Hey guys back again from long break (Yes, I'm still studying for the MCATs)...noticed a lot of threads lately on casuals this, hardcore that, Wii suckz, etc. etc.

The article founded by noname2200 (btw, great work on the E3 thread!!) on Hating on the casuals just pushed me to respond...so I'm going to show an article that finally explains it all (I think...). Discuss what you guys think of this:

http://www.endsights.com/?p=30

Nintendo’s Doing Something Right

There’s a certain charm about Nintendo games. It’s hard to explain, really, but despite my apathy towards so many of Nintendo’s games, from Mario Party to Wii Sports, there’s no denying that these games have a little special something in them. Just yesterday I had my first day off in a week and I spent the whole day looking after my three-year-old cousin. So, what did we do? Aside from not sleeping in, we played his version of tag, lovingly called “Robot Runner,” or “Run From the Big Rock” as well as hide and seek, lovingly called “hide and seek,” and of course time spent playing “TV games.” After eight hours straight of this, you’d think I’d throw my Wii and GameCube out the window and sue Nintendo for killing off some valuable brain cells of mine, but instead, I can only praise the Big N.

It sounds crazy, but there’s a reason (well, more than one) why Nintendo is doing so well in this console generation and it isn’t just the motion-sensitive controls. Honestly, that seems like the gimmick to get people to come and enjoy the games Nintendo puts out. Like I said, Nintendo games have a certain charm to them. Watching my cousin giggle as he watches his favorite gaming character, Wario (I’m well aware of the problem here, but he simply doesn’t care for Mario), run and jump and jiggle in places you wish wouldn’t jiggle with that ugly mug of his, I can’t help but be kind of content.

If you were to ask me what I thought of Wario World for the GameCube, I’d tell you it’s one of the worst games on the console and doesn’t even deserve to be called average due to its short length and uneven difficulty. But if you were to ask my cousin, he’d respond in some form of baby-English that it’s “reawy cool and Wario is funny!”

Wario World aside, if you can still play and enjoy Mario Party games on your own today and you’re over the age of 15, I’d say you need to sit down and try playing some No More Heroes on that waggly console of yours, pronto! However, seeing this kid’s face light up as four goofball characters from the Mario universe, including Wario, run around on a game board and compete in silly mini-games together is worth more than anything. But seeing him understand that games are more fun with other people is a great feeling too. Even I enjoyed myself as two others joined the two of us in playing Mario Party. For twenty-five turns we raced, shot and collected our way to the top, and while I finished dead last (yes, I am aware that I lost to a three-year-old at Mario Party) I still had a great time with the kid.

Even games like Mario Power Tennis, WarioWare and Mario Strikers are more fun when seeing that fat plumber of love, decked out all in red and blue, runs in a goofy manner, seemingly to make the kid laugh. He had a blast with the games that I figured I didn’t like, but what’s crazy is that I had fun as well with him.

People often assume that “family-fun” means that something is automatically aimed at children, but while a child should always have fun, if something is known as “fun for the whole family” it had better be fun for everyone. Honestly, I don’t like Nintendo’s party games, and while Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl are two exceptions, I only play those games with other people. But that’s the thing, when others are around, including youngsters or even respected members of the community, it won’t be Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV that reels them all in, but rather, it’ll be Mario Party and Wii Sports. Not because they’re deep and meaningful experiences, but simply because everyone can play them.

I suppose that’s why Nintendo is doing so well. They’ve managed to get everyone in the family up and playing. When a child is running around the garden reenacting Mario Party mini-games with his friends, or even when others ask me why I’m playing Ninja Gaiden II over Super Mario Galaxy, one thing becomes apparent: Nintendo knows what they’re doing.

There’s a certain charm to Nintendo games, that’s for sure.

Article: Hating on the casuals

That is all pretty obvious.

^^You would think so, but people tend to forget the obvious after a while...

Sometimes the idea of just having fun is forgotten in the world of logic

Nintendo's closest equivalent isn't Apple, it's Pixar. You can take children to see Wall-E, and they'll love it, but if you're anything like me you'll enjoy it as much or more than they do. Too many people in this industry can't distinguish accessibility and childishness.

Wall-E was friggen awesome.

The problem, imho, seems to be that the game industry is becoming more and more like the film industry....and right now that transition is becoming very bitter towards the customers a.k.a us gamers.

Yes, in the film industry, for every "There Will Be Blood," there are ten "Step Up" movies around. So far the film industry seems to intact. But that is because no one feels like they have to defend a movie film company like Paramount against Warner Bros. because no one feels obliged to do so; a movie is just a movie.

However, when it comes to movies, it seems everyone feels the need to defend one system against another, ones choice of games against the others.....if everyone just realizes that everyone has the right to have fun with any type of game, whether it is MGS4, SMG or even Petz, then things would be a-okay.....

Of course that is just my opinion.

The problem is that Nintendo simply cannot get out of the 80's mindset that videogames are meant to be "fun". I'm sick and tired of developers focusing on creating "fun" experiences on the Wii and in return sacrificing their artistic integrity amidst this peer pressure to be "FUN". Fun is FINE, but it shouldn't be the sole direction and focus the industry basks in.

Thanks for the shout-out, and nice find. The last paragraph in particular really nailed it. I agree with Desroko that Nintendo's "let's make stuff for everyone" philosophy is what's led them to this (glorious) point. And your analogy with the movie industry is actually closer to the truth than I'd like, pakidan. Hopefully, things will settle down with time.

Edit: Nice one DTG.

 You sir, disgust me.  What's a game if it's not fun? An interactive movie or book? A competitive sport? Honestly, fun should be the sole direction and focus of the industry, though quality is welcome as well.

I'm 99.9% certain that was sarcasm.

Edit: Actually, going through his post history I may well be wrong, unless he strongly believes in staying in character 24/7...