The Hardcore Casualty - A Letter To The Hardcore - News

by VGChartz Staff , posted on 12 November 2008 / 7,878 Views

To view the original version of this content, please visit Popzara Press !

Dear Hardcore,

Tell me this - What happened to the videogaming audience I remembered decades ago? When did such a large number of players become so rigid in their beliefs and negative? You see I remember a time when videogaming seemed to be a wonder-world of possibilities where we thought "the future is here" and those images of colored light inspired the imagination of "what can be." At one time seemingly not so long ago, people used to dive into this 'pool of potential' head first ready to try out every interesting imaginative idea. There were no boundaries, no limits. And because of this mentality these technological toys, these computers specialized for entertainment served as fertile ground for crafts of creativity, exercises of ingenuity, and the cultural exchange which helps the world achieve better harmony and understanding.

What happened to all of this, Hardcore? When did this beautiful spirit leave the gaming culture? The commentaries from your kind restrict the wonders of "what can be" into merely "what is." You dictate that this is a "real game". This is a "non-game". This is "niche". This is "mainstream". This is "mature". This is "kiddie". This is "casual". This is "hardcore". What does any of this mean? Who decided all of these definitions and why they should matter? The way I remember it, and correct me if I'm wrong, people just used to play the games they liked and let others play the games they liked. Live and let live, Play and let play. But ever since the emergence of your Hardcore Empire that rules sovereign the hearts and minds of many players, we have protests about what games should be made vs. what games shouldn't. We see aggressive chastisement of those who make, promote, buy and play any of the games in the 'shouldn't' category. We see grumbles, gripes, and grievances over new ideas chartering into unexplored and barren territory. There's just a suffocating air of negativity, naysaying, and nonsensical numbskull nitpicking contaminating the lung-space that breathes gaming culture. And seriously, explain the psychotic persistent paranoia about "the end of gaming as we know it" that pops up each time some game offends your finicky sensibilities.

What happened to that hopeful spirit that used to accompany videogaming in the 1970's and 80’s? The spirit which fueled the camaraderie and competition in the arcade gallerias, the spirit which gathered friends and family together in front of the console hearths, the spirit which encouraged the designers to take chances and venture out into new frontiers? Thankfully, somewhere it still exists but alongside it grew this spirit of stagnation and lack of imagination as the years crossed the calendar. This caged bird doesn’t sing, it whines. Such a contrast from that free feathered one who would rather fly high in the sky. Whereas before the game creators would take the machine beyond its stated limits to make the game, now the creators make woeful cries of technological limits preventing them from making it. Whereas before the players would play a game over and over again to mastery, now the players complain about games being too short as they follow the walkthroughs. Whereas before a buyer would use his/her own judgment to decide what game that buyer would like, now that buyer swears by the ‘infallible’ reviews and rankings of some on-high publication in print and on web.

A game is a game is a game. Candy Land, Checkers, Rugby, Dominoes, Charades, Red Light Green Light, Hide and Go Seek, Footraces, Basketball, The Price Is Right, Super Mario Bros., Sudoku, Fantasy Football, Tetris, Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Jeopardy, the Daily Jumble, Hangman, Putt-Putt Golf, Grand Theft Auto, Pac-Man, Wii Fit, Solitaire, Poker, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Operation, Simon Says, Clue, Chess, Tag, Laser Tag, Paintball, Slamball, Tug-of-War, Battleship, Yahtzee, Doom, Street Fighter II, Quarters, Dice, Lotto, the Stock Market, Roulette, Cherry Master, Pachinko, Mahjong, Marbles, Resident Evil, PONG, Boxing, Flag Football, Musical Chairs, Pencil Fight, Open Chest, Bingo, Shuffleboard, Final Fantasy, Myst, M.U.L.E., Zork, Shadowrun, Horseshoes, Pinball, Wheel of Fortune, World of Warcraft, Tic-Tac-Toe, Text Twist, Q*Bert, Populous, Sim City, Imagine: Fashion Designer, Nintendogs, Tamagotchi, Shenmue, and Shinobi. Just a tiny sampling of what a game is whether it’s called a sport, an RPG, an MUD, an FPS, a toy, a thinker’s game, a man’s game, a girl’s game, a kid’s game, a puzzle, a strategy game, gambling, a platformer, a sandbox, amusement, a simulator, a board game, a word game, a drinking game, a game show...or maybe even a videogame.

Who ARE you? Who ARE you, Hardcore? What's really the meaning behind your vaunted title? What gives you the authority to operate as Caesar in the Coliseum? Keep your twisted thumbs to yourselves, because you don't have as much control over this pastime as you might think. Yes, I know the interface device in your hands may have given you this delusion, but never forget that it only allows you to control the playing pieces displayed on your television screens.

But what is a game according to you, Hardcore? Well, I'll tell you my definition. I define a game as a "select simulation of life". Games are to be played, right? Play is the domain of the child, correct? A baby human, a young human plays. When a baby dog, a puppy plays what’s it doing? It is practicing the skills and abilities it will need when it becomes an adult dog. When you see puppies play-biting and taking some shoe or random item by the mouth and shaking it to and fro, they are practicing the skills they need to hunt food and protect against any challengers to their territory. Baby cats, kittens suddenly hop up on couches and chairs with a sly demeanor. They get on their hind legs and scratch the furniture; they toy with balls of yarn with their paws. It’s the same thing. They are practicing the skills and techniques they will need when they are fully grown cats. It is no different in this respect when it comes to babies of the human kind.

You follow me? Each game we create focuses on a portion of life that our inherent abilities and skills are designed to flourish in whether we play them as children or adults. Kids play hide and go seek to practice the deceptive maneuvers humans use to escape predators which may (and often do) include fellow humans. Kids play tag in order to learn the chase or the hunt both as chaser (hunter) or the chased (hunted). Kids play red light green light to refine mastery of command. A social animal such as this relies on the spoken order to be able to organize for a hunt, an adventure, or an excursion. What we call sports whether its baseball, football, basketball, or whatever can teach us the strategies of war, an extreme example of the hunt. We learn how to work in teams yet use our individual abilities to their fullest to guarantee success. Puzzle games, strategy games, logic games train us on how to use our massive minds. To master a game like Chess or Sudoku or Dominoes or Sim City shows that we can handle complexity in information. Some games teach social skills like the various drinking games, Truth or Dare, or Animal Crossing. You learn how to interact in a group or society which is something every human being has to participate in somewhere in his/her life. Some games teach concentration and coordination like Pinball. Card games teach risk and reward. Some games teach you how to read code like word games. Some games train strength. Some games train memory. Many games teach social roles and their conditionings. No matter what the form all games are a smaller representation of the ultimate game called Life (and not the one from Milton Bradley either).

Because of this a game can be any and everything. Some games keep score while others do not. Some games have statistics to delve through while others do not. Some games have an intricate back-story while others may or may not have even a faint framework. Some games are pictured in 2D; some are pictured in 3D; some games have no graphics at all. Some games have playing pieces to pick up and hold; some are games of the spoken word. Some games have objects to interact with, some games have no objects. Some games have an ending while others do not. Some games take great skill while others are accessible to the seemingly skill-less. Some games have multiple solutions while others can only be played one way. In the world of gaming and all its evolutions including the video kind, there is no limit to the possibilities. It’s as infinite as the universe we live in, as infinite as the whole of creation. The child never knows its limits and pursues the wonders of life even to his/her own danger. The soft mind lets in new ideas but the hardened mind bounces the new ideas off the surface. What’s that saying they came up with about old dogs and tricks? (Hey, open your mind to this possibility. Dating and Mating is a game; that’s why they call them Players and Playboys. Ever thought along those lines?)

If gaming is truly so infinite, why do you self-proclaimed Hardcore members choose to be so finite? Videogaming has shown itself to be as fluid and expansive as any other, but now this natural essence is a problem to your rigid minds. We can play backgammon for thousands of years yet have trouble playing the latest blockbuster gaming title for a couple of months. “There’re no games,” whine the unappreciative brats. “Where are all the adult games?” moan the adolescent minds in irony. Ha, “adult games”. Certainly aren’t played on a videogame controller if ya smell what I’m cookin’. “A TRUE gamer buys all systems”. “A REAL gamer plays REAL games” “This game is casual. Do. Not. Want.” “This game is for the hardcore!” Is that anything like the Marine Corps? As in “Semper Fi - do or DIE!” When exactly did game players become such masters of marketing?

I don't remember gameplayers using these kinds of words when I was growing up. Perhaps the marketers have finally succeeded in their advertising dreams to have the customers parrot their talking points...I've got crackers if you've got cheese.

When I think of the words “hardcore” and “casual”, I’m hearing sexual terms, porno terms. Do those “hardcore” games give orgasmic pleasure while the “casual” ones are flings and one-night stands? Should I coin a new term..."gamephomaniacs"? The forever insatiable and unsatisfied lusting for the (Mr.) right game to knock their socks off (hear the synonymous rhyme beneath this euphemism). It's as if these players are making love to their game machines when you listen to this kind of talk, which does nothing to dispel the stereotypical image of the usual gameplayer being a sexually/socially uninitiated adult in twilight childhood. A “True” gamer? A “Real” gamer? Ah, the sage Dave Chappelle has taught us all the follies of when keeping it real goes wrong. I buy the system or systems I want. I play the game or games I want. I don’t have the time or the money to invest into everything ‘videogame’.

While this attitude might work for the stockholders of the publishers who make these playthings, I have wider ranging interests than sitting in front of my TV screen all day, every day to play them. It's a pastime, a hobby. One that I and, as the sales charts show, many others enjoy immensely. But it’s not healthy to be a slave to the marketers’ interests regardless of how much they trained us to be this way in our youth through the constant cavalcade of happy shiny commercials.

Like the faithful trained seals you are, you Hardcores now think you must get the biggest and best sound system, TV set, and system specifications just to merely enjoy a videogame nowadays. That’s not what gaming is about. I never cared about the components of the machine; I care about the fun derived from the images and interactions on screen. They represent the select simulation of life that affirms my life in reality. This is what gaming is about and what it has always been about whether it’s for competition or camaraderie or self-improvement or sociability or simple straight-up entertainment. It’s not about the gaming press’ reviews or sales figures or even the technological bits and pieces.

To me it doesn’t matter if the art style is illustrative or naturalistic. It doesn’t matter if it has an epic background story or the faintest of frameworks. Buying into these phony distinctions called “hardcore” and “casual” reminds me of the idiocy when I hear the political terms “red state” and “blue state”, “conservative” and “liberal”. Just silly human beings doing that ‘Us vs. Them’ thing again.

There are old ladies who play Bingo quite enthusiastically and competitively while there are those teen boys who play Madden for a little while (only to have it collect dust in the closet). Those housewives who spend hour upon hour over years playing the solitaire packed into their PCs while there are those 20-year old college kids who play the current 'IT' game of the month. Those 50-year old uncles who play a spirited trash-talking competitive game of Spades in get-togethers every week for decades while there are those young'uns who have a stack of games unfinished or even unopened. That grandma who looks feverishly for a worthy competitor on the worldwide multiplayer feature in Tetris Party while there are those Prime Timers who spend more time online talking about games than playing them. Who’s “hardcore” and “casual” here? All of them are REAL players (not that one with Rhapsody) and all of them are REAL games. Good games, bad games? Well, that’s up to you to decide. It says much to me when games that came out decades, centuries, even millennia ago still get played and re-bought while recent blockbusters are often forgotten within a couple of years - or months.

When I saw Pac-Man at 4 years old I didn't have a clue about the origins of the videogame business, who was who, who owned who, how all of this stuff got here, how the makers of the machines got paid through sales, the detailed circuitry inside of the machine, its effects on the market, none of that. All I knew was the yellow thing ate the colored things who chased him all around and made them go BLRLROOP! This I would come to learn was a "videogame" and soon I would see videogames that were nothing like Pac-Man at all. One game with a man jumping over barrels thrown by some crazy gorilla who stole his girlfriend. Another one with some guy digging in the ground and pumping up monsters to make them pop. Another one with a spaceship shooting flies, bees, moths, and all kind of freaky bugs in outer space (what IS a Galaga anyway?). Another one with a frog trying to get across the street without getting gooshed by cars on the road. Another one of some garden being invaded this weird centipede and other pests played by some rollball device on the machine. Another game where the man shoots a bunch of scary robot monsters who keep creeping up close to him on every side.

Much like my earlier youth seeing the diversity of the arcades in early 80s, my teens were spent enthusiastically seeking out and trying out new gaming ideas both on the consoles and the arcades. So thrilled by the ideas available, I used to look in awe at the vibrancy that existed in the computer gaming scene since I didn't have a computer. Then there was my neighbor who owned a Sega Genesis. There existed no rivalry or haterism between us. We enthusiastically played each other's systems impressed with what each company had to offer. There were no casual/hardcore labels to think of, no mindless overly partisan corporate identification, no sales charts one-upmanship, no reviews as gospel. Only gameplayers...period. Videogaming by then was much different than it was when I was a 4-year old, but the original spirit of imaginative possibility I gained as that mesmerized youngster never faded. And I was too overjoyed by the abundance to have complaints.

Perhaps because of that spirit I've always been blind to these kinds of divisions. Maybe the Hardcore existed when Nolan Bushnell and Ralph Baer took digital electronic gaming from the MIT college tech whiz domain to the masses in the bars and living rooms of America. Maybe the Hardcore existed when Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man drew in females to the arcades. Maybe the Hardcore existed when the NES console dared to challenge the computer gaming empire of Commodore 64 and the Amiga 1000. Maybe the Hardcore existed when Sony's PlayStation expanded the scope of the videogaming audience to appeal primarily beyond children and teens. What about that "Hardcore" who played the difficult arcade and console games of the 80s and 90s and relished the hand-breaking challenge? They couldn't have been one and the same; those arcade dwellers had that same spirit of exploration and open-mindedness to new ideas. They didn't complain and whine just to hear themselves make noise.

At the center of it all, the game was the thing. Still gameplayers - period. Gameplayers who appreciated technological progress. Gameplayers who appreciated fresh subject matter. Gameplayers who appreciated different artistic approaches. But STILL when you boil it all down, just gameplayers. Not Hardcore. Not Casual. Not Niche. Not Mainstream. Not Real Gamer. Not Non-Gamer. Just gamers. Just gameplayers.

We need that feeling again. Wherever you came from, whenever you emerged, now is the time for your kind to fade away. Just as it had done at the beginning of the Atari era; just as it had done at the start of the Nintendo era; just as it had done as the PlayStation came into being, it is being done again today. Videogaming is expanding its boundaries and gathering new audiences. With each step the industry charts new territory as a media form. For every different type of person, more and more there better exists a game for each of them to enjoy playing. Every new player further solidifies the medium as an authentic entertainment source like any other. Hey, this loyal Nintendo fan didn't cry and complain when the PlayStation began to dominate the market. I wanted a PlayStation for the exact same reason I enjoyed playing my friend's Genesis, for the same reason I envied computer gaming of the early 90s: new fresh interesting ideas that I wanted to try out. As I entered adulthood, I still retained that exact same attitude toward this pastime that existed in me since childhood. I still have it and will forever have it.

What about you, Hardcore? Can you follow my path? Will you place the welcome mat out for the newcomers like I will? Will you leave your preconceptions behind and look at new ideas with open eyes like I do? Will you enjoy the games on your own merit free from the overrated opinions of some reviewer like I have always done? Will you ever take yourselves less seriously and quit with all of the unproductive grousing? I hope you can but I have my doubts. Hardcore, you have lost your imaginations, your view of what can be, and as far as I'm concerned game over can't come soon enough for the way you think.

I admit it. There’s a rewarding feeling I get when the games of this new inclusive era send you self-proclaimed Hardcore into a panic. The Germans call it schadenfreude , I think. I love it when your example of what gaming should be is placed upon a pedestal, only to have it bested by some unwanted interloper who steals its thunder and overshadows its success. Hardcore has at last become a Casualty - from the press to the developers to the players at home. As I said before, a long time ago, “The hardcore of a peach is the pits. Try to get the WHOLE fruit.” For the future of this wonder-world of possibilities, I’m gonna take a bite.

Thank you for listening,

A Gameplayer

All Popzara Press Content and Images © 2008 Digital Rising, LLC

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PipBoy2000 (on 16 November 2008)

"And on a slightly unrelated topic, remember when video games were about imagination and creativity? Games used to be able to be about anything. It could be something ridiculous like a janitor who rides a flying fish tossing candy canes at cavemen."

Childish imagination =/= superior imagination. I find SotC, Portal, Katamari and Bioshock to be more imaginative. People are even prejudiced against the kinds of imaginations people excercise today... the industry has matured along with its audience and random absurdity is no longer as in fashion.

"That couldn't be more true. These days all game companies do is copy each other."

This has always been the case... all games back then were 2D left to right adventures, the only thing that has changed is the amount of people complaining.

"Ever since Halo came around with it's future-istic setting where aliens and humans were at war, every FPS these days just stick with that kind of storyline and rarely do anything else. But no one does anything different because it makes big money. Say what you will about Red Steel, at least it had a different story and setting."

Would it be too much to ask for supporting evidence? All the successful shooters have a story like Halo how? GoW plays on machoism, Resistance plays on WW2 in the future, CoD4 is about Modern Warfare, Stalker is about a Post Apoc world, ME is about a Star Trek/Star Wars, Bioshock is about an underwater dystopia and so on...

This is exactly what I mean by people over generalizing things they don't understand, especially when it comes to the subject of shooters. People on the internet now adays are so obsessed with convincing writing and clever wording that they absolutely lack content.

"So now gaming has gone from optimistic and creative to developers releasing the same stuff over and over again just because everyone whines when they decide to try something different. And the people who do like it just get verbally attacked. All because some a**holes decided they needed to make even more money."

Again, what are you talking about? Have you even been playing video games in the last 2 years? Its far more diverse than it was back in the NES/SNES days... just look at this holiday season and tell me it lacks variety and creativity...

LittleBigPlanet
World of Goo
Banjo Kazooie(which has completely changed)
FO3(which has completely changed)
Fable 2(which has gone under drastic changes)
Resistance 2(A refinement of the franchise)
Farcry 2(completely different from the last)
Dead Space(a very good adaptation of many horror influences)
Mirrors Edge
Gears of War 2(A refinement)
Prince of Persia(complete change in gameplay and presentation)
End War(voice controlled RTS)
and a lot more...

Sure we have generic games like Tales, Last Remnant and CoD5 just like in the old days we had Marios 1-3, a billion look a like side scrollers, Secret of Mana, half a dozen FF games and everything else by Squaresoft.

Again, the industry is moving forward and there is more ideas out now than ever, including small games with the help of XBLA/PSN/Wiiware so I can't possibly imagine where the argument of "lacking imagination" comes from. Just because people want money(like they ALWAYS have), doesn't change the objective fact that there is more genres out today and more gameplay innovations than ever.

As for games using tried and true formulas and succeeding... well is it really a surprise? Mario is a great franchise, why change something thats good?

PhunkyPhazon (on 16 November 2008)

This article, and Popzara's comment a few post's back have really helped me see things in a different light. I think once the internet came to be, big corporations saw their chance to make money off the gaming community and decided to make sites like Gamespot and IGN. These places allow the big developers to toss a bunch of money at them, and then due to good coverage people go buy the games. The gaming industry has just become a giant money-making scheme where developers just copy each other because thanks to these places, people just buy whatever got the most attention.

And on a slightly unrelated topic, remember when video games were about imagination and creativity? Games used to be able to be about anything. It could be something ridiculous like a janitor who rides a flying fish tossing candy canes at cavemen. Now, if I may quote Zero Punctuation "These days original is a soldier with a moustache". That couldn't be more true. These days all game companies do is copy each other. Ever since Halo came around with it's future-istic setting where aliens and humans were at war, every FPS these days just stick with that kind of storyline and rarely do anything else. But no one does anything different because it makes big money. Say what you will about Red Steel, at least it had a different story and setting.

So now gaming has gone from optimistic and creative to developers releasing the same stuff over and over again just because everyone whines when they decide to try something different. And the people who do like it just get verbally attacked. All because some a**holes decided they needed to make even more money.

uno (on 15 November 2008)

I like fun.

PipBoy2000 (on 15 November 2008)

@Riot

You are confusing hardcore gamers with elitists. In fact, many internet elitists aren't even the most hardcore. just the ones who want to sound like it. Again, generalizing hardcore players. There were always attacks on hardcore players for being nerds and people without lives so I guess people should make articles about such prejudice?

Again, elitists are the problem, not the hardcore/casuals and the TC is clearly an elitist and bashing the opposing side.

Hemuli (on 15 November 2008)

Very nice article. It's really in the malstrom quality.

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RiotGear80 (on 14 November 2008)

I find it very interesting that the "hardcore" gamers, who seem to be one genre exclusive players, are the ones determining what are the good games across genres. Whereas the casual gamers who play across party/genre lines are not fit to comment. And the only true "bash" is that the "hardcore" Demographic is so closed minded as to what a good game can be. I think that some in the market have clever strategies to push customers away from other consoles. Originally it was just calling a game kiddy but now it is saying "that game ain't hard core so it ain't worth playin'." It surprises me how well this works to keep people from playing games.

PipBoy2000 (on 14 November 2008)

"Judging from the vast majority of comments here this message of hope and optimism has touched many who feel the same, and for this I'm proud to call him both a colleague and friend."

It feels more like someone playing on a popular mantra that is on forums now a days more than anything noble. Perhaps I am mistaken about his true intent but the content of the post itself seemed to be just a very common argument and articulated to an excessive degree. You can head over to the Wii boards(not saying he is talking about the Wii but this attitude is born out of the division between gamers, created mainly by the Wii) on a various number of gaming sites and you find this common rhethoric quite often, especially now close to the holiday season.

"Yes, John's piece could have been shorter - but it could also have been longer. Speaking from a point of view that's seldom addressed in the gaming community, the concept of 'fun' that's become synonymous with many of today's most popular (i.e. advertised) gaming experiences seems to exclude a significant portion of those who enjoy this hobby much like any other."

This is exactly the topic that is very common on Wii boards all over the net... people are complaining about exclusion yet thats not actually happening.

"With the Nintendo Wii, it seems that many of these silent objectors have found a gaming console that embodies much of what they dislike about this new market disruption - market expansion. By no means am I excusing the atrocious quality of many Wii titles (I'm being generous there), but given the console's popularity in non-traditional markets and demographics, they must feel threatened that their well-earned vestiges of power and influence are fading."

And here is the first problem. Massive and fallacious generalization. Hardcore/traditional or core gaming isn't going anywhere and only a handful of very ignorant people actually believe this. Whats happening here is whats happened in every generation... fanboys. Its not a new phenomonon.

The only difference is that the success of the Wii in non-traditional markets has made the Nintendo defenders more agressive and are now attacking traditional gaming(which usually contradicts what they hype).

"A fellow user here commented on how these outlets will almost uniformly fail to cover major Wii releases, particularly when these include multi-platform and popular titles. The recent Call of Duty: WaW is a prime example, and as of this writing only one of the three above mentioned outlets has seen fit to review the Nintendo version. Star Wars: TFU, Madden, and many others are often neglected coverage their Xbox 360/PS3 counterparts receive at launch. This begs the question - intentional bias, or corporate payola to center coverage on the 'core' gamer?"

Now you are over complicating common sense... the traditional consoles get better sales with these games, they have the (usually) superior version and people who like such types of games usually will buy it on a certain console. Its a shame that the Wii gets less unique games and the ports usually pale in comparison to its HD brethren(not graphics don't matter to everyone, but lets face it, it matters to most and gameplay/online differences can be drastic) but thats the current state of things and until that changes, the practice that is being done by the media is 100% logical and understandable. They are also targeting the people who read there mags/sites a lot of Wii owners are not from the crowd that visits such media period.

"If your sense of satisfaction requires you to force opinions onto others, it might be time to re-evaluate your own sense of purpose. Unless of course part of your enjoyment comes from trampling on anther's opinion, in which there may be no help at all. Someone said it above and it bears repeating again - live and let play!"

My sentiments exactly and articles like these don't help. Its an attack on a demographic of gamers and an attempt at playing victim and appeal to a particularly abundant demographic that exists on VGChartz. Its really not trying to help anything and is more just venting or flexing ones writing skills. People bash casual games yes. People also bash hardcore games. Are these bash posts worthy of an article? Does not feel like it. I respect that the article is well written but its tone and intentions are quite transparent.

"Yeah... well the analogy to crime and poverty in the world was yours. Just as it was you who brought the incapacity of the Wii to the table."

I did not use it as an analogy. You took it out of context and used it improperly as I only referred to it as to show how naive it is to expect everything is perfect and preaching such empty words.

I am not so much bugged by this article but by the fact that it IS an article on this board while it really should just be a forum discussion. This casual elitism is as bad as the rest of elitism and attacking hardcore gamers by generalizing them is pretty offensive. I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I have considered myself one for almost 20 years. I don't see how all of a sudden, because the Wii is here, hardcore no longer exists. Its always been easy to define a person as hardcore or not even though its a loose term that can encompass many traits. But the concept is easily definable by human observation.

deezigner (on 14 November 2008)

@PipBoy
Yeah... well the analogy to crime and poverty in the world was yours. Just as it was you who brought the incapacity of the Wii to the table. I really don't understand why you get so bugged by this article. I've never actually read anything that this guy wrote before. But after 2 years visiting this site every day, his article gave me a reason to register and write something. I (obviously) have a completely different perspective towards gaming than you do. Let's leave it at that :-)

samenzhen (on 14 November 2008)

Popzara (on 14 November 2008)

PipBoy2000

Judging from your comments, I'm sorry that you spent more time analyzing the structure and tone of John's piece than the message behind it. Many of your comments seem directed at John himself, and his abilities as a writer and to convey his message. I can assure you as John's primary editor that he is indeed a challenge, but a rewarding and satisfying one. Judging from the vast majority of comments here this message of hope and optimism has touched many who feel the same, and for this I'm proud to call him both a colleague and friend. While you are certainly entitled to your opinions about the quality of his words, it seems you're mistaken about the message.

Yes, John's piece could have been shorter - but it could also have been longer. Speaking from a point of view that's seldom addressed in the gaming community, the concept of 'fun' that's become synonymous with many of today's most popular (i.e. advertised) gaming experiences seems to exclude a significant portion of those who enjoy this hobby much like any other. While John implicitly did not make the Nintendo Wii the focal point of his call to sanity, let's take a look at how unrecognized bias can poison those who count on and trust those in the media.

With the Nintendo Wii, it seems that many of these silent objectors have found a gaming console that embodies much of what they dislike about this new market disruption - market expansion. By no means am I excusing the atrocious quality of many Wii titles (I'm being generous there), but given the console's popularity in non-traditional markets and demographics, they must feel threatened that their well-earned vestiges of power and influence are fading.

Popular gaming outlets such as Gamespot, IGN, and 1Up aren't assumed narrowly focus, they advertise this fact in their own marketing materials. I encourage everyone to seek these out and examine them for yourselves, and perhaps this will give insight to why their archaic systems of catering to every whim of their narrow (and predominantly male) demographic must feel threatened by the inclusion of new blood into the stream; never before have so many senior, female, and others been enjoying interactive media so much.

A fellow user here commented on how these outlets will almost uniformly fail to cover major Wii releases, particularly when these include multi-platform and popular titles. The recent Call of Duty: WaW is a prime example, and as of this writing only one of the three above mentioned outlets has seen fit to review the Nintendo version. Star Wars: TFU, Madden, and many others are often neglected coverage their Xbox 360/PS3 counterparts receive at launch. This begs the question - intentional bias, or corporate payola to center coverage on the 'core' gamer?

Negative perception online can have as much (if not more so) impact on how an industry is perceived, and at times how it functions. Again, another user commented on the relative sales of cake, and how one (perceived inferior) would go on to outsell another (perceived superior). This is the nature of life itself; a thing's success and failure is seldom linked to its quality, both good and bad. For reasons that may be too complex for us to take in at the moment (perhaps the 'inferior' cake had better marketing?), the best we can do is find solace that we enjoyed our 'superior' cake.

If your sense of satisfaction requires you to force opinions onto others, it might be time to re-evaluate your own sense of purpose. Unless of course part of your enjoyment comes from trampling on anther's opinion, in which there may be no help at all. Someone said it above and it bears repeating again - live and let play!

nate

PipBoy2000 (on 14 November 2008)

"So you think that people that make an effort to get rid of crime and poverty and discrimination (and the schism in the gaming world) are wasting their time?"

If you are trying to sell this article off as noble... then you are something else. This isn't anything noble at all. Just some person complaining like everyone else. Also, people don't save the world by whining and attacking other people.

"Another thing... you keep writing about the Wii. He actually only mentioned Wii Fit only once, in a list with a bunch of other games. What did the Wii ever do to you? "

Did I bash the Wii??? The Wii is a great system with a great and unique library. He doesn't have to cite the Wii directly for us to know where this is coming from though.

Maybe the person who wrote this is your hero or something because thats what it would take for you to come up with an analogy as absurd as solving crime in the world with this article.

Mise (on 14 November 2008)

A few things about this piece of writing.

First off: I can agree that no single group or gamers should dictate what others can or can't enjoy, regardless of their relative size, spending power and influence. Thus the enthusiast crowd should never have a say in what the mainstreamers can enjoy. However, IT GOES BOTH WAYS: Neither should mainstreamers have any say in what the enthusiasts can or can't enjoy, or how they enjoy it.

If someone likes playing Halo 3 online 12 hours a day with a 800" UltraWideScreen TV and a sound setup that could demolish a city block, that's fine. If someone likes playing Helix for an hour per year, that's OK too. It's still their time, effort and money, and they should be able to enjoy their hobby as they see fit.

Second: This is more of a nitpick, but gaming is finite. Its creators are finite, the tools are finite, the concepts and methods used in its creation are finite, and their value is finite - thus, the end product is finite as well.

Third: It might be just me, but this article just exudes the sense of "casual elitism" and, dare I say, is guilty of the same Us vs. Them-positioning that you blast the enthusiasts for. If you're writing with the idea that gamers should stand as one instead of being divided by petty issues such as taste and skill (fat chance of that happening, by the way), this is something to think about in the future.

Four: If this was the revised cut of the article, I don't want to know what the first draft looked like. :p Try to condense your texts WAY more in the future - makes it easier for the rest of us to read, and you can get your views across better.

bulletstopper636 (on 14 November 2008)

Galaga (according to Wiki) are the bug guys that are attacking you in the game , Galaga.

deezigner (on 14 November 2008)

@PipBoy
So you think that people that make an effort to get rid of crime and poverty and discrimination (and the schism in the gaming world) are wasting their time?

Another thing... you keep writing about the Wii. He actually only mentioned Wii Fit only once, in a list with a bunch of other games. What did the Wii ever do to you?

PipBoy2000 (on 14 November 2008)

"The "insightful" in his article is his point that games are meant for people to have fun and learn and grow."

But thats almost the opposite of insightful... Its obvious and worded in a very naive fashion.

"Even if a game has only one person that thinks it's fun, then it is doing its job. And one experience that can be seen as trivial or uninteresting to one person can be a huge experience for someone else. "

And? That could have been said in about 2 sentences and is just a common forum argument...

" For this reason, the whole gamer community, whether you are a newbie or a veteran, should respect and encourage games of all styles and types."

Yes and there should be no crime, discrimination, poverty and bla bla bla. Was there a point?

"It isn't about personal or even collective taste (PS3 vs. XBOX vs. WII)... it's about creating paths for new and different experiences in the future."

Who's stopping this? The hardcore? Please, this is just the generic fanboy argument. Hardcore people aren't stopping anything. Games this gen are clearly a huge step up in terms of innovation even without the Wii from gameplay to presentation to story telling.

Again, this belongs in a forum and he could be a lot more concise without trying to add a layer of pseudo-intellectualism.

deezigner (on 14 November 2008)

@PipBoy
The "insightful" in his article is his point that games are meant for people to have fun and learn and grow. Even if a game has only one person that thinks it's fun, then it is doing its job. And one experience that can be seen as trivial or uninteresting to one person can be a huge experience for someone else. For this reason, the whole gamer community, whether you are a newbie or a veteran, should respect and encourage games of all styles and types. It isn't about personal or even collective taste (PS3 vs. XBOX vs. WII)... it's about creating paths for new and different experiences in the future.

PipBoy2000 (on 14 November 2008)

No I've read the full article now. I don't see how its any less true. The guy is just ranting and trying extremely hard to be deep and insightful. If my post was considered a chance to call myself intelligent, then what the hell is this article? I guess I should just make vague arguments and say that you didn't try to understand what I said...

deezigner (on 14 November 2008)

@PipBoy2000 and @LuneyTune
Yeah... you both just qualified for first place in the "didn't really read the article or even try to understand what he wrote but I'll use this as an opportunity to call myself intelligent" contest.

That would be a do-over for the both of you.

Zugdar (on 14 November 2008)

Take a bow sir. We'll said and played!

PipBoy2000 (on 14 November 2008)

Oh yes, and it speaks volumes for a mans intelligence when they think the Wii is more innovative than the other consoles just because it has a physical difference and not a software one... Mario Galaxy is more creative than Portal because it uses a Wii Mote?

The Wii Mote is a good tool for making games more accessable but its not precise enough and isn't actually a better alternative. Its just replaced a lot of buttons with motions and usually does so poorly. Light Guns and pointers aren't anything new.

PipBoy2000 (on 14 November 2008)

I must admit, I didn't read the whole article... after the first three paragraphs I find that this article is just a rant about someones personal experience.

Games are as creative and free as ever and more since its not all 2D beat em ups and platformers or some other moving in X direction type game. Games are far more creative today actually and its just a bunch of people trying to sell themselves as being more experienced, hence, better.

Fanboyism, hardcore and all that stuff has existed since the beginning... there was simply very little people on forums and all the arguments took place in the offices and schoolyards.

Please people, stop with these brag blogs about how you grew up in better times. The only thing thats changed is that the gaming community has become much bigger and voicing opinions has become easier. That and technology has progressed a lot and has allowed a lot of new gameplay, graphical and story telling innovations.

Titles have been around for ages... if you don't know this then you haven't been gaming for very long indeed. Niche is niche as in it has a small dedicated following and is of quality that not everyone appreciates. Hardcore means people who are above average in there dedication in ANYTHING, not just games... and non-games is a label to describe games that are played by the NON traditional gamers, not that they aren't games. This is just a gross lack of intelligence when interpretting these terms and their purpose.

Please don't cry about other people complaining with MORE complaining. Why do you care about who calls what games what? This isn't new and its been happening since the "NES vs Sega" generation.

Its only now that a huge amount of people are counter complaining which hardly solves anything and the massive about of counter response is born from the hardcore Nintendo fans who see that if they demand tradional gaming in good abundance, then the Wii is second class so attacks that form of gaming and those gamers, who have never changed, for not liking what the Wii does.

Luney Tune (on 14 November 2008)

Now here's a thought: Could it be that maybe the Wii just isn't this innovative revolutionary new way of playing games that some people would like us to believe, but rather one of the crappiest game consoles ever made ?

Could it be that the Wii is ancient last gen hardware sold at a premium next gen price ?

Could it be that the Wii really is just a recycled Gamecube in a new dress ?

Could it be that the Wii is popular for reasons that have nothing to do with quality ?

Could it be that the Wiimote isn't a revolutionary new way of interacting with the screen/game, but rather an odd attempt at replicating the DS touch screen on a regular TV ? A controller that lacks precision and really isn't all that well suited for many (if not most) types of games ?

Could it be that the biggest Wii titles isn't all that innovative and new, but rather just recycled versions of the most popular Gamecube titles ?

Could it be that games from other big gaming companies such as Capcom, Konami, SquareEnix, Sony, Microsoft and others are just as innovative and high quality as Nintendo's own first party games ? And that they come in far higher numbers, though rarely on the Wii ?

Could it be that an average entry in Namco's popular "Tales" series became such a big hit in the west simply because Nintendo owners were (and still is) starved of the kind of quality gaming commonly found on other consoles, but typically not found on Nintendo consoles ?

Could it be that the Wii was not at all intended to appeal to the people who strongly defend it ? And could it be that people defend the Wii not because it's a quality product, but simply because they still haven't gotten over their childhood love affair with the NES/SNES/N64 ?

Could it be that people who find the Wii shallow and unrewarding are not elitist snobs, but rather intelligent people who are worth listening to ?

Could it be that the Wii really is the emperors new clothes ?

outlawauron (on 13 November 2008)

@ Garcian

Idk, I thought Braid was a bit overrated. I had fun with it, but it frustrating for me. I'm just not very good at platformers.

mjk45 (on 13 November 2008)

tribalism in the modern world hardcore v casual. sony vs ms vs ninty.
plus it is no good talking about what it was like twenty years ago the world was a different place i am fifty and have been a gamer through home video gaming's inception to present day i have seen this bias raise its head many times c64 vs spectrum amiga vs st
pc vs consoles i remember people going on about how "there" new console of choice kicked the shit out of others even though no specs had been released and the machine didn't have a name. yes it is worse today with global communications plus internet anonymity it is an annoyance thats all. but when a console maker makes all there design decisions based on a particular segment and is percieved to make what was there bread and butter secondary to that or make it to fit the new parameters thats when things get ugly it is a good thing to expand the market but it should not be at anyones expense hardcore or casual or in between some people will say the extra capital from casual games will fund hardcore the reality is it will fund more casual games and sharehoders what we need is a gaming community that produces games across the spectrum i want to play a wii with full next gen grunt and standard controls plus play games with the wiimote and other innovation not one or the other my ps3/360 should come with maybe 2 or 3 different and separate control options with every console ie standard controller plus keyboard plus a wii style remote and what ever is next cab on the gaming rank

Hawkeye (on 13 November 2008)

Great article. You made me realize how pointless it is to discuss video games online for hours each day. I spend more time discussing than playing. I am going to quit this sit and start playing more games :D

Prologuer (on 13 November 2008)

Excellent article.

I think that the most important thing is the enjoying of a experience, and that is that counts.

I remember when pacman (or King Quest, or Tetris, or Pong), was an innovation and I feel that we are loosing the ability to be amazed, like a child still has, and we are demanding more and more (in technology, graphics, performance, playability) and many are not accepting other options rather than theirs.

This is an age when the people have options, and we should be happy that we have them !

The best game is the game that we enjoy, alone or in company, and not the one that has the best whatever. There is no best platform, all are good if we enjoy them.

Play and let play !

VBI (on 13 November 2008)

I don't know what's worse, the rabid Nintendo fanboy mindset of "boo, hardcore gamers suck" swarming this website or the arrogant assumption that only the Wii allows people to have fun. Or for that matter, the idea that you have to be giggling or waggling your hands to be enjoying yourself gaming.

Loud_Hot_White_Box (on 13 November 2008)

@ Popzara : it's hard for me to believe that you are not "John". Maybe I'm missing a joke somewhere.

I agree about the coexistence of games and the many options that different types of games bring us. I do think that, say, many chess players discount pick-up-sticks and that they are justified in doing so given a set of underlying values that are reasonable and understandable, even if they are not shared by all. And there would be something wrong with fans of games like pick-up-sticks saying that collections of those games can substitute for chess. For some people, they just can't. (Let chess here be Super Mario Galaxy and pick-up-sticks be We Ski.)

I recently played Raving Rabbids with some friends. I thought, 1) this game is a crap game, 2) this game is pretty fun, and 3) the adrenaline from moving our limbs about and laughing at each other is probably giving us natural highs than make us "have more fun" than if we were just judging a game by how well it was put together. Anyway.

KichiVerde (on 13 November 2008)

I can't understand the hate either, though I am a bit of a hater myself. I personally dont like the Wii because it has let me down. With the exception of Twilight Princess I feel all their big titles have come up short. So I feel a little cheated. but perhaps I have just outgrown their games. As for PS3 and XBox 360 Im glad they are competing against eachother. It will insure that good quality games continue to come out. But I really dont hate one or the other. It is kind of stupid to think like that. Its like saying you like this movie from this studio but refuse to watch another movie because its from a different studio and then go and dis the people who do watch it. its all entertainment. You go with what you like. Its that simple.

Chadius (on 13 November 2008)

The gaming business tried to mature. And so creativity was swept under the rug in favor of graphical prowess.

With increasing game costs, you have to make sure the game is a success so you base it off of the most popular game at the time.

PS GJ JohnLucas, I haven't logged into this site in weeks.

mexitalrish (on 13 November 2008)

dude, after reading this, i think that gaming is getting taken way too seriously now. this really isn't something that should be an issue because its just games. i'm sure that there are other hopefully more important things going on in everyone's life right now rather than wondering why there is a division amongst gamers

Garcian Smith (on 13 November 2008)

@ outlawauron: Thing is, Braid didn't get good ENOUGH reviews. Braid is pure genius - one of the first and few games that could be called high art. Yet it got less positive reviews than Brown Online Shooter #173. Trouble is, the manchildren who control the major review sites wouldn't know high art if it smacked them repeatedly over the face. They're still reviewing games today with the same criteria that they used to review Pac-Man.

In other words, when games are just beginning to evolve into the realm of high art, game reviewers are still reviewing them as a loose amalgam of graphics, gameplay, story, and sound. You don't see reviews of, for example, paintings reviewing separately the use of brush-stroke technique, color, contrast, and abstraction. Instead, while these aspects may be mentioned in the review, the bulk of it talks about the other things the painting evokes - emotions, comparisons to other works, philosophies of art, the painter's overarching concept, and so on. These aspects are especially vital to a piece like Braid - itself the product of just two collaborators - but not a single game reviewer is trained in this method of critical analysis.

So, tl;dr: There will always be room for fun, mindless games, but games as high art require an entirely different method of analysis - one which reviewers, still stuck in the "omg shiny!" mode of adolescent thought, show not the slightest inclination to develop.

dib8rman (on 13 November 2008)

Last I checked Hardcore reffered to media outlets who constantly create margins for the different types of gamers as well as gamers who enforce these margins. Casual came as a marketing term used to reffer to flash game type players on yahoo and so on or Solitaire type game players.

The two terms originally reffered to time invested normally by a person but now refferes to a zone of player based on the types of games played. Obviously the new definition is totally subjective but as for who started it?

Well most non-gamers since the 80's have always called gamers and those investing large sums of time into electronics "nerds" elitists within the pop culture phenomina arose and hardcore became the term used and as the phenomina spread the term became much broader into identifing games that were hardcore. mumble, mumble, mumble

tk1989 (on 13 November 2008)

I haven't really posted in a long time, but this article made me want to make a post; I do occasionally read some of the articles on this site but I haven't visited the forums for some time. The reason? The way that many of todays video gamers act. I know I am only 19, and I never played many of these games from the 80s which many of you grew up with, but I did grow up during the time of the SNES, the N64, the PS1, the original Gameboy etc. I remember playing games like Blast Corps over and over again, trying to do that much better each time. Whilst a game like Blast Corps is not a game that will be remember for being absolutely amazing, it was key to my childhood. Other more notable games come to mind, like Super Mario Land on the gameboy, a game that I was never able to finish despite how much i played it. Video Games today never really push boundaries, they lack vision and difficulty. I am not saying that I want every game I play to be super difficult and present a challenge to me, thats stupid, but I hate the feeling that the developer is holding my hand throughout the duration of the game. Where did the puzzles go?

This article is what I have been thinking about for a long time; what happened to re-playability? I remember I played through GTA3 at least a dozen times, a game which I believe is undoubtably much much better than any of its successors despite their 'superior' graphics and more vehicles. I have basically given up on the current generation; we cry for innovation, yet when it is produced no one buys it. Did anyone buy Darwinia? or Psychonauts? Not many did, but games like these tried to push the boundaries and they did not succeed; instead people bought games like Halo 3, which quite frankly bored me and did little to actually improve upon the first game.

I will leave it there. I doubt that many will actually read my post as it is so far down the list, but I want to make my views known. I think i might go try a PS2 to play many of the games which i missed out on, such as FFVII and Silent Hill 1; they just don't make games like they used to.

John Lucas, I Salute You!

wquach (on 13 November 2008)

I agree with both of your points, though I would like to mention that there is a difference between games intended for audiences other than regular gamers and games that truly ARE shovelware, that are simply cash cows simply to capitalize on the Wii's massive audience.

And quality most definitely doesn't equal sales, though I'd like to think there's a positive correlation between highly reviewed + quality games and their sales - but there's always something like Valkyria Chronicles or Okami that will undoubtedly be disregarded by many despite being amazing titles. I want to also point out that I understand your analogy of minivans to ferraris, but given the differences in price, I'd say that's the reason why there's a difference in sales, not so much quality ;)

SmokedHostage (on 13 November 2008)

Indeed, people will play what they like despite other's reactions. For example, I play Brain Age on occassion and I enjoy it. It's also a game that's intended for an audience other than regular gamers. Does that make it shovelware? I would hope not. Also I don't believe that every game has to have people's guts poured into it to be good; as it's made well enough, I'm sure it can keep some audience entertained.

We also have to remember that quality doesn't equal sales. This is just true in all industries. Minivans would be outsold by Ferrari's if quality equaled sales, for instance. But I'm sure you can still go from point A to point B in a minivan and that's all that matters to most.

wquach (on 13 November 2008)

@SmokedHostage

Understandable :)

SmokedHostage (on 13 November 2008)

I personally think Wii Sports/Play/Fit/Music are well made and are enjoyable for their intended audiences.

wquach (on 13 November 2008)

*further correction: seems I overestimated Wii Music's sales...so my comparison with LBP doesn't really work...but I'm sure you could insert any other of the Wii lineup (that's been vastly more successful) and it would go along with my point.

wquach (on 13 November 2008)

I just want to add that I'm sorry if my mentality seems to fit that of the typical 'hardcore' gamer that the article wants to address but it's simply how I feel about it all. I'll admit that I haven't fully read the article since I'm busy cramming for exams right now (and decided to write that comment as quickly as possible) but I'll be sure to go back and read the whole thing...feel free to attack/disagree with what I've said.

wquach (on 13 November 2008)

What is it about the Wii that bothers me? The amount of shovelware and underwhelming software that gets released that still garners decent or better sales, furthering continuing a cycle of creating more shovelware etc. You can bet I am saddened to see an innovative and amazing title like LittleBigPlanet being outsold by something like Wii Music. The level of dedication, innovation, production values, time and effort into creating a game such as LBP overwhelmingly shadows something like Wii Music. Due to such a difference in sales between 'casual' and overlooked 'hardcore' games, I fear that more and more developers will spend less time and resources on producing the games so-called 'hardcore' gamers and I seem to enjoy: ones that weave an enthralling tale 10 hours long, that has gameplay that expands and grows in difficulty as one progresses, that has impeccable level design creating massive imaginary worlds that truly immerses the player. Sure there will always be sequels built on past successful titles, like Call of Duty or the next Halo etc. etc. but in the world of new IPs like Mirror's Edge, Uncharted, or LittleBigPlanet, that kind of territory is very risky, considering the production costs involved with today's generation of games. Games like Wii Music on the other hand, cost very little time and money to make, and at the very least should excel or provide a certain level of quality at what they set out to do with their gameplay - what I mean is the fact that Wii Music has an underwhelming quality and range of music to play with despite being a music game bothers me. (Sorry if I seem so focused on Wii Music, it's just the one example that's sticking out in my mind right now).

I welcome however, games that clearly show Nintendo's love and dedication, games like Super Smash Bros. or Super Mario Galaxy. Are those considered 'hardcore' games as well despite not involving space marines, guns, a huge twisting story, or AAA voice acting etc.? To me, those games deserve every bit of success and sales they're receiving, but Wii Sports, Play, or Music simply don't. I technically wouldn't have a problem with the aforementioned Wii 'casual' lineup if Nintendo appeared to put more effort into such games - like making every minigame enjoyable, offering more minigames or game mechanics or styles of gameplay, etc. etc.

I'm also all for simple downloadable titles that also show quality and a focus purely on gameplay, games like Geometry Wars or PixelJunk Eden, etc. They don't seem to follow the typical criteria of 'hardcore' games do they? They're just as pick-up-and-play as any other game to me. But that's just me.

But something like Wii Music, or the lack of impressive titles coming out of Nintendo this holiday season, cries out to me that they're happily resting on their laurels of continued sales of their past titles and really, simply being lazy and not pushing that "innovation" that they seemed to bring forth in the gaming industry when the Wii was first unveiled.

Course, I am biased toward those 'hardcore' type of titles I've mentioned, the ones that have grand stories, graphics, and production values, and to me, they clearly show more love and work than Wii Music or Cooking Mama and thus in my eyes, deserve better sales, more success, and greater support.

But that's just me, and while I understand the success and broad appeal of Nintendo's approach this generation, as many other people above me have mentioned, I just can't shake off the feeling that much of Nintendo's success is unwarranted.

SmokedHostage (on 13 November 2008)

Excellent Article. Anyone who says this is a rant needs to read this about 3 times and be am to say the same thing.

deezigner (on 13 November 2008)

Excellent article. So excellent that after 2 years of just visiting this site I felt myself compelled to register.

Strangely enough, so many of the commenters don't seem to get what Mr. Lucas is talking about.

Listen everyone... we are all born with the ability to play. When we are babies, we experiment with our senses and motor skills. It is the most natural part of our development. We bang on tables, scream because we figured out that we can make noise, and eat mud.

It is all about interaction and creativity and learning processes.

We grow up and are guided into doing what is "right" or "normal". These are two words that are created by the majority to create a sense of collectivity and calm. If everyone does the same thing then there would be no conflict. Unfortunately, this leads to the death of creativity and development.

What Mr. Lucas is saying here is that we as a collective have forgotten how to play. We have closed our eyes to even the smallest of pleasures based on a collective attitude. We have forgotten how it felt to sit in the sandbox for the first time, or played that first game of Pong, or Pac Man, or Halo (1). That moment when we just thought "wow... this was something new".

Playing means being open to new ideas and experiences. It means that even the greatest of experiences can grow from the simplest ideas. We just need to be more open. We need to stop thinking about the conforms of what the collective thinks, and start trying things on our own.

Hardcore and casual do not exist. We are all just playing.

Jordahn (on 13 November 2008)

Bardicverse do not takes things out of context because I made a valid point. You talk about rifts made by SONY when in FACT Nintendo was guilty of this as well. I NEVER said what Nintendo said was fact. What I said was the fact of what Nintendo said. BIG difference.

Kantor (on 13 November 2008)

That was actually extremely well written.
I disagree with a lot of it, but replying to that entire thing would take hours. So, a few points:

1) Hardcore/Casual came into being when gaming became mainstream. I'm thinking 5th gen.
2) None of us are four years old. We see games as a lot more than 'the little yellow guy going around eating coloured things'.
3) I suppose this was made even bigger when professional reviewing started. Late 90's. Games were analysed and scored based on their components. Gaming stopped being about just 'having fun', they became more serious. I don't believe I've ever started widely grinning and laughing while playing COD4, but I still enjoyed it. I would not have enjoyed it if it looked ugly, because I have to look at it, right? To this day I hate Pac-Man. There, I said it. I HATE Pac-Man. More than I hate Tetris. Gaming evolved for a reason. It used to suck.

People are not offended by non-mainstream games, but rather by the success of non-mainstream games. They see a mainstream game, and then see one of these 'casual' games get higher reviews and more sales. How do they feel? They're pissed off. They don't think the casual game deserves its success. Look at it! It's casual! Would anybody who has grown up with these 'mainstream' games be able to play WarioWare without just a hint of annoyance? Would so many hardcore gamers despise the Wii if it was in third place and selling 50k worldwide every week? No, they would not.

Imagine you tried a cake. You loved that cake. It was your favourite cake. This type of cake has been around for many years.
Now, a different cake comes. You try this cake. You don't necessarily hate the cake, but you don't like it as much as the original cake. This cake rises in popularity. People who have never had a cake try this one and love it, without experiencing the first cake. This second cake wins awards, is stocked in every cake store.

How would you feel?

Luney Tune (on 13 November 2008)

Yawn. Another overlong pathetic quasi-intellectual rant from an angry Nintendo fanboy, who refuses to admit that Nintendo stabbed him in the back this generation by making a console purely aimed at women.

Popzara (on 13 November 2008)

Loud_Hot_White_Box

I think you answered your own question there, especially with the examples of chess vs. checkers. Of course, there have always been those who leaned towards the more complex and strategically complicated games throughout history as the superior - certainly chess remains the most competitive board game on this planet.

But John's point was that while Chess may appeal more to those who favor more dynamic, complex strategy this has not come at the expense of checkers. They two have learned to coexist peacefully - and in many cases symbiotically. Taken further, does the complexity of anything render previous iterations irrelevant? Hardly...please note the several attempts to further complicate the game of Chess (and these failures) as gestures to moderation.

People have always craved and sought out those challenges with complexity and nuance, and we hope these rewards justify the expenditure of passion and enthusiasm. Again, the current model of the videogame industry could look towards the more successful integration of varying genres and intermediate levels of their fans:

does a banana split replace the banana?
does hot air ballooning replace the single helium balloon?
does the newborn replace the firstborn child?

...or more to that matter, does the Wiimote replace the standard videogame controller? Of course not, and clearly it shouldn't. But John's point - and one I agree with - is that while some may crave more dynamic, feature-rich adventures and idiosyncratic gameplay these need not come at the expense of the simple, less rigorous ones.

The point is to live and let live...a horrible proposition for those seeking comfort in the familiar and who cheer for their favorites with every bit of enthusiasm a New England fan might cheer for The Patriots. But it takes more than one team to make a Super Bowl, otherwise it'd get pretty lonely out there.

This industry exudes creativity - it THRIVES on it. That Italian Plumbers and Doomed Space Marines can co-exist with Speedy Hedgehogs, Killer Zombies, Locust Swarms and Digital Dogs while hanging out in Maniac Mansions speaks volumes for its level of acceptance. That Street Figthers and Locorocos can hang with Grand Theft Autos and Cooking Mamas is extraordinary... what's not to love about this hobby?

Retrasado (on 13 November 2008)

while this does raise some good points, it has a major flaw: A large portion of the gaming world really DOES enjoy "generic" shooters (at least, that's what I assume based on how well they all sell). I know I do, and so do most of my friends. Same goes with cutting-edge computing technology, complicated/varied controls, and photorealistic graphics.

Just because it isn't "innovative" doesn't mean it's bad, and that's basically what this article is saying.

outlawauron (on 13 November 2008)

@ Garcian

True, but then you can get games like Zack and Wiki, Braid, and Valkyria Chronicles to have fantastic reviews. There are exceptions to every rule I suppose. There is a large difference between innovative, high art games and a lot of crap that is on the Wii. World of Goo and Eternity's Child are also both examples of those types of games being embraced by media.

And CoD:WaW, I don't know the situation on that one. It could be an issue to where not everyone got the Wii version fast enough to give it a play through where as Treyarch had the PS3/360/PC version done because it all from the same build of the game whereas the Wii and DS versions were entirely different.

Loud_Hot_White_Box (on 13 November 2008)

"Who ARE you? Who ARE you, Hardcore?"

The reason they are hard to define is that Nintendefenders largely made them/their attributes up, for their own recent purposes. So naturally, they're hard to pin down.

This from a Nintendo/Wii fan and Nintendo stockholder.

And by the way, all throughout history there must have been people that thought, for instance, that the depth of chess and the rewards of mastering it made playing checkers and pick up sticks a waste of time. Were they any more wrong than the people who liked all games just because they were games, and who didn't give much attention to depth, nuance, and reward? No, we see both sides here, don't we, folks? And no, I'm NOT necessarily equating Gears of War with chess, here. ;)

Iori Yagami (on 13 November 2008)

what a bs nintendo bias article.

Nintendo=god

everything else=horrible evil

LMAO

mibuokami (on 12 November 2008)

How hard was it to be innovative when EVERYTHING was new? How hard is it when everything has already been done?

The industry has mature to the point where innovation has become scarce because the majority of good obvious innvotion in the chosen medium has already been exploited.

Imagination may be limitless but technology is not.

Tilt (on 12 November 2008)

The title of hardcore was given to us by the so called casual people. The term is a derogatory one and is meant to imply that our taste in games can be classified as something belonging to the time of cold war.

I am myself a child of the 80´s meaning that my first games were played with commodore 64. I also remember playing games in ms-dos environment on pc. Those games were fun but I dont wish to return to those days of simpler graphics and of midi based music.

Games are an evolutionary progress to me. Meaning that I like the progress in them towards better graphics and towards more adult based plots.

I hope that in future games are not regarded as just toys with simple controls but experiences that can be as rewarding as reading a good book or watching a good movie.

This doesnt mean that there isnt a place for games like wii sports or wii fit but for me the games I want to play are games like Halo, Half-life, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Fallout 3 etc..

I just dont want a gaming future where the so called casual games are the norm and games like the ones mentioned above are the rare exception.

kingofwale (on 12 November 2008)

the same JL who predicted 500 million Wii will be sold in LF? the same JL who predicted 60 million Wii by Jan 09?

regin2005 (on 12 November 2008)

Beautiful work as always JL.

dib8rman (on 12 November 2008)

Um... read this... but.... yea sorry but this article is on the wrong site, N4G is that way. --->

Amazingly most members here don't suffer from lackofbraincellitis that the boys and girls over there seem to relish and contain themselves in.

Decent read though. Soma's suggestions are sound also but they are not Obama approved.

@Ail "Innovate or die."

The man who said that hasn't been wrong yet.

Popzara (on 12 November 2008)

goddog

I think your point is exactly what John was touching on, that the problems plaguing the videogame industry and others aren't mutually exclusive. Throughout time immemorial there have been disagreements of opinion and substance over what constitutes 'art' from 'not-art', although the recent phenomenon of militarized fans masquerading as true-believers of the faith has indeed been damaging to outsiders of the industry.

The picture of the self-loathing, anti-social gamer is a stereotype that - like most stereotypes - has nuggets of truth embedded inside its crusty core, and no amount of rampant denying will change that. However, as the demographic of what constitutes the 'average' gamer is changing significantly, perhaps out of sheer force and overwhelming numbers this perception will change as well.

But for those hoping that videogames will finally break through that digital ceiling and find acceptance within mainstream media (outside of morbid curiosity and convenient scape-goating), remember the golden rule about wishes: be careful what you ask for, as you just may get it.

The gaming industry has been lucky to have its own versions of other industry staples (i.e. Miyamoto, Super Mario) that can stand for all that is good and just, but just as the Beatles breached the pop-music floodgates open for millions of teeny-bops and bubble-gum (and thankfully, soon abandoned this false start) its just as likely that the very cultural term 'hardcore gamer' might soon refer to the average 12-year old girl, Nintendo DS in hand with digital puppies and ponies to manage.

There's few things more 'hardcore' than teenage girls in love, and you only need to look at the Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, and American Idol to see where I'm headed...of course, there's room enough for everyone to play :)

goddog (on 12 November 2008)

after reading this it seems to be a lament on the state of what internet forums have become every where, but with a focus on the gaming community. the hate and segregation and paranoia are set free by the anonymity of the internet. this is spurred on further by the human desire to classify.

you can see very similar struggles in defining art, literature, and movies. there are many good books on the subject, just adapt them to games and it will makes sense

Soma (on 12 November 2008)

Amazing article. Should send this to IGN or Gamespot!

Popzara (on 12 November 2008)

SaviorX

I'm certainly not going to argue with you, but I'm willing to bet that if you were willing to compile a list of the best-selling games of the last five years you'd be surprised at just how many of them aren't graphically superior to some of the 'better known titles'.

While fun, graphically intensive games such as Gears of War, Halo, and Call of Duty may dominate headlines (more of a response to massive advertising campaigns), they often fall short of outselling or outliving their smaller, less graphically intensive counterparts.

Seeing how this is VGChartz, I'd recommend anyone interested to look them up for yourselves...think of it as a nice scavenger hunt :)

Ail (on 12 November 2008)

It's true the PS3 and the 360 lack entry level games but that does not necessary spill death for Microsoft and Sony. There are have been many different market where one company widened an audience to the mass market, only later to see the new audience it gathered moved to competitors with more technical products...

The way the 360 and the PS3 are going right now ( as well as many western developers ) is let the Wii bring new gamers to our market, as some point those users won't be newbie anymore and will move to our products. The fact that HD consoles sales aren't dropping but actually growing despite that this gen winner is already known doesn't tend to invalidate that strategy........

SaviorX (on 12 November 2008)

Well, online separated us.
Gamers now favor graphics over gameplay. (Please do not argue that isn't true. It is as true as the sky is blue.)

I'm glad that I was born when I was. I experienced the good times of gaming. Having friends (IN REAL LIFE) come over, with LOCAL multiplayer. Most of the games I played were always radically different than one another. Graphics meant nothing and gameplay was key.

Support different games like de Blob, LittleBigPlanet, and Elite Beat Agents. We get a new shooter at least once a month. We literally have dozens of games catering to the same rapidly stagnating genre.

Popzara (on 12 November 2008)

Bardicverse:

Actually, let's not go blaming Sony for creating this 'rift'. To be fair, the concept that some games were 'kiddie' can be traced back much further, most notably to the classic 16-bit battle of the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. Sega's entire advertising campaign was built upon the idea (rather successfully) of suggesting that Nintendo was indeed a kids toy. They even hired Spike Lee to announce this in commercials.

Or if we go back even further, remember the competition between Commodore and the various Atari home consoles. Why buy 'just a videogame' when you could have 'a whole computer'? William Shatner let us know the real deal.

Competition is as competition does, and mudslinging PR isn't anything new, even to the videogame industry. The ideal would be for the two most competitive companies (in this generation Sony and Microsoft) would stop their irresponsible fan-baiting and drop the silly pretense of this being any sort of 'war' and build upon each other - think Coke and Pepsi as a good example.

Nintendo seems to have largely dropped this mechanism, presumably after realizing the financial and credential cost was too great - particularly after a third-place finish with the Gamecube. Pound for pound the company simply can't compete with either next-gen rival, so they do their own thing. Those rallying against their inclusion of traditionally ignored groups (seniors, women) are furious that their treehouse is being shaken at its very roots. Understandable, but its time to grow up, people.

fastyxx (on 12 November 2008)

@Fishy Joe

I totally agree with your point about PS3/360 lacking entry level games. It's hard for people to just pick up those controllers and go to town.

FishyJoe (on 12 November 2008)

People say the Wii is lacking hardcore gaming support. But what most fanboys never acknowledge is that there is a huge lack of support for entry level software on the PS360 platforms.

It's been two years since the launch of the Wii and Sony/MS have been unwilling or unable to make a game as approachable as Wii Sports or Mario Kart for the entry level consumer. In order to get average people into gaming, you can't show them Halo 3 or MGS4. They might watch it and say that's interesting, but the majority of people on the planet have no desire to play those games.

And if you can't get new people into gaming, the industry stagnates and many games will die.

bardicverse (on 12 November 2008)

@Jordahn - I don't know about your opinion being backed by fact. Of that generation, which system had the top selling/rated game, one that to this day, games are compared against? My point is simple - the rift was created by a mudslinging campaign launched by Sony. The term "kiddie" didnt come to play until Sony started drilling it into impressionable kids' minds. Now those kids are twenty-somethings that think their opinion is bible, which further adds to the fire.

As far as personal opinion goes, it is what it is. Yet don't state that yours is backed by fact, only to back it with yet another opinion.

hanafuda (on 12 November 2008)

Innovation? Give examples.

z101 (on 12 November 2008)

The self-proclaimed hardcore are mostly nerds who want no innovation in their games. They want old games with better graphics, that's all. That's okay. But why they are always bashing against other games that don't fit their taste is weird.

hanafuda (on 12 November 2008)

Ironic that Nintendo seem to be the ones pushing these definitions on the community.

The recent Wii backlash was to be expected.

Wii Music failed. Big deal.

dunno001 (on 12 November 2008)

Quite an interesting read, and it does sum up nicely some of the factors that were pushing me out of gaming some years back.

I, like many others, remember the days of the 2600, and playing on it when I was 3. I grew up througn the NES, SNES, and went onward for a while. But then, during the PS1 era, I noticed a pattern that started to cause me to lose interest- a lack of focus on the game. For me, gaming is about 2 things: innovation and immersion. Most of the innovation for me was back in the NES days, when most everything seemed new and fresh. (Not to mention Dragon Warrior 1... ah, the hours, nay, days, I lost on the game.) But the immersion was leaving also, as things were shifting more and more to graphics. Games were becoming too "pretty", with little or no game behind them. I would look at FF7, then go back to DW1, and prefer the latter.

Some will call me a Nintendo fanboy, and I'll say to let them. They are the company that I see as bringing back innovation to the scene. Recall the beginnings of the DS, the not too distant past of the Wii... both were panned for, among other things, being "gimmicky" and less graphics intensive. This new way of playing pulled me back into the scene, and I can't help to think and shudder had I not been able to play some of the great games on the DS.

Now, I don't want to talk down other players and their styles. If graphics are what pull you in, fine. But as this article states, it is the "hardcore" group, or, if you will, the most vocal fanboys, who deride whatever it is that they don't like, that I have an issue with. I will openly admit that GTA is not my style of game. If you like it, that's fine. But no, a lot of its fans think it is the best game that all others should aspire to be, and that if it not like it, it's a bad game. These are the ones I have an issue with. I will have the same issues even if someone uses a game I love, such as Persona or Etrian Odyssey. Variety is the spice of life, and there's no reason why video games can't cater to this. The "hardcore" group needs to learn to accept this.

Jordahn (on 12 November 2008)

At Omega

I've heard "casual" associated with the PS2 from media outlets because of its wide variety of software offerings.

Jordahn (on 12 November 2008)

JohnLucas

The biggest problem is human behavior. We all have our gaming preferences, nothing wrong with that. And out of those are the ones who pay respect to the other consoles (such as you). But there was just enough out there who have no life so they put their faith in a specific console and/or company (the rabid fanboys). Those are the ones who throw the first stones. And when that happens, others feel that they have a need to draw lines to put up a defense that they normally wouldn’t do in order to right a wrong. And sometimes those first thrown stones are very petty, but there are still a few who just have to respond and retaliate. Sadly, it’s only gotten worse because those throwing those first stones think that the internet is a safe haven for irresponsible free speech. It happens on all side from different users, and all console makers have made their share of mistakes.

Not every console will have all the best offerings, and I truly believe that this generation is more fragmented than any generation before it. There is so much more I can say on this matter, but I feel like it’s in a vain attempt because some are always going to harbor unwanted personal anger. Then again, I was “saved” from it so maybe there is hope for some…

xenophon13 (on 12 November 2008)

Well I read a good part of the article, but i have to go to a meeting and can't finish it. I agree with a lot of what you have to say, but I don't think video gaming is the only thing dealing with this.

My frustration is that if you don't like the Wii or Wii gaming, you are labeling evil hard core. Is it possible that there are people out there who do not see the Wii as the revolution that others do? Is it possible that you can support being inventive and not agree with Nintendo?

Look at the arguement from this perspective: Why is it ok to say that someone can "sell out" when it comes to music by marketing to the main stream, instead of the core group of fans who like the band in the first place.

I applaud nintendo for innovation, they had to or they were going to die. Now we see that next Gen, MS and Sony will have to innovate or die because what can they do to separate themselves from each other? Next Gen they are going to offer pretty much the same thing if they continue there current path.

Any way, Good article but lets not conclude that people who are not fans of Nintendo fit into a neat little ignorant box, and you are the enlightened few.

Godot (on 12 November 2008)

Great article.

Omega_Phazon_Pirate. (on 12 November 2008)

Wow, very well said. Honestly imo, the term "casual" wasn't used until this gen when Sony isn't coming out on top. Coincidence? I think not!

fastyxx (on 12 November 2008)

I've been having this discussion in another thread.

It's not "casual" that's bad. It's BAD casual that sells like hotcakes that is bad.

Bejeweled (and B2 and BTwist) are good when they debut. The umpteenth knockoff of it is not good.

Tennis in Wii Sports? Pretty good. Baseball in Wii Sports? Pretty awful.

Peggle is brilliant. Uno on XBLA is brilliant. $40 Monopoly on 360 is bad.

Same goes for hardcore - Halo 3 and Resistance are good. Jericho and Lair are not so good.

It's just that "Casual" and "Shovelware" too often become united in gamers' minds because they have been burned so many times, especially on PC, DS and Wii, where there is the most shovelware due to lower production costs and a greater market.

The pushback is when people start to perceive, as I do, that - like in Nintendo's case - the hardcore is underserved due to developers being pushed to do the cheaper, lower concept, casual games. Some of those casual games may end up being awesome - but it does slow the development of new "hardcore" IP. There are only so many good developers out there to go around, as is true in most industries.

Jordahn (on 12 November 2008)

I agree with Squilliam in his response to bardicverse if I understand him correctly. In fact, Nintendo specificly said during the N64 days that it was about quality vs. quantity in regards to N64 and PSOne software, respectedly. I can see how this caused a "rift" in which bardicverse said. But in reality, it was quality (N64) vs. quantity and quality PSOne. Bardicverse, you are intitled to your opinion. But my opinion is backed by fact. And this is coming from a former rabid spiteful Nintendo fanboy now turned just simply a Nintendo fanboy of the respetable sort.

johnlucas (on 12 November 2008)

Thanks to all who responded to this article and more thanks to all who appreciated what I had to say. Ha! If you think THIS is long you should see the original version. This is the condensed edited version. I've been meaning to write something on this subject for years and still somehow I feel like I left something out. But I tried to cover the issue as best I can.

Something has changed with videogamers and it's time for a lot of us to drop these pretenses. They're all toys and playthings—HD or not. We need to stop taking them so seriously. While I'm a Nintendo fan, I see the merits of the PS3 and the XBox 360. The only thing that bothers me really is craftsmanship and price. The PS3 is much better crafted than the PS2 was like the XBox seems better crafted than the XBox 360. This current U.S. (world?) recession proves the point that games shouldn't get too big for their britches with all of this premium prices. It'll kill the industry to overshoot the market like that.

@vherub: We track sales to understand the industry better and see how what we buy succeeds in the market so that companies can make more of those kinds of ideas. Following sales in itself doesn't have to make you lose touch with what this is all about but when people get so twisted out of shape and pissy because of one representation on the block graphs and pie charts, it's time to get some perspective. Under that logic, I should have been climbing the walls last generation when the Gamecube was at the bottom of the console rankings but I didn't. I enjoyed the system and played it faithfully seeing the merits of the Dreamcast, PS2, and XBox while I played it.

That crazed attitude populates too many of gaming discussion boards from Kotaku to Joystiq to NeoGAF and it's time to get a grip. On the other hand, those overreactions are endless entertainment for me especially when sales figures come out so maybe I should leave it alone. Hahahaha! Something about these personal electronics drives some folks pure insane! Hahahahaha! We never see that from Tupperware or AM/FM clock radios. Really funny.

John Lucas

vherub (on 12 November 2008)

isn't an (unhealthy?) fascination with weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly sales numbers part of the problem?

Squilliam (on 12 November 2008)

@bardicverse:

Sega does what Nintendon't.

bardicverse (on 12 November 2008)

@op/article - The answer is simple. Sony created a rift via its marketing. It wanted to lure the teen crowd to Sony products, so it started creating faction wars between the consoles, throwing out things like "Nintendo is for little kids" etc. Even during the Sega/Nintendo days, it was never a slanderous battle, but it was just one system vs. the other and mascot vs mascot. Sony brought mudslinging into the fray, and amplified that when the PS2 came around. Their ego became so huge that by the time the PS3 came around, they just assumed instant domination. We have thus far seen the result of that attitude. However, the rift created by Sony would last well beyond their popularity.

Squilliam (on 12 November 2008)

@outlawauron, its not a conspiracy theory, it's the truth. Just look at Rolstoppable calling his language "German" not "Australian".

Btw I think hes too obsessed with a small, small group of people. Its like painting make-up companies in a bad light because of goths are their terrible use of black nail polish and makeup.

Kyros (on 12 November 2008)

LOL some people REALLY have too much time on their hand. In gaming as in music and movies one thing is true: Success doesn't equal quality.

And second hardcore doesn't equal good as casual doesn't equal bad.

There are good games and there are bad games period. Bioshock is a good game, WiiSports (Tennis) is a good game. Pokemon and Wii Music are shitty games and Alone in the dark was a shitty game.

QED.

Garcian Smith (on 12 November 2008)

For example: Take CoD:WaW, released yesterday. That same day, every major review site on the planet pretty much already had a glowing review for the PS360PC version all ready to shove out on to the 'net. Nobody besides IGN, however, even bothered to review the Wii version.

Garcian Smith (on 12 November 2008)

@ outlawauron: It's not a "conspiracy theory." Innovative, new-concept, high-art games in general (not just on the Wii, though that happens to be where they're concentrating nowadays) are ignored by gamers and either ignored outright by reviewers or slammed heavily for flaws that those same reviewers would overlook or think of as niggling in a high-budget, guns-blood-and-swearing game.

theprof00 (on 12 November 2008)

it happened when I "PAID" (correction) 50 dollars for a wii game and beat it in three hours.

MasterZack (on 12 November 2008)

Great!

woopah (on 12 November 2008)

id like to say its just people on the internet . then you could 'jay and silent bob' them (guessing no one will get thos reference. but ive had people talking to me in person saying stuff like.

'right im going to the amazingness that is the PS3 section. the GayS is over there.

why the hell would you buy a DS its really old

this is gears 2, better than any game the PS3 or wii will ever get

all u need to make a wii game is 4 primary colours

why would you buy a wii? it cant even connetc to the internet

and so on..

its these steroetypes/lies that ruin the image not just of the wii but the gaming community as a whole. why does it matter that people have a different console. i dont slag off any of them. why cant it just be a fun hobby

outlawauron (on 12 November 2008)

I tired of conspiracy theorists like Garcian who seriously thinks that reviews are out to get the Wii.

Endz (on 12 November 2008)

It is a good read if you want to read... But you can get the jist of the letter from the first 5 paragraphs.

I agree 100%, people can't say gamers playing pac-man in an arcade wasn't really gaming. Seems like a lot of new teen angst is to blame for this new "hardcore" label, kids just want blood now.

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