OXM Review Scores and Rumors

[Shifty Geezer]

Isn't KH the action RPG with the Disney characters? If so they could also be considering the target audiance (i.e. younger folks who look to their parents to buy them consoles and games). Actually if it is not a full next gen game I would hope they would also aim for the Wii as that could be a big hit.

I don't know what the demographic was, but I know it's appealed to a lot of adults. The ratio of adults to kids will likely never be known, but I think it unfair to assume because it's Disney, it's for kids. Like Pixar movies, it's not as though Disney content has no appeal to adults. A lot of people have shared with these characters at different ages and are pleased to see them in a game as they were.

The structure of KH leads me to doubt they could go 'next-gen' with it in a big way, other than sprucing up the visuals. If they keep the format it wouldn't take advantage of the Wiimote, and I can't see how it could be nicely adapted to that interface, but it'd work on Wii. In fact if KH3 is coming any time soon I expect it to be on PS2 more than anywhere! If they're going for next-gen, I don't see any reason not to go multiplatform, as KH isn't dependent on Japanese success of the hardware. Still, by that same reasoning FF could be cross-platform. I don't know how SE decide where to put their games. Do they ever do cross-platform titles? Or do they develop specific games for specific consoles on the whole (I know FFXI was multiplatform but that's expected for MMOs on consoles, as MMOs want the large PCs)?

 

[Acert93]

I don't know what the demographic was, but I know it's appealed to a lot of adults. The ratio of adults to kids will likely never be known, but I think it unfair to assume because it's Disney, it's for kids. Like Pixar movies, it's not as though Disney content has no appeal to adults. A lot of people have shared with these characters at different ages and are pleased to see them in a game as they were.

yeah I think so too, like Pixar Movies.

KH is not aimed for younger folks. It sells shitloads to adults.

I have watched all the Pixar movies in the theater (and not once with a child!) and kids are most definately the primary audiance as can be seen by who fills the seats. That is not to say it cannot or does not appeal to adults (why do you think I watch them?) but the primary target audiance is children. The branding, partnerships, and marketing significantly revolve around such (see: McDonald's happy kids meals). Ditto Disney characters. When was the last time you sat down to read a Pooh book by yourself? Quick, how many of you single guys with no children own more than 3 Dr. Seuss or Whinnie the Pooh books? How many of you turn of your Tekken or Gran Tourisimo game to watch a rerun of Clifford?

A game like KH that sells over 1M copies is going to sell to a lot of adults (especially when a large portion of the units are owned by adults) but that does not mean it is the primary target audiance. Even the gameplay difficulty indicates that it was not tailored toward hard core gaming adults but to be approachable for children. Maybe that is why so many of you liked it

And my point stands: Nintendo's platform is very ripe for this sort of material. Nintendo gamers love the "Nintendo" maschots and franchises for a reason. Nintendo does have a much stronger "family friendly" orientation than Sony or Microsoft have in general and have published quite a few games based on Disney characters (even a sports lineup). The projected demographic of Wii and Nintendo's history/fans would indicate a Disney themes game would do great on the platform. And of course there are adult Nintendo consumers like myself who would pick it up as well

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I have watched all the Pixar movies in the theater (and not once with a child!) and kids are most definately the primary audiance as can be seen by who fills the seats.

I'll mildly disagree with you on that one. There's a lot of marketting towards kids because they're an easy sell for cheap plastic merchandise, but the creation of these titles tends to be all-encompassing and cross-demographic. The Pixar movies aren't kids movies that happen to appeal to adults, but movies crafted to appeal to all ages. Contrast that with a Barbie movie for a production targetted wholely on kids that no adult cares to own (though admittedly here I haven't watched any Barbie movies so may be being presumptious and missing the finest story-telling of our times!)

Good story and strong characters can make for great entertainment. The fact that it's 'cute' and lacking violence/swearing/etc. doesn't mean the story isn't mature enough to appeal to adults. Such a film (or other media) just has extra pulling power for the sprogs which is great for revenues, and of course adults are going to want to share the experience with their children which is why kids get a lot attention. Disney and Pixar have quite a reputation for creating for an open demographic and it's not right to say they are producing first-and-foremost works for children targetted at children.

KH had some pretty abstract themes. If Donald and Goofy are aimed at 6-7 year olds, the plot and length and depth of that game certainly wasn't. It's more than likely going to be overlooked by teenagers in their rebellion of anything 'kiddy'. Given a choice between a userbase of 20 million Console A's owned by adults, or 20 million Console B's own by kids, I would think SE would rather target KH3 at Console A if they stick with the same themes and general implementation if they can't do both. Well, that''s my guess until someone shows up with figures showing 9 in 10 copies of KH are owned and played by 9 year olds

 

[Mefisutoferesu]

Guys, have any of you actually SEEN the trailer for KHIII? Kiddy my butt. S-E has progressively been making KH more adult as time goes on. If KH was meant for kids, I'd say KHII was aimed at 13-14 young teenager crowd, and KHIII is for the 16-18 crowd. Give and take on the ages to your taste. That said, I'm pretty sure KH had a more adult following than the content might let on... never underestimate Square(-Enix)'s fanbase.

 

[Moonblade]

Guys, have any of you actually SEEN the trailer for KHIII? Kiddy my butt. S-E has progressively been making KH more adult as time goes on. If KH was meant for kids, I'd say KHII was aimed at 13-14 young teenager crowd, and KHIII is for the 16-18 crowd.

Well, that's probably because KHIII is made for the same fanbase who enjoyed playing KHI and II years ago and have grown up a little bit too.
The same goes for the new Harry Potter movie but still ..... it's for kids in the first place.

 

[ZiFF]

KHIII is not announced and i think it wont for a year atleast.. KHII is not even in Europe yet.