UPDATE: Video Games Chronicle has now covered this commercial, stating that it is making players cry. They had noted that the original YouTube upload is up to nearly 840,000 views with 98 % likes, but it truly went viral on Twitter after being uploaded by user ZeldaSequel. The tweet has received over two million views and was shared over 200 times.
Our original story is below.
Are you used to the idea of grown-ups playing video games? I’m sure a lot of GameRanx’s own audience already skew 20 years old and above, and are possibly even considerably more adult than that.
In fact, ESA’s Essential Facts About The Video Game Industry report for 2022 found that 34 % of all gamers are in the 18 to 34 year old age group. This is also the largest age group playing games.
Still, in spite of how widespread gaming is among adults, and how many games are clearly made for adults, it’s still not so commonplace that we are used to the sight of a middle aged man playing a Nintendo Switch, while on the bus going home after work.
And yet, that is precisely what Nintendo Australia decided to pitch in their newest commercial. There is no doubt that this commercial is making it to Australian television, and it would certainly be interesting if it made it to the rest of the world as well.
The commercial starts with an older man, wearing a coat and tie and everything, getting on the bus and shrugging as he looks out the bus window, to what is admittedly a beautiful Australian seaside.
The man gets home, greets his significant other, but as he sits down to relax in front of the TV, he sees a Nintendo Switch Pro controller and the box for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
He is then shown playing the game, experimenting. Interestingly enough, he is shown repeatedly failing to get across the water to an island. It isn’t until he figures out how to make a proper raft using Link’s new abilities that he succeeds.
Later, he’s shown playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on the bus, on an OLED Switch. As he sees Link flying across his glider, he looks out the bus window again, sees the bright blue sky, and smiles.
If you think about it a bit, this commercial certainly raises a few questions. Did this man’s children leave The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom lying around the TV? Was it his significant other playing the game?
But obviously these little details aren’t really a big deal. The real question is, would this commercial get grown adult men to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
While I personally feel we’re a far cry away from when the late Satoru Iwata successfully brought casual gamers on to play on the Wii, it’s bold for Nintendo to be going after them again. Maybe some lapsed gamers will see something interesting in this.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases on May 12, 2023, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. You can watch the two minute commercial below.
