Top Ten Best Selling Games of 2010

[sevin0seven]

.. I tell them graphics don't make a game.

HADOKEEEEEEN!

[jfrost]

I don't understand why hardcore is considered "good" in this context.

[emwearz]

Haha, man. I am not a hardcore gamer to you? I'm 6th in the world at Defender for XBL, 375K, before they took it off for Gameroom later. My top score on the actual arcade game is over 2.3 Million. My first system was a NES, My KDR in Modern Warfare 2 is 1.50 with 16 days of GAME time. (Not menu/campaign time).

Wow, that's pretty hardcore. Geez. That's like this one time when I didn't like a kid, so I ground his parents up into chili and fed it to him.

[Ack]

3GenGames, I highly suggest you read YoshiEgg25's rebuttal.

Haha, man. I am not a hardcore gamer to you? I'm 6th in the world at Defender for XBL, 375K, before they took it off for Gameroom later. My top score on the actual arcade game is over 2.3 Million. My first system was a NES, My KDR in Modern Warfare 2 is 1.50 with 16 days of GAME time. (Not menu/campaign time).

No, that doesn't make you a "hardcore gamer" to me. I will admit, you're definitely a hardcore Defender player, and I don't mean to disparage your impressive score with my reply, but so what? You've given me two games in which you've obviously given a lot of playtime, and that's all. Does this somehow make you better than someone who has spent just as much time in Bejeweled, or has earned an equivalent score in a "casual" game? Are games that aren't Defender or Modern Warfare 2 suddenly less worthy? Why? HD graphics and...what?

There isn't anything inherently superior about either of those titles. And frankly, there's not anything inherently superior about the people playing those games either. At the end of the day, they're just people spending time using software to have experiences they might enjoy, just as are the people playing the titles you've chosen to disparage for not being "hardcore" enough.

In fact, hardcore really is nothing more than an elitist concept that somehow a person playing X game is superior to a person playing Y game for no real reason beyond...well, the ones I hear most often are "It's prettier, and it's more violent."

Several years ago I entered a discussion with several friends about video games, and found they enjoyed Bejeweled and a handful of flash games. Instead of taking the time to encourage their enjoyment of one of my favorite past times, I criticized them. Later, I noticed that those people didn't discuss the topic around me. My attitude had at least partly contributed to driving someone away from gaming, or at least discussing it in an open manner. It is attitudes like this that a) keep people from gaming and b) prevent it from truly being taken seriously. And for what? Foolish pride.

I will admit I have insulted others opinions on games out of spite and a desire to be seen as better, which is all the "hardcore" moniker really is. I try not to anymore. I don't always succeed. I highly suggest you try it as well, for that's the only way I believe gaming will flourish beyond where it currently sits. In the process, you will likely encounter games and experiences you never conceived of.

Maybe it's because I'm hardcore, and maybe it's the fact that Nintendo screwed me over when we got my Wii and realized it will never be the "True" net gen Nintendo console that I can play Mario AND new, epic games, but I do believe Nintendo is lagging behind PS3 and 360 in game quality, obviously hardware quality, and I will not forgive them. I'm sticking with Microsoft now and their great hardware, despite being unreliable, (I waited for my Zephy to come out before getting it and have had no problems in 2 years.) but the experience is so much better, it's unreal. I can't play a Mario game that is made for wii and not wish it had HD graphics, a real controller, etc. I jut feel like Nintendo screwed me over. Every other system was THE BEST quality in the system, games, etc. when the older ones came out, but that Wii was nothing close.

It disturbs me that you believe Nintendo owes you anything. Nintendo's console is next gen in a way that the Xbox 360 and PS3 aren't: its motion control allowed a level of gaming only experienced at that point in the arcade. If you can't forgive Nintendo for sacrificing more expensive technology to bring an innovative and cheaper design that appealed to the masses, then I'd say that's ultimately your problem, not theirs. Their sales figures and their constant appearance on sales charts should prove how successful they've been. They don't need you to decide what they should do.

And how could Nintendo have screwed you over? The company has done nothing to you, just released a product that you can't agree with because it's not as superficially pretty and flashy as the other two major developers' consoles. Also, garbage comes out for the Xbox 360 and PS3 all the time. How often have you gone to the game store and looked through their collections? And I mean really looked? Is the AC/DC Live: Rock Band Pack Track really so superior to the Wii? Bakugan Battle Brawlers? Cars Race-O-Rama? Disney Sing It: Pop Hits? History Civil War: Secret Missions? If you take issue with the controller, fine, but it's not necessary to crucify the console and all of its games and fans solely because you dislike a design choice.

You can play Hardcore games with the best graphics and such on a good system. You can play "casual" games on a good system with a downgraded graphics mode. You can't play hardcore games on a Wii with the best graphics and such, and if Nintendo wanted casual games, so be it. Doesn't mean you have to make all other game producers leave your consoles and have the landfill companys start making games. I just feel like Nintendo F'd me over big time and doesn't care. Maybe thats why I seem biased but still, I highly doubt those games actually sold more then any other consoles games.

How about you come off your gaming pedestal for a moment and realize you can play both good and bad games on both consoles and that graphics really don't matter. The landfill companies make games for all consoles, and the big names haven't abandoned the Wii. Capcom, Konami, Sega, Squaresoft... they're all making Wii games. You just need to delve more into the collection. Hell, even if you hate the controller, I highly suggest you look into many of the arcade light gun titles that have been ported to the Wii, along with some of the special controllers that turn the Wiimote into a gun. That's certainly something I don't see on the 360 or PS3, even with Kinect and Move coming out.

Nintendo also didn't screw you over. Yes, they targeted a large audience that in the past hadn't been interested in gaming instead of going for the much smaller market of people that were already playing games. If anything, they've managed to make our hobby more legitimate in the eyes of the public, and I believe they should be praised for it, even if it isn't something you necessarily want. In a few years there will be a new console on the market, and you may see your HD Mario games then. Accept that time passes and instead look more into the experience of gaming itself, not specifically what titles look the nicest.

Another point of note, and this is something that tends to be accepted a lot on these forums: if graphics are so important, why do you play retro games? You'll hear this refrain a lot on this website. When someone points to graphics as the most important reason for any gaming console or title to be superior to others, members question why. I believe it makes this community stronger and allows a greater interpretation of gaming by questioning graphical superiority. That refrain has been echoed by companies since the days of the Atari 2600's marketing campaigns. It's a marketing gimmick, one that too many people fall for. Look beyond it and embrace gameplay instead. You'll find yourself satisfied more often.

Seriously, 3GenGames, I mean that. I did not intend insult with any part of this post(and I certainly hope you don't read any). Instead, I want you and others on this website to come away with a more open interpretation of video games and what they can and should be. Let me reiterate that I believe the hardcore/casual debate is hindering gaming, and I don't want you to fall into that trap, especially when you could be doing what so many others on this site already do: enjoying games for games' sake and the sake of the experience. I want people to come to this website to broaden their experiences with gaming and recapture that childlike wonder that so many of us remember from when we played games as children. And I want you to have a positive experience on this website.

[renardqueenston]

i feel rather insufficient following up that post with something so short, but it's really all i have to say:

well put!

[the7k]

I still consider myself a 'hardcore gamer' - but unfortunately, I don't believe in the same definition as the one people use today.

A hardcore gamer when I was coming up was one that appreciated a game for the whole package rather than just the graphics. Rather than 'casual gamers' being our sworn enemies, 'mainstream gamers' were the ones we despised. The ones that played games no one even remembers anymore because they had cutting-edge graphics, sound, etc., that would all be dwarfed in just a few short years. They were forgotten because their only charm - being on the cutting-edge - was no longer applicable. Basically, the decade-old equivalents of games like Halo:Reach, God of War III, and Modern Warfare 2.

I'll admit, I don't play the Wii anywhere near as much as I do my PS3 or PC. Heck, I probably haven't turned it on it at least a month. Most the games just aren't my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean the system is a failure - especially not because of some technical specifications that have no impact on the amount of creativity a game can be imbued with. The lack of current-gen bells and whistles has nothing to do a game's staying power or general enjoyment.

In other news, the list is disappointing. All but one of those games (New Super Mario Bros) either failed to interest me or, when I did play, disappointed the hell out of me. Heck, I still wouldn't take New Super Mario Bros before any of the older entries. Still, it doesn't surprise me in the least - a Top 10 Best Sellers list will, by it's very nature, be comprised of mainstream crap.

Damn those mainstream gamers.

[ZeroAX]

Damn those mainstream gamers.

Don't forget they bought more copies of FF7 than FF6 and Chrono Trigger combined.

[dsheinem]

I don't think "mainstream gamers" is a better, more descriptive, or less derisive label. Fuck all these stupid labels.

I've bought 7 of the 10 games on that list and don't think that any are rubbish. In fact, almost all of them are good candidates for best game of the year.

But characterizing me as someone who is a hardcore or a casual gamer, someone who follows trends or just enjoys niche games, etc. - all of that is just ridiculous. Like most of you I am just simply a gamer, someone who enjoys any and all kinds of games if they are done well. So in the past 10 months I've purchased many of the top games on that list, but I've also bought imported Saturn and PS1 shmups, a TI-99/4A and games, platformers for the 360 and PS2, iPhone games like Peggle, RPGs for the PC and PS3, the major new FPS releases, and pretty much a little bit of anything and everything in between. I'm a gamer, and your labels make my head hurt.

[jfrost]

I'm a casual gamer. I don't have time to play most games nowadays and I don't like FPSs. When I get home, I try to play half an hour of something easy to get into and I don't care about mastering any games, having good kill-death rates or playing for score. But I do like videogames.

[3GenGames]

Not going to read all them posts, but yes I am one of the top Defender players, my gamertag is "I AaronB123 I"


And "hardcore" games to me is playing where more then half the people playing know more or less how to play decently. I still have found nobody else who can play more situatuional then me in MW2, shoot, scoot, take note of how they play. Got a camper in your game? Flank him. Knifer in MW2? Pull out some assault rifles with FMJ and listen so you know when he's coming. Thats how I play and consider hardcore. Change with the players, never just play the game. Play the people.


Sorry to just explode but anyone calling a Wii game hardcore is on the wrong system. Can't outplay somebody when whoever has the better connection wins. I just get mad. I got Brawl for Christmas with a wii, my sister opened the Wii, I kept brawl sealed for 8 months before my parents made me give it away. Halo and COD2 IMO ere alot better then some updated game I have for the N64 this is 2D with psuedo-3D graphics. Like I said before, Wii can't run Halo. They should have made a new system, not a overclocked Gamecube.