I really hate to do this in the first place but I am going to talk about something I find highly frustrating to think about on a base level, the Casual vs. Core war. I have read quite a bit of people’s reactions to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo’s presentations at E3 and everyone had their gripes and graces for each of the big three and their showings. Anyway, let’s get down to it: Nintendo while putting on a much better show than last year still got a lot of criticism for appealing too much to the casual gamer and not catering enough to long time fans and the core.
While I was reading something or other I got an image in my mind of the core as a kid that grew up mostly as an only child, getting used to receiving most of the attention.
While I do not think this necessarily holds true since the casual market has pretty much always existed but is just discussed and more apparent today than in previous years, I am going to run with that image...mostly because everyone just assumes or acts like the masses got interested in gaming over the past few years.
So there is this only child that gets most of his parents’ [the industry] attention, but after he has enjoyed this system for many years they have another kid and the parents start fawning over this new child, and the older brother starts acting out because of no longer being the darling and centre of attention.
That is sort of how I see the gaming industry right now. Whenever a game comes out that does not interest the core gamer and is targeting this new audience, rather than getting ignored it gets heaps of shit tossed its way regardless of the quality of the title itself. Take this back to Nintendo’s E3 and while there was many a title targeted towards Nintendo fans and the core audience, I heard a lot of grumbling about Wii Fit Plus, Sports Resort and the Vitality Sensor.
Maybe I am just weird but usually when I am not interested in something I tend to ignore it and spend my time focusing on things that do captivate my interests. I really do not mind other people getting things that they want; especially if I am getting things that I want at the same time. So Wii Fit and Sports are getting sequels? They were both immensely popular games that there is definitely an audience for that I am sure is clamouring for more.
Do they appeal to me personally? No, not really, but I don’t particularly like Basketball or Urban music either but I don’t run up the streets of Los Angeles claiming that the Dodgers and Bad Religion are far superior and the Lakers and Snoop Dogg need to GTFO.
My only rationalisation for it is that core gamers feel threatened and want to put up an opposition and smear campaign before their beloved hobby is completely overtaken by the casual market. I can understand why the attack dogs go after Wii Fit & it has massive sales so it is obviously the flagship for casual gaming, but oddly is also fairly well received by critics. Why not go on a smear campaign against shovel-ware instead of decent titles that have an audience? Live and let live.
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I never had anything against casual gamers, just their tag.
Gaming has gone mainstream (i.e. sold out) and people need to get over it because ultimately its a good thing for everybody.
Some boards i've hung out in the past were absolutely dirty with this kind of stuff: i'm not sure if some of the people I've seen around actually have the capacity to enjoy gaming anymore, seemingly being too pre-occupied with explaining how an association with Carnival Games makes the Wii the worst thing to have ever graced existence on this planet.
It's unbeliveable that some people would rather hate on everything that they don't agree with, rather than enjoy themselves with what they are interested in. Enjoyment is what this industry was built upon, but some still choose to stupidly throw a blind eye to it.
Did you double post this?
Just asking.
I have no clue how that happened but it's taken care of thanks, Magnalon.
I think the hostility comes from the belief that publishers are choosing to make casual games instead of core games, and therefore every casual game that's released is "stealing" a slot that a core game that could have been developed.
On top of that, I think people feel as though their interested are being trivialized by publishers who are going after more profitable casual products. They feel like they're being really vocal about what they want, and no one is listening, which must be frustrating.
Looking back over the history of gaming, 90%+ has always been crap pumped out for easy profit. The only difference is that in the past most of the crap came out in core genres (fighting games, platformers, etc.) since that's what was popular. Now it's coming out in the casual space since that's what's selling.
Great games are still coming out in all genres, including casual. Game consoles are finding their way into more homes that wouldn't otherwise be interested. It's a very good time for gaming.
I agree completely and am kinda sad that this even needed saying. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is with just not buying games if you aren't into them. Why go out of your way to try to make sure that not only do other people not buy it, but that they feel like they've done a disservice to the entire gaming industry if they support a "casual" title.
I suspect a lot of the problem comes from the fact that 'hardcore' gamers feel like they are somehow special. Game companies want to make everyone feel special. 'Hardcore' gamers know that if everyone is special that makes them less special. This makes them cry and nerd rage about everything to the point that game companies don't care about pleasing them because they know they never will.
I also think its ridiculous people label themselves as one or the other.
I can enjoy both sides of the spectrum, sure I lean towards one generally but if a game is good...it's good and I'm not going to turn something away because its a little bit different then most of the other things I play.
You've hit on the problem in your analogy - most of the people arguing this stuff are loud, spoilt kids. A large percentage of Internet users are children and teenagers - or at least, the most vocal percentage. If I write something, I take my time over it. I make it good. Kids write more stuff at a lower standard. They're also the ones who get heard.
Perhaps there are some easily influenced adults who can't discern between a kid and a mature normal person on the
Internet, but I think this is just something that happens. If you argue with it, you're really just adding to the problem. I still think that certain places need this kind of post every so often so that all the intelligent people can agree with it and feel better about it but personally, I'm more or less immune to the negatives. Now I just enjoy the spectacle.
All said, good article though.
I guess it sort of depends on what one defines as a "casual" game - some seem to have the notion that ANY relatively simple, accessible (i.e. "casual") game is automatically garbage because it doesn't take ninja finger skills to succeed at, while others focus more on stuff that's not only simple but badly-programmed. Moreover, some so-called "core" gamers might be benignly interested in showing "casuals' what they're "missing" on the "hardcore" front, and get frustrated when the response isn't as positive as they'd like.
To some extent I can sympathize with those who lament the continued financial success of the parade of mini-game collections while more ambitious titles flounder at retail (and are thus less likely to be attempted again), though the issue is not as cut-and-dry as they oftentimes make it seem. "Casual" gamers aren't all clueless, but not all of them are looking to "be gamers" as we might define the term either - if we're going to do any good for gaming as a whole, we need to focus our efforts not on anyone who owns Wii Fit, but the companies and piss-poor products designed specifically to appeal to customers who aren't innately aware of the medium. Empowering and informing the consumer id ALWAYS the first step in ensuring that everyone benefits in the end.
The tag "casual gamer" is so retarded it makes my brain splode.
I don't give a shit either way dude. I just wanna play good games.
I think it should also be pointed out that shovelware is not a phenomenon unique to 'casual' titles either. I'm with Eternaldeathslayer, I just want to play something thats good.
And what have you got against basketball huh?? Hater.
Nothing really, I just find it boring.
They'll have theirs, and you'll have yours, and I'll have mine. And together we'll be fine.Because it takes, Different Strokes to move the world.