Seven Signs Hardcore Gamers Don't Matter Anymore excerpted from GameDaily
While hardcore gamers may know a lot about games, they are definitely not the ones pushing the video game industry to new heights.
Hardcore gamers, the crazies who live on video game message boards and regularly stay up to beat 40-hour games in 24 hours, helped define the video game industry. If you were one of those who played Super Mario in one sitting, cried when Sephiroth killed Aerith in Final Fantasy VII we salute you.
However, more and more evidence is showing that these dedicated gamers are not as important as in past years.
1 - Wii're number one
In order to defeat Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo abandoned the "my console is more powerful than your console" philosophy and focused on attracting casual and non-gamers instead. Sorry Nintendo fanboys/girls, but the Wii owes its success to Wii Sports, Wii Play and Guitar Hero.
#2 - Easier video games
Back in the day, video games didn't have checkpoints or the ability to save any time. When you died, you went to the beginning of the level. In order to appeal to a wider audience, companies allow gamers to save anywhere, litter video games with checkpoints or eliminate dying entirely; we're looking at you Prince of Persia.
#3 - More sequels, fewer new games
New intellectual properties like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, were crushed by a glut of sequels like Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Call of Duty: World at War and WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2009, games that appeal to players of all skill levels.
#4 - R.I.P. U.S. arcade industry
Not even the hardcore gamers, the ones that stunk up rooms playing Street Fighter II and Marvel Vs. Capcom, could save the doomed U.S. arcade industry.
#5 - Casual games are more important than "hardcore" ones
With its wildly popular Wii console selling to millions of casual and non-gamers (Wii Sports still rules the video game arena), the company unveiled games for all ages like Shaun White Snowboarding and Wii Music. As for the rest of the industry, EA brought popular board games like Monopoly to consoles.
#6 - What's a developer?
Hardcore nutters love singing the praises of Kojima, Schafer and Wright, but let's face it, none of these dudes sell millions with their names, and most attempts fail miserably and programmers who think they're rock stars look ridiculous.
#7 - No one can survive by hardcore fans alone
Part of the reason Nintendo went casual is because its fans, the rowdiest and most dedicated hardcore gamers, failed to propel their favorite company past the competition. Just look at the GameCube, a system that featured plenty of Nintendo franchises and more horsepower than the insanely popular PlayStation 2, yet came in third behind not only the PS2, but also the Xbox. That was a huge sign that the hardcore community had lost much of its industry pull.
This extended to the failure of games like Okami, Ico and Psychonauts - all worshiped by small group of fans, but ignored by the gaming community at large. Since companies enjoy making cash, it's apparent that the hardcore gamer is no longer wearing the Power Glove in the relationship.