With the DS and Wii, Nintendo took the first step in trying to tap into that 'casual' gamer market that had been ignored for so long by games companies. Their consoles were easy to use, and had games that appealed to everyone, no matter their age, sex or taste in games. Wii Sports resort has sold 1 million copes since it's released. Game charts have become games publishers duelling with their latest generic copies of ideas Nintendo came up with 4 years ago.
Now, Microsoft have jumped on that particular bandwagon, after unveiling Project Natal. This coming on the Xbox 360, arguably the most hardcore gamer friendly console currently on the market. Quite frankly, it's pissing me off.
Ever since the Wii has come out, owners have been bombarded with the so-called "shovelware". It takes up shelves upon shelves in games shops, music shops, etc... Now usually, the crap games were stuck to toy stores and supermarkets, but now I have to come face to face with 60 copies of "My Hamster N' Me!" every time I'm browsing through the used game section looking for something good.
Nintendo spent the first year or two trying to convince the hardcore gamers that the Wii was for them as well as casual gamers. We had Zelda on release date. Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime Corruption, Smash Bros Brawl, Resident Evil 4 remake and some superb games in the virtual console shop were all out within the first couple of years. But after that, the well ran dry and they had nothing left for the hardcore gamers. Animal Crossing and Mario Kart Wii came out, both of which were lackluster efforts. There were decent 3rd party offering in games like Zack and Wiki, Disaster: Day of Crisis and the Okami remake, but it just wasn't enough. After 2007, there were simply no more must-have games. The casual (or just shit) games catalogue was piling up on the Wii and long time, die hard Nintendo fans started to look at other consoles. Sure, the N64 and Gamecube may not have been huge successes, but they always catered to the audience that made Nintendo what they are today.
What makes casual gamers casual gamers? The fact that they're not hardcore gamers, the fact that they don't usually play many games and don't buy them unless the name is something they recognise or it's a special event such as birthdays. Now that Wii has become the games console of choice for casual gamers, it just means that they won't be playing many games and not buying many games... On the Wii.
I read an article on IGN that made a great point. There's many more casual gamers out there than hardcore gamers, so naturally games companies looking to make a quick buck will make a game aimed at casual gamers in 2 months and put it on the shelves. As I said earlier, casual gamers will buy a few games a year. So when hardcore gamers go into shops and seeing that a lesser known game they want isn't on the shelves because there's room being taken up by a load of casual games, these hardcore gamers will become vexed and will lose faith in games.
I understand that certain games companies do genuinely want to get the casual gamers involved. But this coming at a price. Developers are dumbing down games so that the casual gamers will be interested.
Nintendo are making bucket loads of cash from this casual gamer stuff. Microsoft are following them with Project Natal, and Sony have never been ones for original ideas, so I doubt they're very far behind in making something similar. In a few years or so, the casual gamer thing might grow even bigger than it is now.
But will games companies realise that the casual gamer thing is just a fad, and sooner or later they will need to draw the hardcore audience back in? I mean, are they just making more work for themselves in the long run?
Now, Microsoft have jumped on that particular bandwagon, after unveiling Project Natal. This coming on the Xbox 360, arguably the most hardcore gamer friendly console currently on the market. Quite frankly, it's pissing me off.
Ever since the Wii has come out, owners have been bombarded with the so-called "shovelware". It takes up shelves upon shelves in games shops, music shops, etc... Now usually, the crap games were stuck to toy stores and supermarkets, but now I have to come face to face with 60 copies of "My Hamster N' Me!" every time I'm browsing through the used game section looking for something good.
Nintendo spent the first year or two trying to convince the hardcore gamers that the Wii was for them as well as casual gamers. We had Zelda on release date. Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime Corruption, Smash Bros Brawl, Resident Evil 4 remake and some superb games in the virtual console shop were all out within the first couple of years. But after that, the well ran dry and they had nothing left for the hardcore gamers. Animal Crossing and Mario Kart Wii came out, both of which were lackluster efforts. There were decent 3rd party offering in games like Zack and Wiki, Disaster: Day of Crisis and the Okami remake, but it just wasn't enough. After 2007, there were simply no more must-have games. The casual (or just shit) games catalogue was piling up on the Wii and long time, die hard Nintendo fans started to look at other consoles. Sure, the N64 and Gamecube may not have been huge successes, but they always catered to the audience that made Nintendo what they are today.
What makes casual gamers casual gamers? The fact that they're not hardcore gamers, the fact that they don't usually play many games and don't buy them unless the name is something they recognise or it's a special event such as birthdays. Now that Wii has become the games console of choice for casual gamers, it just means that they won't be playing many games and not buying many games... On the Wii.
I read an article on IGN that made a great point. There's many more casual gamers out there than hardcore gamers, so naturally games companies looking to make a quick buck will make a game aimed at casual gamers in 2 months and put it on the shelves. As I said earlier, casual gamers will buy a few games a year. So when hardcore gamers go into shops and seeing that a lesser known game they want isn't on the shelves because there's room being taken up by a load of casual games, these hardcore gamers will become vexed and will lose faith in games.
I understand that certain games companies do genuinely want to get the casual gamers involved. But this coming at a price. Developers are dumbing down games so that the casual gamers will be interested.
Nintendo are making bucket loads of cash from this casual gamer stuff. Microsoft are following them with Project Natal, and Sony have never been ones for original ideas, so I doubt they're very far behind in making something similar. In a few years or so, the casual gamer thing might grow even bigger than it is now.
But will games companies realise that the casual gamer thing is just a fad, and sooner or later they will need to draw the hardcore audience back in? I mean, are they just making more work for themselves in the long run?
