Core gamer market is saturated, devs/pubs need to embrace casual gaming

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noname2200 said:

largedarryl said:

Phendrana said:

zaphodile said:
The thing is that most developers are hardcore gamers themselves, and as such they don't want to make casual games, because it is more satisfying to work on a large, big budget, serious game.

Satisfaction doesn't pay the bills.

Nicely put. Developers don't get to make the games they want. Investors tell developers what games they can make.

 Not necessarily. 1. I think the recent unveiling of High Voltage's games show that many developers are willing to ignore their investors in the short run and do what they want to. Unless of course their investors told them to cater to the underserved Wii demographic, in which case High Voltage may have some of the smartest investors out there. More likely, though, they got tired of being put on liscensed and racing games, and opted to go their own way. 2. I can see other developers likewise bucking their investors' demands and making the games they want to make. Mind you, if and when those games fail, heads will roll as a result, but isn't that the beauty of taking a risk to begin with?

And as to the original article: I disagree. I don't think the core market is saturated. 3. I don't think there is such a thing as the "core market." What's happening is that Nintendo and some other companies are offering fresh experiences, while too many of their opponents are serving up prettier versions of their past offerings. Is it any surprise that many gamers are drifting towards the novel? 4. I love me my steak, but sometimes I like to eat sushi, or ceviche, or something new. I don't think I'm alone here. 

1. No, that's something they just can't do. You can do anything you like, as long as investors are happy. The situation we have here is, that CEO is trusted by the board, and it's his decision, into which the board have been happy. 2. No, that's something they can't do. Investors (ie. board) can disagree but still give acceptance. The investors go where the money is, and while Wii has the biggest hardware sales, it also has the biggest software sales. Besides, as Happy Squrriel pointed out in another thread, High Voltage propably had already an engine that fits Wiis tech (because of its TEV units), which is different from the newest architecture. So, actually there was a market gap. And also, looking at the sales of Redsteel, MP3, RE4 and REUC, there's a market for games in which you use Wii Remote for shooting. 3. There definately is one, but in the sense of it being the same throughout the years, it's dynamic and in a state of constant change. 4. No, you're not and that's why a) Wii has "hardcore gamers" as well as "casual gamers" b) Nintendo is moving towards catering the needs of the "hardcore".