to interact with their children.

Millennials grew up playing video games, some in arcades, some in the living room after school, and other in the car during long trips or the usual commute. Reminding that Millennial market that they can be grown up and still enjoy the games they played as children with their own children is a smart move for Nintendo.
