Seven Signs Hardcore Gamers Don't Matter Anymore excerpted from GameDaily

While hardcore gamers may know a lot about games, they are definitely not the ones pushing the video game industry to new heights.

Hardcore gamers, the crazies who live on video game message boards and regularly stay up to beat 40-hour games in 24 hours, helped define the video game industry. If you were one of those who played Super Mario in one sitting, cried when Sephiroth killed Aerith in Final Fantasy VII we salute you.

However, more and more evidence is showing that these dedicated gamers are not as important as in past years.

1 - Wii're number one

In order to defeat Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo abandoned the "my console is more powerful than your console" philosophy and focused on attracting casual and non-gamers instead. Sorry Nintendo fanboys/girls, but the Wii owes its success to Wii Sports, Wii Play and Guitar Hero.

#2 - Easier video games

Back in the day, video games didn't have checkpoints or the ability to save any time. When you died, you went to the beginning of the level. In order to appeal to a wider audience, companies allow gamers to save anywhere, litter video games with checkpoints or eliminate dying entirely; we're looking at you Prince of Persia.

#3 - More sequels, fewer new games

New intellectual properties like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, were crushed by a glut of sequels like Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Call of Duty: World at War and WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2009, games that appeal to players of all skill levels.

#4 - R.I.P. U.S. arcade industry

Not even the hardcore gamers, the ones that stunk up rooms playing Street Fighter II and Marvel Vs. Capcom, could save the doomed U.S. arcade industry.

#5 - Casual games are more important than "hardcore" ones

With its wildly popular Wii console selling to millions of casual and non-gamers (Wii Sports still rules the video game arena), the company unveiled games for all ages like Shaun White Snowboarding and Wii Music. As for the rest of the industry, EA brought popular board games like Monopoly to consoles.

#6 - What's a developer?

Hardcore nutters love singing the praises of Kojima, Schafer and Wright, but let's face it, none of these dudes sell millions with their names, and most attempts fail miserably and programmers who think they're rock stars look ridiculous.

#7 - No one can survive by hardcore fans alone

Part of the reason Nintendo went casual is because its fans, the rowdiest and most dedicated hardcore gamers, failed to propel their favorite company past the competition. Just look at the GameCube, a system that featured plenty of Nintendo franchises and more horsepower than the insanely popular PlayStation 2, yet came in third behind not only the PS2, but also the Xbox. That was a huge sign that the hardcore community had lost much of its industry pull.

This extended to the failure of games like Okami, Ico and Psychonauts - all worshiped by small group of fans, but ignored by the gaming community at large. Since companies enjoy making cash, it's apparent that the hardcore gamer is no longer wearing the Power Glove in the relationship.

Clearly, this was written by a casual.

1) Oh really? THAT's why SMG has over 7 million units sold... Wii Sports and Wii Play are both bundled.
2) And Prince of Persia is selling damned well, isn't it? And this is completely off topic.
3) Mirror's Edge sucked and Dead Space has sold pretty well.
4) What does this have to do with anything?
5) Now, which of the following has sold best: Monopoly video game, Wii Music, Shaun White Snowboarding, or Gears of War 2?
6) They don't sell millions with their names? That's a good thing. They sell millions because they make some of the best games in the industry.
7) That's always been true. The PS2 didn't survive on hardcore gamers alone...

It's foolish to say that hardcore gamers don't matter. Are you telling me that if the PS3, with its $400 price tag, only had casual games, it would be selling this well?

What's a hardcore? Is there a definition of them?

hardcore gamers do matter. look at the 360 its HW sales aren't as big as the wii but it sales games like crazy and thats what matters most

If we're to go by the criteria listed, the "hardcore" haven't mattered since at least the original Playstation. I agree with the thesis, but the support cited is rather weak.

Actually it is written by the GameDaily editorial staff and while it's content is serious the style is meant to be somewhat ironic. Follow the link it you'd like to judge for yourself.

well I guess that the list was made more in a sarcastically and ironic way..I guess.

But now that more people is playing will see games being more accesible and less niche.

As I stated I excerpted from the original knowing how some of our friends dislike reading very much. I also think that the intent is to keep the tone light

Kinda like that similar phenomenon where traditional McDonalds customers were rendered obsolete by the influx of healthy-minded, salad-purchasing customers.

I think the article is a little goofy really.. but the one that really made me laugh was #4 (concerning the demise of the arcade industry)

The reason the arcade died is because our home systems have caught up with and surpassed the arcade machine. And on top of this, the arcade as a social medium is no longer needed due to the awesome social experience at home that can be obtained on either of the 3 current gen systems.