Is the Sony missing out on young gamers?

When Nintendo released the Gamecube they were criticized for not having enough “mature” games and for being too child oriented. Rated “M” games like Grand Theft Auto III, Halo, and Hitman 2 have sold over a million copies and two of those games on the list were system sellers. Clearly the gaming audience has “grown up” and there are more adults that play video games than probably ever before. However, if gaming is for everyone you can’t forget  kids. Most kids can’t afford to buy a Playstation 3 on allowance alone. Unless they beg their parents to get one as a present or shovel snow off a lot of driveways they aren’t going to get a PS3 until a price drop. Even if parents get past the sticker shock of the $500+ price tag there are few games designed for pre teens. Unless you’re going to pick up a high definition version of Madden 07 or Ridge Racer 7 there aren’t too many E or E10+ titles for Sony’s new system. As of now there are only 14 games rated between E to E10+ and that includes downloadable games like Go! Sudoku. Now completely designing a video game system for kids isn’t going to hit the masses, but ignoring them isn’t going to help the Playstation 3 either. The Xbox 360 which has traditionally been a “hardcore” system has been actively promoted by Microsoft as a family system. With games like Viva Pinata and a strong emphasis on parental controls the Xbox 360’s new image is bound to get a lot more attention from parents than the Playstation 3 which touts Resistance: Fall of Man and Genji: Days of the Blade.