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noname2200 on 09 July 2008
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Desroko said:

I agree some, disagree some. For fun's sake, I'll summarize the disagreement.

I'm torn on the "looking down" on people thing, because I admittedly don't think much of the idolatry of video game storytelling. I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I didn't mention that I share some of that snobbish attitude, albeit aimed in a different direction. The sort of dreck for which we would rightly mock Hollywood is praised and exalted on the internets if it happens to come with a controller and a 30-hour-plus running time attached. It's a very strange blind spot that this particular subculture has.

Then again, I'm the first to say that quality is subjective. I don't like Smash Bros., Guitar Hero, or Gran Turismo, to pick three, but I don't think they're bad games. On the contrary, I think it's clear that as far as their genres go, they're at or near the top. They just don't appeal to me. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, to each his own, c'est la vie, insert tolerant cliche here.

On one ofyour other notes, I don't think that the Wii audience is going to look all that different from the PS2's in the end. I see both as largely mainstream-oriented machines. The casual segment is definitely more visible this time around, but I don't know if it's significantly larger. If anything, it's probably just natural growth of the indsutry as the population grows and new generations find gaming. There have always been new gamers - it just happens to be highlighted this time around, the way "mature gamers" were mistakenly thought to be a new breed in he 90s.

 

You make some good points, and I actually don't think we disagree for the most part. I'm (mostly) not down on the games that are most glamorized now. On the contrary, I play and enjoy many of them. My problem is that as times went on it seemed like we'd be seeing most games focusing only on appealling to that same demographic, and the easiest way to do that is to make it bigger and flashier (which often leaves less money for creativity and originality). I'm struggling to put this into words, but take a look at the biggest non-Nintendo games we have coming this year: they're all calculated to appeal to the 16-25 year old male first, with everyone else somewhere far, far behind (possible exception: Little Big Planet, Guitar Hero).


That should be fine with me (a 23 year old male), except I know that by solely targeting the same small group you'll quickly grow stale. To put it bluntly, I'm bored with most shooters already, which eliminates a massive chunk of the year's big games, and I'm getting sick of hyper-realism. To paraphrase Iwata, I love my steak dinner, but sometimes I just want a plain quesadilla. I'm rambling now, though, so I think I'll cut myself short.

And I do firmly believe the Wii is much more mainstream than the PS2 ever was. The PS2 had (and has!) astounding sales, but much of that has to do with Sony opening Europe while also kicking arse in the Americas and Japan. Despite that, Nintendo's still outselling the PS2 when you compare their performance since launch, while still charging full price. And I think it will continue to, if the similarly-aimed DS is anything to judge by. Still, I lack the hard data to prove my case for now, so I'll concede that you may be right.

And I need to start typing faster...