Swimming upstream...

[Louie]

Alterego-X said:

Louie said:

RolStoppable said:

Louie said:

RolStoppable said:

You just don't know what "hardcore" means. But hey, nobody really does.

Actually I was just too lazy to think of another word that's why I put it in err... Gänsefüßchen

 

I'll give you an example:

For instance my girlfriend started playing on the SNES with Super Mario World. Since then she's owned a Gameboy, a Gamecube and a DS. Her favourite games are Super Mario (2D), Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, the Sims, Brain Training and Viva Pinata. Basically, her gaming tastes never changed but the market offers more of those games now, that's why she's become a much more dedicated gamer.

Another friend of mine (also a woman btw) never (!) played any videogames besides Super Mario World on SNES. When I got the Wii and later Resident Evil 4 with it she fell in love with the game and now she's crazy for Dead Rising, GTA, Battlefield, is dissapointed because Resident Evil 5 doesn't feel like a Resident Evil game (that's what she said! ... oh dang) and likes F-Zero GX on Gamecube. She only became interested in gaming because of the Wii, though. But basically the Wii only helped to make her aware of games, it never made her move upstream.

 

Both of them never changed their favourite type of game. I think it's more about how your brain works than "moving upstream".

I think you can also move upstream within a genre. Not all games demand the same amount of time invested. Also, "moving upstream" doesn't mean that you leave your first games behind, it just means that you are adding additional games to the ones you are already playing.

Or you could interpret "moving upstream" simply as spending more times on gaming.

 

That's exactly what never happened to my girlfriend yet. For her a game has to involve social aspects to be worth playing. But she won't play more "traditional" games. I don't think moving upstream (Malstroms definition of it) means spending more time, it means spending more money and time on more traditional games.

Edit: I'll put it that way. If you could rate games of a genre from 1-10 when it comes to how "hardcore" (you know what I mean) the game is my girlfriend always looks for games betwen 3-5 or so. And she never looks for a game that would score a 7 or higher. So basically she never moved upstream within that genre. She just became a more dedicated player because there are more interesting games that would get a 3-5 than some years ago.

 

OK, did you even read anything else from Malstrom than the quoted paragraph? You are COMPLETELY misinterpreting him. 

Even if you read the damn titles with the introductions, you should see how wrong you are:

 

Fools' Paradise

The Industry enters into a 'false' paradise where technology, brand names, and formula games create an artificial context. This article is filled with analyst quotes predicting PS3 to be clearly dominant, the Wii ending up way last, and Malstrom laughing at them all.

Washing the Hardcore Away
As the Wii tidal waves keep slamming into the Industry, many 'hardcore' gamers are being swept out to sea. This article goes into how the 'Hardcore' are made and why they will go extinct. It also says why it is necessary and proper for these gamers to be made *gone*. Hasta la vista, hardcore.

The New World
Watch the Old World sink and a New World rise. See the future of gaming that Nintendo is aiming and details on the paradigm shift.

 

 

 

 

 

The articles keep going on with silly metaphores about how the "traditional hardcore" gamers are doomed, going to die, sink, or go insane, while the New Market is the new paradise, for "social gamers". 

There is a paradigm shift, and while Nintendo is making higher tier games for their audience, they won't make traditional games for the "hardcore" audience

Old Market means: cinematic, story-orientated, violent games, that has a long learning curve, and you play them alone in a dark room. 

New market means: social, light-hearted games with short learning curves, and with more connection to real life.

The "tiers" picture that you are referring to, only shows the traditional market, (obviously, since most of the new ones doesn't exist yet), and it is not a representation of Nintendo's strategy, it is supposed to show the difference between tiers, GENERALLY!

 

Also, how can you say that "She just became a more dedicated player" , but not more "hardcore"?

The many definitions of "hardcore" all revolve around being a dedicated, enthusiastic gamer. 

What makes GTA IV more hardcore than The Sims 3? 

They are both sandbox games in a large, open area, with similar amount of content. What makes one of them "lower tier"? Violence? LOL

 

 

 

 

Again, I always wrote "hardcore" because I was too lazy to use another explanation. A lower tier? I never used that word. I think you completely misunderstood what I was trying to say You think I'm some kind of hardcore gamer who thinks he's better than his own girlfriend, don't you?

I'm also talking about another article, not the ones you listed there. I just think Malstrom has an interesting concept but I dissagree with him on certain aspects.

Oh and I've read a hell of a lot of things from Sean, not only on his website.

Edit: I doubt cinematic and story driven games will dissappear. They appeal not only to a certain type of gamer but to a certain type of people and those people will always be interested in those games. IF those games dissappear they will because the market doesn't cater to them anymore. In my opinion, that is