This is the best gaming related article I've read in a long, long time.

http://www.kombo.com/article.php?artid=12863

Very nice read. People play casual games because they are fun for them. Others need to realize that and learn to live with it.

I think now I am going to go play Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome on my Wii.

Seriously, I am on Level 52. I am addicted to that game. I don't even care that Gamestop lowered the price by $5 after I bought it. Best $20 I spent on a game in a long time.

Mike from Morgantown

aww i hate peggle, i suck at that game

but yea the whole idea of casual games is just stupid. games are meant to be fun for whoever is playing them. If you don't like some game/genre then ignore it, and play the games you like.

I found it kinda odd how he ranks Peggle up with SMB and Halo, then goes on to talk about complexity. There's nothing especially complex about running to the right and jumping, and Halo established itself by drastically simplifying the PC FPS formula until it worked smoothly on a console.

Not really taking issue with the article, but so-called casual games don't have a monopoly on simple game mechanics.

Mike I haven't even heard of Jewel Master, maybe I should check it out!

Last paragraph:

"Gamers are even worse than most people in assuming that whatever we believe is best must be right and everyone else is just wrong. Our compatriots are opinionated and loud, shouting from the rooftops what they think about a game, genre or console. We talk down about games we've never played and rant about the drawbacks of systems we've never owned, simply so we can feel better about ourselves. Nowhere has this ridiculous hate speech been more displaced than on the casual gaming genre, a subset of gaming enjoyed by millions yet abhorred by "real" gamers. I for one am tired of it, as there's no reason to pick on these titles any longer. A good game is a good game regardless of whether it stars space marines or unicorns, and those who claim otherwise are simply standing as an obstacle to progress for our industry as a whole. So for all those who say that casual titles are the downfall of modern gaming I will say this plainly and clearly so you won't misinterpret; you are wrong."

Absolute ownage.  People are not going to like it but they do need to be told when they are being obnoxious, and obviously self centered.  A good article, but these should have been written a long time ago.  It's quite sad that it's been allowed to go on this long and only now are they apologizing and speaking out.  That's media for ya though.

AAAHHHH PEGGLE!!!!
It burnt that border that's around each level into my TV


Damn Peggle...

Awesome article! It's like I'm actually reading something professional!

that was a good read and it has been a long time in coming.

so who noticed the VGChartz numbers near the bottom of the article? I've never seen that gadget before but it is really neat.