cookingyourmama said:
What you fail to realise is not all games are the same. Games fall into 3 categories, their are games that appeal to hardcore gamers, their are games that appeal to casual gamers and their are games that appeal to both. A large chunk of the wii's userbase are casual gamers and the thing about casual games are when they launch generally they don't sell as much as hardcore games but they have much longer legs so several months down the line they are selling more then what the hardcore games are even tho their total ltd sales are lower. So right now because no major 3rd party games have been released for the 360 and ps3 for a while due to gta4 the wii's casual games with generally lower ltd's than the hardcore games are outselling them, plus their's the whole issue with mario and sonic at the olympics selling more than an average 3rd party wii game normally does because it has nintendo characters in it. Wii fit is a casual game and is not competing with gta4, they appeal to two completly different types of gamers. Mario kart is game that appeals to both casual and hardcore gamers but again the amount of people that over lap wanting both mario kart and gta is small and mario kart has already been released in japan and europe so isn't launching at the same time as gta4. You are yet to prove me wrong so i don't know what you are going on about their really. |
It appears our posts went right past each other. I'll respond to this one, and then I need to get to bed. I will, however, be happy to continue our conversation in the morning if you so desire.
Once again, I believe you are incorrect. I've never believed there was such a thing as a "casual gamer", or a "hardcore gamer", or any other sub-category of "gamer." There are only those who play games now, and those who should. I can even show you that there are no "hardcore" and "casual" gamers.
First, consider the fact that until the Wii launched, the word "casual gamer" had not really entered our lexicon, although it was used from time to time, as I'll prove to you in a moment. And yet I'm certain we can all agree that what we now consider to be "casual games" existed long before the Wii. "Casual" is, after all, the label the lazy have chosen to apply to flash games, mini-games, best-selling games like Tetris, etc. What, then, has changed in the past eighteen months that we now throw the word "casual" around like it suddenly explains everything? Ah yes, I know. The Wii.
After all, it's full of stuff that completely doesn't appeal to you, and yet it's selling much better than the traditional systems, systems which cater almost exclusively to the same small niche of boys in their late teens and early twenties. This is not a knock on those people; after all, I am one of those folks, and I assure you I'm perfectly happy to sink countless hours into Oblivion, or a Call of Duty Deathmatch, or to collect everything available in Smash Brothers, or...well, you get the point.
But the Wii is being played by soccer moms, and old people, and girls, and people in physical therapy. They're not like us. They can't be True Gamers. No, we must invent a new word for these...foreigners...who have dared to violate our hobby with their uncouth ways. Let them be the "casuals", to mark them as being less devoted to our hobby than we are. And then let us sit back and jeer as they actually enjoy crap like Wii Fit. Look at those fools, having "fun" with their little mini-game fests. Don't they know that video games are only fun when you play them like we do? How can they not understand that if we don't like it, they shouldn't either. We are the arbiters of gaming, we decide what matters and what does not. And of course, we all think alike, right? As to those-not-like-us, sure, we'll tolerate them when they also pick up and play Mario Kart, or when they get lucky and pick up the latest version of Madden. But that's okay. After all, like you say, it's not competing with OUR game, Grand Theft Auto, the king of the hardcores.
Except...hey, what's this?
http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/04/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm
I'm seeing a date, 2004. I'm reading the article, and it's about Grand Theft Auto III. When Take Two released Grand Theft Auto III, the "game came on the scene, with a revolutionary style of play, core gamers liked what they saw – and they began talking. Before long, it was readily apparent that casual gamers were listening...(w)hen 'Grand Theft Auto III' was originally released, no one had any idea it was going to be near as large as it was," said Taylor. "It took six to eight weeks before people realized something unusual was happening and that there was crossover appeal to that game."
Oh Hell no, he did not just call Grand Theft Auto a game that appeals to "casual gamers." Grand Theft Auto is our game. It doesn't get any more "hardcore." After all, you said "the amount of people that over lap wanting both mario kart and gta is small" and you wouldn't lie to me, would you? So what's going on here? Could it be...? No, that's just too stupid. But...no! Not possible! And yet...maybe, just maybe, Grand Theft Auto is one of those games that grabs the attention of those-not-like-us. You know, the "casuals."
And maybe there are games like Guitar Hero, and pokemon, and, dare I say it, Wii Fit, that appeal to those of us who post on forums, and keep up with video games, while appealing equally as much to "casuals." And maybe some of us enjoy playing Wii Sports, just like They do. And some of Them pick up Halo, just like we do. I mean, Halo 3 is still selling steadily. It has "legs." Isn't that what you said made a "casual game?" And Wii Fit is highly front-loaded, seeing as how it sold out launch supplies in Japan and Europe. Isn't that what you said defined a "hardcore game?" And now that I think about it, I don't think I like the same games you do. And I doubt you agree with all of your friends' tastes in games either. And if I were to start a post asking who prefers the older-style Final Fantasies, and who favors the newer ones, I'd basically start a riot.
So tell me this, my friend. If we can't agree amongst ourselves what good games are, then how can we expect others to march in lock-step with us? And if "casuals" are buying and playing our "hardcore" games, our GTAs and Halos and Brawls, and if we're buying and playing their casual games like Tetris, and Guitar Hero, and Sim City, and if I like many people here actually had a great time playing Mario and Sonic at the Olympics with my friends, and if we're all having fun playing videogames, and if the definition of which game is "hardcore" and which is "casual" change in just a few years...what is there to separate the "us" from the "them"?
Have a good night.
