Casual VS Hardcore: the future of gaming

[J T]

With the Wii, Nintendo cast a wide net across the ocean of potential gamers and found that there were more fish in the sea than Sony or Microsoft had realized. And the era of the casual gamer is born. There are now tons of games targeted to people that haven't traditionally been gamers, but might play games that are a little easier, a little friendlier, and a little wagglier.

It's not just Nintendo Wii either, companies like PopCap and and Sandlot Games have been selling massive amounts of low budget, high revenue PC games targeted to the casual market.

While I actually enjoy a few of these casual games, their success makes me uneasy. It make me uneasy because I know companies care about money. The success of the Wii, and of the burgeoning 'casual gaming' and 'family gaming' markets has sent out a message to developers-- "you can make big bucks without pushing the envelope." You don't need top of the line graphics or in depth gaming mechanics to make big money. You can invest less in game development and actually make more money for doing so if you will pander to the casual gaming market. The big budget games that have given hardcore players some of the greatest gaming experiences seem like a waste of money from a business perspective. Why invest all of that money to develop all of the amazing graphics and storyline to the next Fallout game when you could just drop a little change into making the Wii jump rope exercise program then sell another goofy overpriced peripheral and 3 or 4 Wii jump rope games? I worry that the big budget games made for hardcore gamers will fade away just because they are not a wise investment these days.

My question to you, is do you think the hardcore games will survive this major change in the gaming industry (the casual gamer) or have hardcore games reached their zenith and it's only a downhill slope from here?

[zarathstra]

With the Wii, Nintendo cast a wide net across the ocean of potential gamers and found that there were more fish in the sea than Sony or Microsoft had realized. And the era of the casual gamer is born. There are now tons of games targeted to people that haven't traditionally been gamers, but might play games that are a little easier, a little friendlier, and a little wagglier.

It's not just Nintendo Wii either, companies like PopCap and and Sandlot Games have been selling massive amounts of low budget, high revenue PC games targeted to the casual market.

While I actually enjoy a few of these casual games, their success makes me uneasy. It make me uneasy because I know companies care about money. The success of the Wii, and of the burgeoning 'casual gaming' and 'family gaming' markets has sent out a message to developers-- "you can make big bucks without pushing the envelope." You don't need top of the line graphics or in depth gaming mechanics to make big money. You can invest less in game development and actually make more money for doing so if you will pander to the casual gaming market. The big budget games that have given hardcore players some of the greatest gaming experiences seem like a waste of money from a business perspective. Why invest all of that money to develop all of the amazing graphics and storyline to the next Fallout game when you could just drop a little change into making the Wii jump rope exercise program then sell another goofy overpriced peripheral and 3 or 4 Wii jump rope games? I worry that the big budget games made for hardcore gamers will fade away just because they are not a wise investment these days.

My question to you, is do you think the hardcore games will survive this major change in the gaming industry (the casual gamer) or have hardcore games reached their zenith and it's only a downhill slope from here?

I don't think so. A large chunk of any generation of games has been licensed crap or cheap, thrown together hunting games or whatever. The fact that some of these "casual games" are now good is, to me, a source of celebration.

[Inazuma]

I agree with everything JT said. It's sad but true. I don't think hardcore games will completely disappear but unless people get smarter or companies sacrifice money to improve quality (lol at both), I predict there will be less and less hardcore games as time goes on.

If anyone has any bright ideas on how to solve this problem before it gets worse, I'd love to hear em.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Yea, from what I've read. There was this stupid debate when the Playstation came out. Why worry, if you retro game, why does this matter so much. As far as I can see, this is actually good, more games are coming out with the objective of fun rather than graphically beautiful FPS's. There will always be a market for both. Just because one grows doesn't mean the other disappears.

[J T]

As far as I can see, this is actually good, more games are coming out with the objective of fun rather than graphically beautiful FPS's.

The problem there is that they are more 'fun' by a different definition of fun. Granted, there are exceptions-- I enjoy Plants VS Zombies, Peggle, and Puzzle Quest; however, much of the stuff targeted to casual gamers is really crappy from the perspective of a person that likes games to be a challenge or that likes blockbuster graphics and voiceacting.

There will always be a market for both. Just because one grows doesn't mean the other disappears.

The market may still be there, but the investors won't. You need money to make a game and its just hard to justify a big budget game when it won't turn in the same revenue as a lower budget one.

[Inazuma]

As far as I can see, this is actually good, more games are coming out with the objective of fun rather than graphically beautiful FPS's.

You can have fun playing Wii Sports and you can have fun playing StarCraft. However, StarCraft is much more fun than Wii Sports, because it has more depth to it. It takes longer to learn, requires more practice, knowledge, concentration, strategy and skills.

RyaNtheSlayA, think of a few of the games that you are really good at. Now compare those experiences and that level of fun to casual games such as Wii Sports and tell us which was truly more fun for you.

Graphics, controls, hardcore, casual, etc. Everything ultimately comes down to fun, and casual games often fall short.

[FiftyDollarCurse]

This shit did not start with the Wii. Get over yourself. Period.

[J T]

Get over myself? This isn't about my ego. I'm just concerned that the type of games I love won't be able to garner the investment funds needed for their development in the future because of the impact the Wii's success has had.

The industry thinks differently now because of the success Nintendo has had with marketing towards the casual market. The Wii may not have been the first to release simplified games for mass appeal, but it has been the most successful. It's not that I don't think there is a place for casual games. I own several of them. I just worry that they will start to dominate store shelves and it will become harder to find a decent videogame.

[bobbynewmarkiii]

This shit did not start with the Wii. Get over yourself. Period.

Welcome to the forums. Don't be a knob.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

As far as I can see, this is actually good, more games are coming out with the objective of fun rather than graphically beautiful FPS's.

You can have fun playing Wii Sports and you can have fun playing StarCraft. However, StarCraft is much more fun than Wii Sports, because it has more depth to it. It takes longer to learn, requires more practice, knowledge, concentration, strategy and skills.

RyaNtheSlayA, think of a few of the games that you are really good at. Now compare those experiences and that level of fun to casual games such as Wii Sports and tell us which was truly more fun for you.

Graphics, controls, hardcore, casual, etc. Everything ultimately comes down to fun, and casual games often fall short.

Doom, I've sunk so many hours into that game, I've beatin it on Nightmare without dying 5 or so times. Ive but tons of hours in with Rise of Nations (and even your example StarCraft).Yet, I still find Peggle,World of Goo, and Monster Trucks Nitro just as fun most of the time. Sure they don't have the depth, but I look at games for what they are instead of what they aren't.