One of the unintentional funniest rants I've seen. Bold is mine.
http://www.consoleme.ca/wii-success-marks-the-downfall-of-the-hardcore-gamer
Wii Success Marks the Downfall of the Hardcore Gamer
January 13, 2009 by Panzer Pev
As a gamer, the commercial success of the Nintendo Wii should be good news right? There are more people than ever buying and playing games and the games industry has recently surpassed the movie and music industries to become the largest generator of entertainment revenue. So why is there any cause for concern? The problem is the growth in the industry is due in most part to the Wii, not the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3. The Wii continues to outpace the competition by ludicrous margins. Heck, the combined sales of both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 per month don’t even add up to how many units the Wii sells over the same period. This trend, coupled with game publishers requirements (which is their obligation to their shareholders) to make money and turn the largest possible profit leads to some potentially disturbing and frustrating outcomes for hardcore gamers.
Let’s face it, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are all in the business of games (yes, it is a business) to make money. They wouldn’t be investing billions of dollars into research and development or financing massive marketing campaigns if it didn’t add to their bottom line. If you look back to the start of this new generation it was widely accepted by “professional” analysts that the Xbox 360 and PS3 would be fighting it out for market supremacy and the less cutting-edge Wii would finish a distant last. Wow, could those predictions have possibly been more wrong? Today, the Wii is selling out to the point where Nintendo has trouble even getting enough of them into stores…and this is YEARS after the launch. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 has been hammered by technological problems (I think we all know the 3 red lights of death) and the PS3 is struggling to even stay competitive this generation despite putting out the console that won the HD format war with Blu-ray.
So what have we learned so far about this generation of consoles? Well, for one, graphics and cutting edge machines that we gamers prefer are not the key success factors that Microsoft and Sony thought them to be. Nintendo took an entirely different approach and instead opted for innovation and simplicity over technological prowess. As a result, Nintendo has managed to capture a far larger market - the holy grail that Microsoft and Sony have been desperately aiming for since they entered the business. Nintendo has won the hearts and minds of the mass market. They have essentially created the “casual gamer.” Sure, some “hardcore” gamers still own the Wii and play games like Mario Galaxy and Zelda, but the majority of Wii owners now are not in it for what can be considered a true gaming experience. For example, my sister hates games. She has always associated them with nerds, being dorky, wasting time and I could go on. But now she loves the Nintendo Wii. Wait a second, isn’t that a gaming system? The other night she asked me if I had ever played Mario Kart. I laughed in her face. No wonder the Wii is able to churn out rehashes of all their old classics and watch them sell like beans before a nuclear war. My sisters dramatic shift from game hater to Wii lover is by no means an isolated incident. The other day, my boss suggested that we should think about getting a Wii for the office. What!? He’s a 62 year old man and the last person on earth you would ever expect to want a gaming system. Of course, there was no mention or even an indication that he knew about the Xbox 360 or the PS3. Nintendo wins again.
Does this mark the end for the hardcore gamer?
Ok, so Nintendo is winning this console war by a landslide. Why is that a bad thing? For starters, look at the people who are buying the Nintendo Wii. It’s my friends mom, my sister, my 62 year old boss. They love the idea of swinging a controller and “hitting” a ball, “bowling” and “boxing” just like you would in real life. Right. The problem is, in the traditional sense of the word, these are not video games. They require almost no skill and little or no thought. Sure, proponents for the Wii will scream that there is strategy and will show you how you have to move your arm so you bowl a strike every time. Ok. Great. As I see it, these games offer no challenge, and thus, no reward. As a gamer, I love games because they challenge me and force me to use my brain to overcome and solve a situation or puzzle. That is what makes me a hardcore gamer. I like the thought of playing a game that makes me actually think. If it’s mindless, it’s no better or more stimulating than turning on the tv and watching some trash like the Hills or Night Court (ha!). Hence, the term, casual gamers. The Wii caters to those people that don’t want to play something they might not be able to win. What it’s so frustrating now is because this casual gamer mentality is winning the console war (making the most money) for Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft see that. As a result, the “New Xbox Experience” and “Home” have been born. As a gamer, I could care less about either of them. Thanks to Nintendo, you can bet that you are going to see a lot more casual games, which I like to think of as games for babies. My sister couldn’t play and win Braid to save her life. My boss wouldn’t last 30 seconds in an online match of Call of Duty. Why? Because those games require actual skill and NOT EVERYONE CAN DO IT.
(Frybread: oh, he's special! He has the ability to play Call of Duty everyone! What a talented man.)
As Nintendo builds on it’s already huge momentum it’s clear that the Xbox 360 and PS3 are slapping each other for second place. Nintendo has won the console war this generation. There is no disputing that. Both Microsoft and Sony have realized this and they are scrambling to make their systems more appealing to the causal market. For traditional gamers, there is good reason to be concerned. While hardcore games like Halo, Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy aren’t going away anytime soon, it’s certainly possible that MS Sports will be launched with some sort of motion wand that is also compatible with latest Harry Potter game. And what about Sony? They are undergoing a major internal evaluation of their entire business and that includes the games division. Don’t laugh, there is a chance that the once might Playstation could go the way of the dodo.
Developers are by no means immune to the effects of the Wii’s dominance in the market. They are in the business to sell games, and lots of them. With the Wii garnering a huge percentage of the market share the amount of shovelware has increased tenfold this generation. Even worse, efforts to attract more gamers to traditionally hardcore gaming experiences have already ruined some games. A prime example would be the newest Prince of Persia. I was a huge fan of the original game which offered great puzzles and challenging gameplay. This generation, the latest Prince is so easy and holds your hand so much it’s laughable. You can’t die? Check. Easy puzzles? Double check. I couldn’t even get through it. I actually was screwing up because I’d hold the A button when I was wall-running when actually the game did that for me automatically (unlike the other games). I felt like I wasn’t even playing a game. I may as well have been watching the AI play through the game. I just pray that other developers aren’t so quick to follow Ubisoft’s lead on this one.
You are going to see a lot more of this
Well there you have it, just a few of the reasons why the Wii is going to hurt hardcore gamers in the long run. Why make difficult games that aren’t going to sell as well as the next Ponies game for the Wii? Because companies must answer to their shareholders and are truly motivated by making the most money, why would they ever cater to hardcore gamers who are becoming a smaller segment of the market every day? Until such time as there is evidence or indication that the Wii acts as a sort of gateway drug for people to move onto more interesting and challenging games, games are only going to get easier and more dumbed down. If that’s the case, you can count on me dropping games for good. When my brain decides it’s bored and decides to leave, it takes my body with it.
So how do you feel about the trend towars easier games meant for all players of all ages? Are you happy to see more people playing games today? What do you think is going to happen?
UPDATE: Wow, right on queue. Check out this HORRIBLE news story that is very much related to this artcle and confirms that Nintendo is paving the way for the almighty “casual” gamer.
