I'm not too worried about challenge. Nintendo still makes some of the most balanced and challenging games around. I still haven't beat Metroid prime 2 because of that last frikkin battle with Dark Samus. And they specifically said they were turning up the challenge on Mario Galaxy. And I've been playing games since Atari 2600, I know what challenge is.

The topic creator is just trying to stir up trouble by taking a quote out of context.

Hmm thats odd, maybe I just got worse at games over the years, but I clearly remember OoT being pretty darn easy in comparison to TP. Either way I dont think the gap is that wide in either direction if at all differnt.

To tell you the truth though the only 2 games that I was forced to play this generation as of now where fun was affected by the difficulty of the game were Resident evil 4 and Gears of war.

I was playing Co-op with my brother in Gears so that may have made it alot easier as where both avid video game players. 

Er... people difficult games died with the SNES. Supposed "hardcore" gamers nowadays have no idea what a difficult game is anymore. That said, Mario Strikers Charged is the most difficult game I have played since Ninja Gaiden on the NES. That game kicked my ass all over at the higher levels (and I haven't found a game able to do that in years). Meanwhile, I could beat God of War blindfolded while holding the controller with my feet.

But seriously, come on people, stop twisting statements to fit your purposes. What Miyamoto is trying to do is simplify controls to make games accessible. He's criticizing games that use control schemes so complex that it drives away all but the most determined gamers. What he wants are games that are fun and easy to pick up. Strikers has very simple controls, but I'd like to see one person on this forum who has beaten the single player alone (you can play it with a friend, and if you are both good, the insane AI is much more manageable).

The point is, truly hard games are rare in the current market (most shooters are a joke). Games have been getting easier and easier for years, and Nintendo's goal isn't to speed up this process, but rather make games accessible. Difficulty shouldn't be a barrier in playing the games and enjoying them.

Think of the best and most popular games of all time. We have what? Super Mario 64, Gran Turismo, Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy VII, Pokemon, Grand Theft Auto, the Super Mario Bros. games... none of those games are difficult. Sure you can go for higher level stuff in Gran Turismo, but anyone can pick it up and play it. Ocarina of Time was a very easy game by any standards, but is widely considered (and reviewed) the greatest game of all time. Final Fantasy VII is without a doubt the easiest Final Fantasy game I have ever played. Metroid Prime's first play through is easy, and it's the 3rd highest rated game of all time. You unlock a more difficult mode after beating it the first time (something I am sure will continue with MP3). Grand Theft Auto 3 (and it's sequels) were some of the easiest games I have ever played.  Pokemon is only difficult if you get into tourney gaming online.

Miyamoto's point is simply that it's stupid to make a game which is so difficult to play that it's limited to tiny groups of people. History shows that this is in fact the case. Easy, or at least accessible, games are always the most popular, the best rated, and the highest selling. When I want a challenging game, I hop on Starcraft or Counter Strike and play online. Or I grab my copy of Pokemon Pearl and enter an online tourney (if you people really want to see how insane video game strategies can get, check out a Pokemon Tourney). AIs rarely challenge skilled gamers, but even the ones that do are not necessarily better than games that don't. What was your favorite game last generation? Somehow I doubt it was difficult...

There are many ways to make a game fun. Making it difficult is only one, and there are certainly other ways to find difficulty in games than single player experiences (and there are difficult single-player experiences on the Wii too). Nintendo has spent the last 10 years trying to make games accessible, and I applaud them for it. Nothing has changed in their strategy, they have simply gotten much better at what they have been trying to do for years.

/end rant. Sorry it was so long.

When I started gaming I played card games and board games. Video games did not exist when I started gaming. I was always attracted to the more in-depth games. Chess, Go, the games by TSR and several of the Avalon Hill games. From that period the games that I think are the best are the ones that are the most accessible, i.e., Go, Chess, Acquire, D-Day, Gin, Poker and Diplomacy.

The game of Go can be be easily played by a seven year old. Chess is also very accessible and there have been several instances of 8-12 year old prodigies that can beat master level players. Diplomacy is a complex social game with a very simple rule set. Most good card games (except Bridge) can be played by preteens and the strategy board games can be played by adolescents. All accessible and gratifying to varying degrees for players of all ages.

Look at the game of Go. It has one of the simplest interfaces of any game created. A child can play it. It has an almost perfect handicapping system. Yet Go is perhaps the deepest game ever created and the most beautiful in its simplicity and elegance. The game is perfectly accessible and will almost certainly be enjoyed by a person who has a predilection for the genre (strategy board game). The difficulty is not in playing the game it is in mastering the game.

Looking at video games some of the very best and most successful are extremely accessible. Space Invaders, Asteroids and Tetris are some earlier examples. Current examples are Meteos, Bejeweled (Puzzle Quest), Lumines and the excellent rhythm games. These games can be very difficult, especially when you are trying to improve your score or to beat someone else's high score. Difficulty and accessibility can co-exist.

Looking at the world of games past and present it seems to me and I think to many others that the best games are those where difficulty and accessibility exist in a kind of tense harmony. These are the games that become very popular, possibly last for generations and then last the test of time. Some game designers are motivated by the challenge of creating one of these gems and perhaps Miyamoto is one of them.

 Yeah, that first started the trend. It's just gotten worse lately.

Mario Games have all been easy.  Well since Mario 2 anyway.  Mario 1 was kinda difficult.

 Nintendo games arn't any easier or harder then Xbox and Sony games.  They're all very easy compared to the games of the past. 

Also for those who say the computer can't be more challenging then a human player, that's just not true.  It can be, most developers just don't like to do it.  Because it involves cheating.  Like Deity mode on Civilization etc..

The last hard games i've played have been in the Fire Emblem series, and those are only hard because of my personal playing prefrences of using all characters and leveling them all up equally.  That doesn't work well in that game and makes things a real pain on you with all the limited EXP.

You know I think you guys are right, games really havent been hard since 3D took over. I cant name many games as hard as say..

- Life Force for Nes

- Silver surfer for Nes

- Any R-type game I have ever played.

- Breath of fire 1 was about the only hard RPG I have ever come across, aside from FF11 which i dont consider a true RPG.

Games truly have got a lot easier over the years, and I get that though. I mean if you thre R-type at your momshe would play for maybe 5 mins and then give up. (Sterotypical mom's or majority if you will) Games on the new systems are way to easy for me, like the puzzels in Zelda:TP were great, but the boss fights all be it very cool, were something anyone could beat. Resident Evil 4 on the Wii as far as I can see is only easy due to the controls, I mean it was meant for you to be alot slower at aiming. Gears of war on the other hand... It's pretty and all, but its just stright out a point A to point B game sooo bland and very boring. Shooting stuff is always fun and the propane can level was good and all but, it was so damn easy. 

It is not being selfish to lay down may hours of your life to beat a game that not as many people could beat.. Thats an acomplishment . The fact that you couldn't beat Ocarnia of time at 10 is a good thing, right now you could go back play it and see how far you hve "advanced". I don't care if easy games are made maybe Nintendo could come up with a dificulty meter on their games packaging. What I care about is being challanged and maybe it takes me days to figure out how to get past something in a game . Damn sure in 5-10 years I will remember that game.

Go back and play OoT you owe it to yourself that is one of the best games ever made. and I been playing for a long time... I played Pong I realy don't wanna go back there....By all means make settings but don't loose difficulty in order to gain marketability.