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Another stupid buzzword for the pile: Say hello to 'bridge games'
Jim Sterling03.19.2008 18:29 (170 day(s) ago) 42 comments

Another stupid buzzword for the pile: Say hello to 'bridge games' screenshot

As if splitting videogames into "hardcore" and "casual" wasn't stupid enough, Nintendo has decided to throw another idiotic and ill-defined buzzword into the ring -- announcing that Mario Kart Wii is now a "bridge game." Yay for terms that further widen this nonsensical and mythical divide between "hardcore" and "casual" gamers.

Apparently, Mario Kart Wii is a bridge game because it lets "novices and veterans play and have fun together." I always thought that most videogames could be enjoyed by novices and veterans, but I guess I was wrong. They need these special bridges to connect the dots, otheriwse people new to gaming just won't have fun! Ah, the heady world of videogame PR speak, where would we be without you? Well, we wouldn't be here reading moronic terms pulled from the ass of some executive in between lines of cocaine. 

I just wish we could go back to calling games what they are -- "games."

MORE IN OUR Wiitards SECTION

Latest comment by evil chad |view all 42 comments
Fun game and not fun games is one thing, but some games require more than that. Have a noob play a vet in virtua fighter 5 and see how well that goes. Brawl is *shudder* a "bridge" game because i......





mistic's Avatar
mistic at 03/19/2008 18:28

Shouldn't it be a 'gateway'-game then?

play too mutch of this game and you'll become hardcore! :-)
ironmanrules1333's Avatar
ironmanrules1333 at 03/19/2008 18:33

@MISTIC it may be a good idea that they avoided the drug comarison
B-Radicate's Avatar
B-Radicate at 03/19/2008 18:37

That's weird 'cause the system itself only has "mini-games" and "shitty games" on it. Only fitting that it now has a new genre.

Also, I own one. Just saying.
McSnow's Avatar
McSnow at 03/19/2008 18:37

You would think that Nintendo would know that there is no such thing as a casual or hardcore game, only gamers.
Is someone who plays Bejeweled for 8 hours casual?
Is someone who plays C0D4 for half an hour hardcore?

Its the gamers that define the difference, not the game they play.
Kapkomi's Avatar
Kapkomi at 03/19/2008 18:38

there are no Hardcore, Casual, or Bridge games.

there are fun games, and not fun games.
Technophile's Avatar
Technophile at 03/19/2008 18:40

I've heard the term thrown around before. It's all about PR and marketing.

I don't think I know a single developer that gives much of a shit if you are hardcore, casual or whatever. Most of them just wanna make a good game. Most developers just don't have that freedom.
Vohaul79's Avatar
Vohaul79 at 03/19/2008 18:49

Bridge. Nice. Hope to see that POS term brought up countless times in blogs.
Vohaul79's Avatar
Vohaul79 at 03/19/2008 18:51

Friend codes are what tear down bridges.
Lime's Avatar
Lime at 03/19/2008 18:54

If it isn't one thing with Nintendo, it's another. :<
bluexy's Avatar
bluexy at 03/19/2008 19:00

I'd like to "bridge" the gap between my foot and Nintendo's ass! Ya!... eh.

originality points -20
grrza's Avatar
grrza at 03/19/2008 19:13

I just wish we could go back to calling games what they are -- "games."

Yes, this.
AgentMOO's Avatar
AgentMOO at 03/19/2008 19:15

the ultimate Bridge game:

BFeld13's Avatar
BFeld13 at 03/19/2008 19:16

What the fuck? I already coined a term for this.
HarassmentPanda's Avatar
HarassmentPanda at 03/19/2008 19:31

Wait, Nintendo is releasing a bridge game? Awesome!

Face's Avatar
Face at 03/19/2008 19:33

Who the fuck cares what they are called, just play the bloody things and be happy.
Kiranio's Avatar
Kiranio at 03/19/2008 19:46

I completely agree with Jim. All these community diving is completely dumb. Games are games.
Scape's Avatar
Scape at 03/19/2008 19:47

Yea you're right, it's pretty dumb.
Eschatos's Avatar
Eschatos at 03/19/2008 19:54

I don't really see Mario Kart as a "hardcore" game in any sense. It's a casual racing game.
zardoz's Avatar
zardoz at 03/19/2008 20:01

Mario Kart Wii is called a "bridge" game because Nintendo knocked it out in about half an hour, knew that gamers who have been fans of the series since the Super famicom days would recognise it for the watered down, snail paced, half assed piece of shit that it is, and sought to avoid deserved criticism by trying to label it as an entirely new beast.

If you cut the corporate jargon, what Nintendo are actually trying to say is that Mario Kart Wii looks like crap deliberately, "Hey it's a bridge game and we're not trying to make it look good, we want it to appeal to everyone which is why everything about it screams mediocrity". Sorry Nintendo I don't buy it.

Mario Kart Wii is Nintendo at their absolute worst and I'm qualified to say that because i'm a lifelong Nintendo fan. I remember the day i knew the N64 was toast, I walked into Game and saw Mario Kart 64, it was slow, boring and looked as if it as made with the arrogance of "Hey it's Mario isn't that enough?"

On the TV screen right next to Mario Kart was Wipeout on the PS1, it was fast, fresh and exciting. Nintendo had missed the Zeitgeist by a huge margin, Wipeout was confirmation that the CD storage medium allowed more dynamic games.

What's my overly long point? Nintendo are at their absolute worst when they go through the motions and just assume they can get away with producing lazy crap beacuse it contains their classic 'fun' gameplay. It's not enough Nintendo.
WDot's Avatar
WDot at 03/19/2008 20:06

HarrassmentPanda: That's exactly what I thought of, and Nintendo: If you're trying to pitch this to older people, here's a hint: That may be what they think of too. ;)
RskimB's Avatar
RskimB at 03/19/2008 20:45

damn labelling
bleep's Avatar
bleep at 03/19/2008 20:51

HarassmentPanda beat me to it....
DarkTetsuya's Avatar
DarkTetsuya at 03/19/2008 21:01

@B-radicate:

And which of those does SSB Brawl fall under?

Yeah, that's what I thought. (Not saying there *aren't* crappy games on the Wii, but come on... Rig Racer 2?! are they f***ing serious?!)
NightDehumidifier's Avatar
NightDehumidifier at 03/19/2008 21:40

I know DarkTetsuya, where the fuck is my Rig Racer 1?
Cowzilla3's Avatar
Cowzilla3 at 03/19/2008 21:47

I totally made this term up a year ago or so. No one ever listens to me making up terms but Nintnedo comes along and now we all listen!
DeusPayne's Avatar
DeusPayne at 03/19/2008 21:48

It's a gateway game. It leads to more hardcore games, and a life of selling your children for money to buy more games.
skruloos's Avatar
skruloos at 03/19/2008 21:53

As I said before, there is absolutely nothing wrong with labeling this sub-genres. It helps marketing and categorization, which is how the human brain functions. The problem occurs when idiots try to define themselves by these categories and limit themselves to it. I have no problem calling myself a casual gamer.It doesn't mean I only play pick up and play casual type games.

Inversely, it doesn't mean that casual games will only appeal to casual gamers. But the fact remains that there ARE different types of games and different types of gamers.
Paul Soth's Avatar
Paul Soth at 03/19/2008 22:22



My mom actually bought this for herself. Never did get much use.
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 03/19/2008 22:36

Shouldn't a bridge game be a game where bridge is played? Now I'm all confused. Can you play bridge in Mario Kart Wii? Is it an unlockable mini-game or something? What's next? Uno? Oh... wait.

Anyway, I don't give a shit about "bridge games" other than that I think the term is as entirely useless as "hardcore" and "casual", but that picture is totally relevant to my interests.
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar
Burnt Meatloaf at 03/20/2008 02:05

So, a hardcore game is a hyper splatterfest, and a hardcore gamer is a person who plays games a LOT.

A casual gamer like simple minigames and puzzle games, and plays only occasionally.

A bridge game is a little of both but not enough of either. So how do we define bridge gamers?

I thought Nintendo's marketing team would come up with something a bit better than this. Not like they really need marketing at this point.
Kaspar's Avatar
Kaspar at 03/20/2008 03:56

Dear God, make it stop.
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 03/20/2008 04:06

I'd like to coin the term "soda and pizza roll gamers". I'm sure there are enough of us out there that prepare a plate of pizza rolls and mountain dew before settling into a game, and we are totally misrepresented by the media. I AM SO MISUNDERSTOODZ!!1!
Roel's Avatar
Roel at 03/20/2008 04:20

This has probably been said before, but it seems to me this ongoing discussion is very out-of-place on a site which advertises itself as a "hardcore gamer community".
Ritalin Twitch's Avatar
Ritalin Twitch at 03/20/2008 05:14

@Niero

How do you think us "Heroin and Hookers" gamers feel?
savagesaladin's Avatar
savagesaladin at 03/20/2008 07:58

That guy in the picture is actually really tiny.
Redeye's Avatar
Redeye at 03/20/2008 08:19

I would like to take the PR halfwits who thought of 'bridge' gaming and throw them from the highest one I can find. That one in France that sits above the cloud layer should do...
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 03/20/2008 09:14

I'm annoyed with the way Nintendo has been recycling the same mario kart race tracks for the past few games now. I don't even really like those levels.
Demtor's Avatar
Demtor at 03/20/2008 11:29

'gateway' games? LoL!

Okay now children, drugs are bad. Mmkay? And, if you like some games, they'll make you like other games. Mmkay? Ya see, drugs are bad.
KyleGamgee's Avatar
KyleGamgee at 03/20/2008 12:08

I agree with Kapkomi
Fun Games
not fun games
evil chad's Avatar
evil chad at 03/21/2008 11:10

Fun game and not fun games is one thing, but some games require more than that. Have a noob play a vet in virtua fighter 5 and see how well that goes. Brawl is *shudder* a "bridge" game because it has handicaps and other options in place that can let the noobs hang with the vets. Last time i played with my best friend and his girlfriend i had an auto-handicap 90% damage handicap but we all had fun and enjoyed it nonetheless.

I still think it's a stupid unnecessary term though.

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