Completely agree!

I think that fans of either camp that think like that are misguided, immature individuals. Why do I get the impression that the people who are so protective of their view of what gaming should be have probably only played games for a short while whilst the ones who'eve played games for a chunk of their lives are the ones who are the most embracing of new ideas and the expansion of gaming. It sems backwards!

Because Guitar Hero and DDR  are highly successfull and now part of the gaming culture. Wiifit before it's release is easy to criticise,since it's coming by a company that the main arguement against it's huge reclamation of #1 in the videomarket is, the destruction of gaming as we know it by catering to the "casual' crowd. Once Wiifit is a hit,  critisism against nintendo is going to move to other genres.

-My answer :

WiiFit = Casual
Guittar Hero = Casual

-True hidden question :

Why all people never stop to bash this game ?

==> because it is suppose to be the last innovating IP of Nintendo
and a lot of people expected something better (at least different)
I dont even mention people that dont consider this is a game.

Ohh, guitar players bash guitar hero since it's not hardcore enough for some of them. Of course, generally once they relax and realize it's a game based on guitar, not a guitar sim, many of them find it fun.

Also, escalating difficulty or skill difference? Put me in a push-ups challenge with a living Bruce Lee. I'm sure you'll notice a significant difference in 200 push-ups in 3 minutes versus 40 push-ups in 3 minutes. Alright, so I'm out of shape. Weird example, but meh.

This is plain stupid, whoever said that GH wasn't casual? Of course there are people that may take any game to far competing. There are plenty of casual games available on the PS2, there will be plenty on the PS3 once it reaches a casual price point. Generally, for the last couple gens, the initial games available for a system at and after launch are targeted to those willing to spend the big bucks to get them, and I don't see anyone shelling out $800 for GH or DDR or SingStar or Wii Sports.

The unique situation that the Wii was in is the price point at launch was already in the casual range, so this is what was targeted for good reason. Whereas, a purist gamer such as myself(your N boy George made this one up, so I'm USING it) doesn't see the value of a Wii to be more than maybe $150, though plenty see it as more, and, oh wait for it, some see it as even less, and then some see it as worthless, you must accept this, you do realize opinions are like as............

I don't like Wii Fit b/c it just seems stupid to me, though surely I'm not the target audience for it or N would be bankrupt by now.

Some of these assholes definitely have over productive opinions of the Wii that defy any common courtesies, but why do you try to start fights Biggerboat?

How the hell is Guitar Heroes not casual??

And who the hell said Wii Fit is Nintendo's last innovative IP for the Wii? seriously.

Answering the original question...

Because the rhythm game genre is not a casual game market. Guitar Hero is the closest it's ever gotten to being "casual". In fact, for the most part, the rhythm game genre is considered a rather "hardcore" category. It is definitely a genre that involves lots of practice and fine-tuning.

That said, I am a HUGE fan of the rhythm game genre, and I'm looking to work for Harmonix in the near future.

I think that GH and DDR were not deemed casual (tho they don't necessarily fall into hardcore either) because they are tied to pop music.

It seems to me that it's not the game mechanics / equipment that's the sole criteria for casual games, it's more in the game design combination. For example, if your controller scheme fall outside the conventional, it can still be hardcore if it is attached to an established hc genre (ray guns for fps, etc).

GH and DDR falls into more conventional design of leveling difficulty depth for rewarding achievement. Casual games tend to have achievement, but minimal depth (for example, there is great width of selection of minigames in Brain Age, but very little depth in complexity)

What about Buzz and Singstar then?