Nintendo announces new female-focused Play As You Are ad campaign

Nintendo has never had much of a problem appealing to casual gamers.

With the stratospheric success of the Wii, DS, and 3DS, it has enticed whole families to explore the broad range of titles available for each generation of its handhelds and consoles.

In an effort to step up this enticement, Nintendo of America announced that it will launch a new female-focused 'Play As You Are' ad campaign for 3DS games on October 1st.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas will spearhead the campaign with a Midnight Purple 3DS in hand.

In addition to Douglas, Nintendo will also use Glee's Dianna Agron and Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) to illustrate "how all kinds of women and young girls can explore their interests and express their individuality using the portable Nintendo 3DS – whether they consider themselves gamers or not."

Douglas will appear in commercials for New Super Mario Bros. 2, while Agron will appear in commercials for the upcoming Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! and Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask.

Sarah Hyland will be featured in commercials for Style Savvy: Trendsetters and Sparkle Snapshots 3D, rounding out the full range of 3DS games that Nintendo feels will appeal most to female gamers.