Nintendo Is Sending ‘Mario Kart’ to Nursing Homes

After successfully selling nearly 130 million Switch consoles, Nintendo is eyeing another demographic that previously helped make its Wii and DS consoles into monstrous hits. The company is now putting Switches in elder care facilities in Japan as part of an initiative to help keep seniors' minds active and their bodies physically engaged.

The Switch comes from a lineage of age-accessible gaming. The Nintendo Wii popularized motion-based controllers, which helped the console appeal to a wider audience than just gamers. Those without the muscle memory and hand-eye coordination needed to use a gamepad could easily play some of the Wii's most popular titles, including the bundled Wii Sports, by just waving the console's Wii remotes around.

The handheld Nintendo DS had a similarly broadened appeal thanks to a stylus-driven touchscreen and titles like Brain Age, which appealed to older demographics not looking for platformers or shoot-em-ups.

The Nintendo Switch is a more traditional game console, but its detachable motion-sensing Joy-Cons work similarly to the Wii's Wii remotes, and will be an important part of Nintendo's new initiative in Japan. The company is partnering with Gakken Cocofan, a company that operates assisted living facilities and elderly housing there, to provide senior communities with Switch consoles and titles like Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch, Switch Sports (which recreates Wii Sports' popular bowling activity) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe—although we can't help but wonder if the stressful sound of an approaching blue shell is what seniors really need.

As altruistic as the initiative may seem, it will almost certainly create a few new Nintendo fans wanting Switch consoles of their own, helping to expand the aging console's fan base as the company tries to eke out a few more sales before the Switch's long-rumored follow-up potentially arrives next year.