RolStoppable said:
The problem this generation is that the hardcore gamers feel to be drastically outnumbered. In previous generations a lot of gamers were sharing their love for a particular console, although it wasn't for exactly the same reasons. Then along comes the Wii and suddenly a shift occurs which is apparently hard to understand for a lot of hardcore gamers. They try to explain it with "most Wii owners are new to gaming" and hope that 100m PS2/Xbox owners are still sitting there only waiting for the PS3/360 to come down in price before they upgrade. But in reality, the core gamers are migrating to the Wii because they see great value and potential for new gaming experiences on Nintendo's system. Even that is hard to understand for most hardcore gamers though. From their point of view new gaming experiences mean better graphics, better AI and more realism. They are really bitter about the Wii's success because it goes against their world view. |
I agree with most of this, but I think the root of the matter is that the snobcore are smart enough to realize what's happening: daddy's got a new kid, so the they're no longer gaming's only little princess.
That sound harsher than I intended, but I think it holds true nonetheless. They've said it outright themselves several times: they have a problem with casual gaming because they fear more and more developers will start making games that appeal to people beyond their narrow niche. The fact that the current arms race is unsustainable, and that it's driving the same developers they count on out of business doesn't mean squat to them. Your last paragraph in particular nailed that.
So no, I actually think that the snobcore understand what's going on perfectly fine. And that's why they're afraid.
