Huh, you guys confuse me. PS2 was the most casual of the last gen systems.

Xbox only had the hardcore FPS fans
Gamecube only had the harcore Nintendo fans
PS2 had some hardcore gamers, but was mostly for casual gamrs

Sony sold the bucket loads of PS1 and PS2 it did because it managed to get the system to almost everyone buying consoles at that time.

This gen so far the Wii ias hoovering up that market while Sony has got itself locking into more of a hardcore / HD gaming battle with MS.

MS is the only one of the three i'd say that is truly locked in to a narrow demographic and over time if they don't solve that they will always eventually finish in third place as the harcode/lonline MP market is much smaller than the more casual console gamer.

Nintendo has always played well to a certain demographic but has never really appealed to the gamers seeking PC style FPS/online MP games (and I don't think it ever will).

Sony previously (by luck or design or a bit of both) got the balance best and if there is any hope for PS3 to really take off its that they continue to make momentum across multiple demographics... so OP I'd disagree, if they want any shot at much better sales they must appeal broadly and not just to the hardcore.

Dude, Echochrome is Sony to the bone. Its not "casual."

And if games like LittleBigPlanet (which is 2nd party) mean "casual gaming," then bring me more casual gaming. I am down with Singstar too, although I could take or leave Buzz!

The PS2 was not for hardcores only, which is why it sold so well. It struck the balance a lot better than the Wii did if you asked me, and the PS3 should try and emulate that. I think people are just more conscious of "casual" games this day.

bad timing sony, bad timing if they would release a 300$ ps3 with some casual games before christmas 2007 they would have a chance. now it's just desperation.

I think many of you are being narrow minded about this , you have to put in to perspective everything.

Sony can't afford to to apeal to a small segment of the games market , they have to capture the casual games market even it cost's them up to 40% of their hardcore gamers market (which is unlikely) announcements like the scapping of Eight Days and Getaway sound like the end of the world to us hardcore gamers but in Sony's perspective it's neccasery that it diversify's it's products to increase it's competetivnesss.

There are still a bunch of PS3 exclusives comming this year and next Resistance , Little Big Plannet , Socom 2008 God Of War 3 , Final Fantasy , Killzone , GT5 2009.
However it is important that Sony can cater to the needs of the casual market also to an extent releasing too many exclusives would be far too expensive especialy to one segment of an entire market , Sony needs to spread the risk across several markets.

I'm guessing the re-allocation of resources and finances will contribute to more casual gamer projects and possibly the lowering of the PS3's price point (which is one of Sony's biggest obstacles right now.)

lets be honest, you'll need great games to please gamers!
and so far Sony out of the 3 company's has the least amount of first party quality titles. the lack of software sold every week worldwide speaks for itself.

Hell, even Gran Turismo is kind of casual.

Sony-SCE always tried to cater to a big audience. Nothing new. The only problem they now have is that the funds from Sony to SCE have dried up. Yesterdays announcement that Getaway and Eight Days are stopped underlines this.

With the current pricepoint the casuals aren't really persuaded to buy a PS3, but nevertheless Sony has to try and distinct itself from Microsoft. Therefore things like LBP, Afrika and Singstar are pretty good.

But this strategy of course will hurt the more hardcore games coming from SCE.