Nintendo aiming at "core gamers," "Nintendo loyalists" for 3DS launch

Nintendo of America comms boss Charlie Scibetta has told IG the company is aiming at "core gamers" for the launch of 3DS in March.

He also said it was looking at "Nintendo loyalists" for the release of the 3D handheld.

"We know right at launch that the people that will be most interested in buying the 3DS are people that have been buying previous versions of the DS, that are Nintendo loyalists, and people that are core gamers," he told IG.

"There was a perception years back that we were somehow moving away from that crowd, and not making games that catered to that crowd, and that's absolutely not true. With this launch, we especially wanted to make games for them and give them what they wanted."

Despite that, Sclbetta said it was going to aim at every audience in the end with 3DS.

"What's our target audience down the line? It's really all ages, both male and female, because we certainly have the software support from third parties, and then from our own first party development to make games that appeal to everybody. We don't feel that you have to concentrate on one segment at the expense of the other."

3DS launches in the US on March 27 for $249. It releases in Europe on March 25.