The average age of mostNintendoplayers is significantly higher than fans may have previously realized, a brand-new survey released by GEM Partners reveals. The survey also showcased that there is a surprising gender split for certain games, includingAnimal Crossing. While many may have assumed that Nintendo is a family-friendly, child-oriented business first and foremost, it would appear it has more adult fans than first thought.
TheGEM Partnerssurvey, which was published by the Japanese business publication Nikkei,explored the average ages of players for all games, including several popular Nintendo franchises. It surveyed 180,000 players across Japan who were aged 15 to 69 years old. Naturally, it focused on some ofNintendo’s most iconic franchises, ranging fromThe Legend of ZeldaandSuper Marioseries to more specific titles likeAnimal CrossingandSplatoon.
Survey Reveals The Average Age Of Nintendo Fans Is Much Higher
Most Iconic Nintendo Games Have An Average Player Age Of 30
Interestingly,of the six Nintendo franchises that were included in the survey, five of them had an average player age of 30 or above. The only one that didn’t - which wasSplatoon- had an average player age of 27. That’s a lot more than the far younger perceived player age that Nintendo currently caters to. Thissurprising Nintendo surveyfound thatAnimal CrossingandThe Legend of Zeldahad the oldest players on average, with both having an average player age of 35. The average age for games in general was 30 years old.
Of course,it is important to note that no one under the age of 15 was surveyed, meaning that the demographic largely considered to be Nintendo’s target audience was excluded. However, hitting an average age of around 30 years old out of 180,000 participants is quite surprising, and is telling that Nintendo’s audience, at least today, is much older than many may have thought. It also showcases thatNintendo needs more mature gamesto cater to its older players who may eventually outgrow the likes ofPokémon.
Survey Reveals A Huge Gender Split Across Nintendo Games
More Men Play Nintendo Games Than Women
In addition to surveying ages, the GEM Partners survey also looked at gender. It found thatwhen it comes to games in general, 75% of people surveyed identified as male, whereas only 25% identified as female. However, when it came to Nintendo games specifically, the split wasn’t quite as dramatic.Splatoonsaw a split of 65% male and 35% female;Kirby’sgender split was 45% male and 55% female;Mariohad a split of 70% male and 30% female, andThe Legend of Zelda’ssplit was 60% male and 40% female.
On average, then, outside ofKirby,more men play Nintendo games than women, at least when looked through the lens of this survey in particular, and certainly in Japan. However,Animal Crossingis the outlier here, as it saw a split of 75% female and 25% male. It is possible that cozy games attract a predominantly female audience. A 2017 study byQuantic Foundryalso found this, with 69% of players who had taken its survey and played the Family/Farming sim genres identifying as female.
Ultimately, this survey says a lot about Nintendo’s fan base, at least specifically in Japan, and the types of players it should be targeting within each of its franchises. Most importantly, it is clear thatNintendo’saudience is likely much older on average than many may assume, and that it is time it invested more heavily in catering to them, such as by releasing more mature first-party titles.
