Halo was never casual. It was always mainstream and played competitively.  I wonder why those games fail to bring in casual crowds. I wonder why they have world wide Halo tournaments? Just because a game sells well it doesn't mean it wasn't mainly purchased by the core. Same goes for Gears.

UFC is not a casual game...I doubt if you played it you would call it casual. The learning curve on that game alone is over thirty minutes. No more heroes isn't core. Blaz Blue is a core game just like it. Arc made games are impossible for casuals. They do it intentionally so you learn the styles of each character as to differentiate and create uniqueness.

"Halo was never casual. It was always mainstream and played competitively."

That's what they called casual.

who in their right mind expects a game where you play bugs to be a mass seller.... even if it was OOT on steroids most people would have a hard time considering it....

Do you understand what a casual gamer is? Mainstream just means that the game is popular amongst all types of gamers. Casual is a person who rarely every plays games. A casual game is for gamers who just want a pick up and play style game. Halo isn't a pick up and play game. This is why casuals love the Wii and the 360 and Wii cannot seem to make enough money from casuals. Natal and Sony's new peripherals will help gather casuals later on.

Hello companies. Nice to meet with you. Here is my 2 cents regarding the Wii. When designing games for the Wii, think in terms of what the arcade games were noted for. They were accessible to the masses, and eventually upped the skill level to challenge more experienced players. Just because you are used to piling on a trend to milk it, because your marketing experts tell you there is an opening, doesn't mean you are to do this. When you see Wii Sports, you are not seeing the right thing. Wii Sports is NOT a call for you to do mini-games. Wii Sports is an attempt to make new stuff that hasn't been done before with motion control, that will appeal to people.

I know there are risks in doing stuff that is not proven, but you need to do this. Think about what hasn't been done before on consoles with motion control, that motion control would add to, and do that. And make it fun, and make the controls work.

And stop thinking "core vs non-core". Is Pac Man core? Pac Man was a game that appealed to the masses AND the hardcore players. Arcade games used to be like that.

Just stop.  Anyone who knows the slightest bit of video game history knows that you are wrong.

Do you understand what the phrase "they called" means? Hint: It has nothing to do with if it actually is that.

Any game that sells a lot, and still has people playing it months after it comes out, appeals to both casual and hardcore players.  Halo appeals to casual and hardcore players.  The niche appeals to hardcore, but a game is able to appeal to both casual and hardcore.  Good games do this.

Casuals who actually start to play Halo eventually turn into moderate gamers. I agree though with your understanding that Halo appealed to casual and core. This is why the game is popular or mainstream shooter. Virtua Cop and house of the dead are casual shooters or rail shooters. Those are pick up and play games no matter how these guys want to slice it.

halo 3 is bought by casual and hardcore players, but the community that supports bungie (the ones that buy the map packs, that make crazy shit with forge, and just take random funny pictures) are hardcore, which is probably at least 1/3 of the sales of the game.