It's a common cliche. "Nintendo games are for kids". I hear it from friends, from colleagues, from shop assistants in Dixons, I hear it a lot on the Internet. Nintendo games are for kids, they say.
Well of course they bloody are. Just look at them! Bright primary colours all over the place, aggressively cheerful music, lovable cartoony characters - clearly designed to appeal directly to pre-pubescent children.
What's perplexing about all this is that somehow the rest of the gaming industry's output has managed to pass itself off as being in some way "adult" - mature, if you like. This despite the fact that the vast majority of said output is squarely targeted at sex obsessed, acne ridden, socially maladjusted teenage boys.
In other words, there are kids games, and then there are kids games. And given the choice, I'd far rather be indulging in an escapist fantasy world that would appeal to the 8 year old me (carefree, cheerful, yet to have all the joy sucked out of life, etc.), than the 15 year old me (obnoxious, stupid, obsessed with sex, and so on).
Nintendo games are for kids. Good job too.