Retired people have always been a prime target for consumer goods because of their large percentage of disposable income and leisure time. But baby boomers will be the first retirement generation that is also tech savvy, and companies are preparing for that windfall.
For the first time, Nintendo had a booth at the national AARP convention. Visitors were content to wait in long lines behind a velvet rope to play with the Nintendo Wii Fit balance board and other Wii games, such as Flash Focus and Brain Age 2.
"For us, a lot started in Japan where the aging population is bigger than it is here. They do everything from language training to etiquette software and banking software. In general, the idea of 'What is video game software?' is being turned on its head. We are in a period of renaissance and trying to fit to new audiences. That's where the idea is," said George Harrison, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications at Nintendo.
"Just in terms of sheer number, (retirees and baby boomers) are much larger than the current audience or historical audience for video. They also have a lot of disposable income," he said.
Photo by Candace Lombardi/CNET News.com
