NATIONAL POST ARTS

The average video game player is in their mid-thirties, as any adult gamer will eagerly tell you, but even if less than 20% are under 18, gaming is as much a part of kiddie culture as it has been since the dawn of Pong. In fact, gaming is aiming younger by the day.

“Throughout the years, games became more complicated and less accessible,” says Nintendo Canada’s Matt Ryan, who notes the motion-sensing Wii and touch-screen Nintendo DS helped the Japanese company reach an age range of five to 95. “We need to consider what that audience is able to do from an ability standpoint. That’s why we make games we call ‘pick up and play,’ which is a game like Kirby’s Epic Yarn.” ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE MURRAY