Am I alone in my joy of where gaming is going?

[kazadoom]

I am not asking for hate, or trying to say if you do not agree with me then you are wrong. I just want to see if there are others like me out there who feel the same as I do.  

I am not sure that I would consider myself a "hardcore" gamer as I am not really even sure what that means.  I have played video games since I was a kid and have owned The Odysey, Sega Master System, Sega Gamegear, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Xbox, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Gamcube, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS, DS lite, and Nintendo Wii . . . and I guess I will throw in the iPhone as well.  

I have played my share of games, but I am older now having turned 30 this year and my life sure has changed.  I have never been one to play online games or attend LAN parties, this just never really appealed to me.  I am a sole gamer most of the time, with the exception in local multiplayer outings like Mario Kart and Wii Sports.  I also have never gotten into RPG's, I just cannot stand the turn based fighting with the exception of the Paper Mario series and the Mario and Luigi games on DS.

I love Nintendo and always have over any other gaming platform.  They deliver what I want in gaming, fun games without all the blood and guts, sex and profanity, and now casual titles like Wii sports and Link's Crossbow training.

There is a lot of hate right now for where the industry is going with the casual market, and some of the crap that we are getting in games I admit I do not like.  For the most part, though, I am pretty happy with how things have changed, and if it were not for this change, I might would have left gaming for good.  

Like I said, I am 30 now plus I am married and have 2 children.  I just do not have the time nor want to take the time to spend countless hours with gaming like I did when I was younger.  I like that there are so many good to great games out there that are just pick up and play, I mean, I do not have to spend hours learning the buttons combos, or die a hundred times on a level I just cannot get past.  I like being able to sit down in the evening every so often and pick up and play something and enjoy it for 20-30 minutes and put it down for later. 

This market direction is why I will pick up my first animal crossing game on Wii because it has been toned down to peak the interest of gamers like me.

 I know there are a lot of you out there that just do not feel this way, but I want to hear from those who do.