Hardcore Gamers vs Casual Gamers

How Nintendo killed hardcore gamingThe casual genre is killing hardcore gaming as we know it. We chart the rise of the mass-murderers: the Nintendo Wii and DS.

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"Nothing lasts forever. Nobody lives forever. Everything comes and goes. We all begin and rise and fade away...What then?"
— Edward Abbey

You never see it coming. One day, you’re
happily swanning about in flannel shirts or cargo pants, the next; your
favourite trend is yesterday’s fading fad. It happens to everyone
sooner or later; from swingin' fondue enthusiasts to chubby Beanie Baby
chasers. No matter how popular a hobby might be, it always reaches its
use-by date eventually — and hardcore gaming is no exception.
‘Hardcore gaming’ is a phrase that gets bandied about a lot by the press. It has been used to describe everything from friendless videogame addicts
to diehard MMO fans (some would argue these are one and the same). In
the context of this article, the phrase refers to all types of gaming
other than the ‘casual/party’ genre... which just so happens to be the
cause of hardcore gaming's demise.
As much as games journalists refuse to admit
it, hardcore gaming is definitely on the wane, to be replaced by its
simpler, party-prone brother (i.e. the other ‘C’ word.) The rise of the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS
has irreversibly changed the video game landscape, with Sony and
Microsoft clamouring to follow suit. We’re entering a new, casual era
that we’ve coined ‘Nu N-Gaming’ — and no amount of kicking or screaming
is going to alter its indomitable course.
The resurgence of casual gaming is indelibly tied to the new wave of game peripherals. From chick-friendly sing-alongs to the genre-crossing Guitar Hero,
every hit franchise in the casual genre has an extraneous gadget to
thank. But Nintendo has decided to take this concept to a whole new
level — its Wii and DS consoles have all the hallmarks of a game
peripheral, built directly into the hardware.



Call it a fad or
a gimmick if you will, but this is exactly what the masses want — and
they’re gatecrashing the party in their millions.
Nintendo’s “come one, come all” approach to
gaming has revolutionised our once-insular industry, with grannies,
girlfriends and non-gamers all getting in on the action. The sales
figures speak for themselves. According to GFK Australia,
nine of the 10 best-selling games in 2008 were Nintendo exclusives.
Almost all of these were party/casual games, with the top slot held by Wii Fit.



The same data reveals that the 'family genre'
was the biggest mover-and-shaker, with a whopping 157 per cent sales
increase over the previous year. The only non-Nintendo title to break
into the top 10 was GTA IV — which only managed to place fifth. Given the hysterical press coverage that game’s sales figures received, you’d expect it to be ranked much higher. Such is the clout of the Nu N-Gamer.



And it’s not just Aussies jumping on the
casual bandwagon: the same statistics are repeated all over the world,
with sales charts dominated by scores of novice-friendly Wii and DS
titles. Not only has Nintendo won the console war, it’s successfully
committing genocide on its enemies. Is it any wonder that Sony and
Microsoft have decided to join the winning side? While they still pay
lip-service to the hardcore contingent, both companies are gagging to
emulate Nintendo’s runaway success. They want in on the Nintendo gravy
train, and hardcore gaming is about to take a backseat as a
consequence.



Over the past few months, there have been
rumblings from both camps about the need to tap into the mainstream
market. In a recent interview with VG247,
SCEA hardware marketing boss John Koller admitted that Sony’s future
focus would be on casual gaming: “We’re moving on now... to look at
softer brands that maybe we had with PS2 franchises. There’s certainly
a line-up of very strong family-friendly titles that we’re looking at
for PS3 in our continuing effort to appeal to that casual consumer.”



Former Xbox boss David Moore has also
weighed in on the subject, revealing Microsoft's plans to replicate
(sorry, “improve upon”) the Wii formula: “I think they're doing that
[introducing motion control] and I think Sony are probably the same.” (Gametrailers.com).
It would seem that all the major players are moving towards
family-friendly properties, which continue to sell like proverbial
hotcakes. So where does this leave the hardcore gamer?

Citação :

There has already been talk of 2009 being a quiet year for hardcore gaming. With the exception of Final Fantasy XIII
and the usual brigade of samey sequels, there are few Triple A titles
on the immediate horizon. By contrast, the casual genre is
packed-to-the-gills with hotly anticipated games, including The Beatles: Rock Band, Wii NintenDogs, Punch Out!!, Wii Sports Resort and The Sims 3 — not to mention a raft of new games for the Apple iPhone, which is swiftly becoming the new king of casual gaming.

And then there are the other signs, like Microsoft’s rumoured plans to retire its flagship enthusiast console; the Xbox 360 Elite. Tellingly, the same console currently comes bundled with Indiana Jones Lego and Kung Fu Panda — which are about as anti-hardcore as you can get. It’s almost as if Microsoft is ashamed of the Elite's premier status.



If you're still not convinced that hardcore
gaming is on the wane, take a look at the woeful sales performance of
Nintendo's non-casual offerings. The blood-soaked hack 'em up MadWorld
failed to make much of a dent in gamers’ wallets, despite receiving
considerable critical acclaim. Even Rock Star’s hotly anticipated Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
didn’t set the world alight. In its first month on sale, it only sold
89,000 copies. (By comparison, the first Nintendogs game sold nearly three times that number in its first week on sale alone).



We now live in a world where Wii frickin’ Sports
is the best-selling game of all time. By the end of the next console
generation, the kind of games we enjoy and play today may well have
gone the way of the Nintendo PowerGlove. Hardcore games will still
exist of course, but they will be something of a niche market, much
like the PC gaming scene of today. Mark our words, the PS4 and XBox 720
will have full-blown motion control schemes — and hardcore
gaming can only suffer as a result. Ladies and gentlemen, it appears
that the ‘game’ is up. It's time to welcome our Nu N-Gamer overlords.

http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/300491/how_nintendo_killed_hardcore_gaming?pp=2

Sony: PS3 has the Hardcore, now after the Casual

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Each of the three current-gen home consoles offers something
different, something unique to the others. And they all seem geared
toward a certain sector of society. But in order to survive each
console has to try and muscle in on the other two’s markets. Is the PS3
about to go all Wii on us?
Like it or not there are definitely two schools of gamers around at
the present time. In fact, this has been true maybe since the days of
the original Playstation or even before. I am, of course, talking about
casual gamers and hardcore gamers, two sets of people who both love gaming but do so in entirely different ways.
The original Xbox was definitely the console of the hardcore
last-gen, but the Xbox 360 has moved into the mainstream very
successfully. Nintendo has always been a company trying to please as
many people as possible and the Wii is the epitome of that ambition,
appealing to all demographics. But what about the PS3?
The Playstation brand has usually been connected with mainstream
appeal, pleasing long-term gamers as well as bring new casuals into the
industry. But the PS3 has so far failed to mimic its predecessors on
this score. While a certain section of society is lapping up the
console and its range of first-party games, there is a big void left
full of people who wouldn’t dream of buying a PS3 at this point.
According to VG247, SCEA hardware marketing boss John Koller, speaking at the GDC said:

There’s certainly a line-up of very strong
family-friendly titles that we’re looking at for PS3 in our continuing
effort to appeal to that casual consumer.
We’ve captured the hardcore. The install base we have now tells us
that the hardcore’s purchased. We’re moving on now to continue to
support them with a tremendous line-up of games, but also look at
softer brands that maybe we had with PS2 franchises we’re bringing over
to PS3, or new IP.
Think of some of the latter-half PS2 franchises.

I’m not sure if Sony has fully captured the hardcore. I’d suggest
instead that that section of consumers is very evenly split between the
PS3 and Xbox 360. And the casual market, that all seems to have gone for the Wii this time around with dual-console owners probably picking up an Xbox 360 as well.
More casual-oriented games for the PS3 would no doubt help. But then how much more casual-oriented can you get than LittleBIGPlanet? And that game doesn’t seem to have done an awful lot of good for expanding on the PS3’s appeal.

There’s also an elephant in the room that Koller seems intent on
ignoring - price. The PS3 is currently too expensive to be bought in
large numbers by casual gamers. Until the long-awaited across-the-board
price cuts happen then I don’t think the PS3 stands a chance of
grabbing the Casual, no matter how many games geared towards that
market it plays host to.

http://gamer.blorge.com/2009/04/20/sony-ps3-has-the-hardcore-now-after-the-casual/

PS3 to be console for casual gamers - Will Xbox 360 remain hardcore?

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This generation console war is taking a decidedly bizarre twist,
where there are two polar opposite sets of gamers being fought over. On
the one hand we have the Wii, dominating sales, and soaking up the
majority of the casual gamers there are in the world. On the other hand
we have the PS3 and Xbox 360, technically superior consoles which
appeal to the more hardcore and committed element. But the two worlds
could soon collide.
There has obviously always been two schools of gamers - it’s not
like Nintendo suddenly found millions of them living under a rock when
it released the Wii. But the Wii has appealed to a greater amount of
casuals, and from a wider demographic, than any console before.
Sony and Microsoft are no doubt jealous of the incredible sales that
the Wii has managed, especially as its a relativity cheap and cheerful
machine, and so we have already seen both attempting to move in to the
Wii’s territory, and pick up some of those toe-dipping gamers.
Sony has more of a track record of appealing to the casual,
mainstream market, as let’s not forget that the original Playstation
and the PS2 were both consoles that straddled the line between hardcore
and casual extremely well. But then came the PS3, which despite having
some casual games available for it, is seen as the domain of the
hardcore right now. With its high price, Blu-ray player, and
sophisticated chip set, it’s just too damn clever to be accessible to
all.
Sony do look set to change that however, with Kaz Hirai stating as much in a recent interview with MCV.
In the interview, he states that while the PS2 is still on the market,
there is no need for the PS3 to cater to a mainstream family audience.
But that could all change once the Playstation 2 is no more.

We are the only platform holder to have two home-based
platforms. And they both cater to a somewhat different demographic. We
don’t have to rely on PS3 to appeal to everyone at this point in time.
If we’re talking about the casual gamer, the PS2 is probably the right
choice for them.
We don’t need the PS3 to feel like the console that will appeal to
everyone at this point. We don’t need to have one console try to be
everything to everybody just yet. Just as the PS2 marketing and
positioning has evolved over the past ten years, we’ll make sure the
PS3 messaging evolves as well.

It’s clear then that the PS3 will be handed the casual gaming baton
once the PS2 is retired from the market, which could be in as little as
two years, or even sooner if sales continue to drop.
Which will leave us with the Xbox 360 as the only real serious console
on the market that is designed to appeal purely to hardcore gamers. But
even that isn’t guaranteed.

Not only do we have Microsoft introducing some very gimmicky stuff such as Avatars, there are continuing rumours of a Wii Remote style device
being launched in the not too distant future. As I’ve stated before,
the future is casual, and the sooner us dyed in the wool hardcore
gamers realise it, the better.

http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/07/29/ps3-to-be-console-for-casual-gamers-will-xbox-360-remain-hardcore/

How casual gamers could burst the video games bubble

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Gaming has been enjoying an unbelievably healthy period of growth
for many years now. The original Playstation seemed to bring gaming out
of the niche it was hiding and into the mainstream. The PS2 then took
that gaming for everyone mentality onto the next level, and now the Wii
is even making non-gamers start gaming. But with the economy going down
the pan, could that reliance on casual or mainstream gamers be the
industry’s downfall?
I remember a time when gaming was the sole reserve of the friendless
and nerdy. Yes, I was one of those friendless nerds who would give up
the chance to go out on a Saturday in order to spend time with my
console of choice. But those days are well over, with gaming now being
just as mainstream as television and movies.
Love it or hate it, Sony has a big part to play in bringing gaming
out of its shell and into the cold light of day where everyone felt
comfortable having a go. Both the original Playstation and the PS2 were
seen as cool, innovative, and must-have consumer products by games of
all ages around the world.
And then the Nintendo Wii came along and although it wasn’t cool or
even very advanced, it had the control method innovation that dragged
non-gamers over to our side of the fence. Suddenly, everyone and his
mother, literally, wanted to know what the fuss was about. The Wii has
sold by the bucket load, with even young kids and old people wanting a piece of video game action.
This is all fine and good, and has meant that the gaming industry
has continued to grow over the past couple of years until it now
threatens to overtake the movie industry. But all bubbles tend to
burst, and although gaming is thought to be relatively recession-proof, if the economy is really in as bad shape as some are predicting then the video games bubble could be about to burst.
If it does, it’ll likely be casual gamers that are to blame. Those
same people that have helped Nintendo to record profits in recent
months are likely to be the first to stop buying games and hardware if
the money in their pockets dwindles considerably. Which would leave
just those of us who were present before the bubble started to grow
trying to prop up the industry.
As The Telegraph
explains, it’s not as though casual gamers can be blamed either. They
have other things higher on their list of priorities than video games:
children, clothes, food etc. When they had money in their pocket, a new
DS or Wii game, or the latest Guitar Hero or Singstar game would have seemed like a sensible purchase. But no longer.
This scenario assumes a few things. One, that the economy really is
screwed, which it may not be. Two, that casuals will turn their backs
on a hobby they have only recently fallen in love with, which they may
not. And three, that even if they do, it’ll leave the industry in
trouble, which it may not do.

But at least if things do go badly, us gamers will have a ready-made
scapegoat to blame. It was those casual gamers that did it, the
b**tards. Which is a worry seeing as I’ve just confessed to becoming one.

http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/12/08/how-casual-gamers-could-burst-the-video-games-bubble/

How I devolved from a hardcore to a casual gamer

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Casual gaming and casual gamers have been a hot topic of this
console generation. With the Nintendo Wii seemingly forcing many casual
to come out, it seems the breed is growing at an exponential rate. And
unfortunately, I think I may have devolved from the higher species of
hardcore gamer to become one of the mainstream throng.
I’m starting to suspect I’m now a casual gamer. I own loads of
games, and loads of different consoles from all generations, past and
present, but I play games less now than ever before. Depending on how
you classify a casual gamer, it seems that I could have slipped back
from being hardcore to merely one of the crowd.
I’ve been into gaming for as long as I can remember, ever since my
dad purchased an Atari 800XL back in 1983, when I was just
six-years-old. And since then, have owned and loved consoles from each
subsequent generation. I’ve also played PC games since buying my first
computer, although I tend to be a couple of years out of date due to
hardware demands.
But now, in the midst of one of the healthiest and vibrant console
generations ever, I’m starting to think of myself as merely a casual
gamer, not able to keep up with the demands placed on those in the
hardcore group.
The main reason for this is the amount of time I spend doing other
things, with work now eating up more of my time than ever before. Then
there is shopping, birthdays, Christmas, holidays, going out,
socializing, all things that I eschewed to a certain degree as a
youngster to spend more time gaming.
I remember the glory days of being at school, when I’d be home by 3
p.m. and able to spend the next six hours playing video games, until I
either fell asleep or my mum came in and cut the plug off my TV. But
now I’m approaching middle age, it’s not quite as easy to find a few
hours to play games without having to worry about someone, or something
else going on in my life.
It’s not as though I don’t want to game, but when given the choice
of things to do, I’ll now think twice before immediately turning one of
my many consoles on. I do still game almost every day, and when I do, I
game hard, playing the sorts of games geared towards hardcore gamers,
so in that respect, I’m not casual, merely lazy.
So, I haven’t turned into a Wii-loving button-bashing Neanderthal
over night, but being an adult, having responsibilities, and finding a
wider range of hobbies has meant time spent playing games has lessened
somewhat over the last few years.
Casual gamers come in a wide variety of flavors, and this one
sitting writing this article is one of those flavors. It’s not through
any hardship but rather just getting older and realizing there is more
to life than sitting waggling a controller for hours on end. That may
be blasphemous to some but give it ten years and you may find yourself
agreeing with me.

It may be a brave, or potentially stupid move for a video games
journalist to admit to being more casual than hardcore, but it’s the
truth. I still love games, and always will, but the days when I’d stay
up all night playing have ended for good.
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http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/12/03/how-i-devolved-from-a-hardcore-to-a-casual-gamer/

Teen girls less likely to be allowed to play hardcore video games than boys

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A survey from PopCap.com reveals 60% of caregivers don’t let their
teenage girls play hardcore video games like Halo 3 and Bioshock.
Conversely, they are nearly twice as likely to allow their teenage sons
access to the same games.
The final data captures from PopCap.com’s largest ever gamer survey
reveals that there’s a sexist undercurrent to the results: while nearly
half of caregivers with teenagers say they do not allow their teenager
to play hardcore games, 60% of those caregivers are forbidding girls
from playing hardcore games - compared to just 37% forbidding boys.
Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a New York-based psychologist and expert on
parent-child relationships explains some of the possible reasoning for
this sexism:

"Parents tend to be somewhat more protective of their
daughters in what they do than they are of their sons, allowing for a
bit more independence and leeway for the boys. Despite this being
somewhat outdated thinking, it is a perspective still shared by many
parents. But most experts agree that exposing children and adolescents
to graphically explicit content should be avoided, and this applies to
both genders."

This survey shows that there is a clear perception among parents and
grandparents that hardcore games are more suitable for boys.
On the other hand, the survey found that caregivers are much more
positive about casual video games. 80% play casual games with thier
children and report various perceived benefits of play like increased
coordination, cognition and stress releif.
One of the advantages of casual games is the ability for players to
dip in and out as they wish, fitting the games around their lives.
Instead of becoming totally immersed for hours, as is the case with
many hardcore games. It is likely that this control is a primary reason
that parents appear to push casual gaming. 63% of casual gaming
caregivers say their kids play for four hours or less a week. Dr.
Arinoldo surmises:

"While the cognitive benefits of playing casual computer
games (e.g. concentration, focusing, decision-making, etc.) are present
in some form for children of all ages, the stress-management benefits
understandably become more significant as a child ages toward and
through adolescence. From school pressures to puberty, tweens and teens
certainly experience more stress, on average, than younger children.
Playing casual computer games can be a good choice for parents to
encourage as part of their children’s stress-management strategies."

Proving again that, while parents are becoming more open to video
games in their children’s lives, the attitude that there are certain
things that girls shouldn’t be exposed to is still prevalent, even with
parents who think they are ‘cool’.

http://gamer.blorge.com/2007/10/10/teen-girls-less-likely-to-be-allowed-to-play-hardcore-video-games-than-boys/

Sony

There's no denying that Sony has been doing good work on the PS3 side of things as late. With Killzone 2 proving to be a decent success, inFamous, Heavy Rain and MAG
all coming, not to mention the selection of PSN titles available, the
publisher has done good. Sony knows it too, and is never going to let
the opportunity to blow its own trumpet get away. "There’s
certainly a line-up of very strong family-friendly titles that we’re
looking at for PS3 in our continuing effort to appeal to that casual
consumer," says marketing boss John Koller.
"We’ve captured the hardcore. The install base we have now tells us
that the hardcore’s purchased. We’re moving on now to continue to
support them with a tremendous line-up of games, but also look at
softer brands that maybe we had with PS2 franchises we’re bringing over
to PS3, or new IP."Koller also hinted at what the PS3's lineup
may have in store by simply saying, ""Think of some of the latter-half
PS2 franchises." Oooh, mysterious!While I'm sure most of what
Koller says is pure marketing talk, this is actually the kind of thing
I wish Sony and Microsoft would do more of. Nintendo
has its audience, which is catered to perfectly. Sony and Microsoft
have their own audience, and it makes more sense to cater to them first
than to a demographic it doesn't even have yet.

I don't remember LIPS topping
charts and making waves in the industry. That's because the over-rated
and badly identified "casual gamer" that has been turned into some sort
of Holy Grail simply isn't interested. MS and Sony have their own
perfectly suitable demographic and they should focus on that. For them
to appeal to the soccer moms and grandmothers is like a liqor store
trying to sell Tickle Me Elmos.
How
important are we as hardcore gamers to the videogame industry now?
We're definitely the most outspoken, and we definitely buy the most
games, but it seems like the industry has moved their focus away from
us and put it on the casual gamer. Who can blame them? Gamer or not, we've all witnessed Nintendo's
pocketbook explode after focusing on the casual gamer. And with
"hardcore" games costing more than ever to make, it makes sense that
developers would want to focus on something that costs less and makes
more. Forbes explores this shift in focus.Deus Ex director Warren Spector sums it up well: "... any artist who doesn't want his or her work in front of the largest audience possible is nuts." Spore
managed to move 1 million copies in three weeks. Creator Will Wright
says that his focus was on the non-core gamer the whole time. "With
'Spore,' we were intentionally not targeting the core gamer," he says.
"Almost all of our testing was with Sims players and casual or
nongamers. … I'd much rather hit that broader group." In the end, both high-profile game makers agree that both the hardcore and casual audiences are important.

Wright says, "Hardcore causes the craftsmanship of games to advance. I think you kind of need both--innovation and craftsmanship." "The
hardcore is completely safe," Spector says. "They are less relevant to
major publishers, but they are more relevant to independent
developers."

The almighty dollar

The farcical "casual games" conversation has come up once again,
with RPG publisher Square Enix looking to fully exploit the market. Not
put off by the fact that a large amount of its non-traditional RPG
games are pretty crap, Squeenix is ready to provide games that
"empower" newcomers to the medium. We take it to mean that "empowering"
means "easy for drooling retards to cope with.""There is a large
audience for casual titles that is growing all the time, we see other
viable routes to this audience," explains President John Yamamoto. "Not
just via conventional hardware but via Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and the WiiWare channel. "We
are very interested in providing casual titles through these channels.
If entertainment is enjoyable and rewarding there shouldn't be any
barrier to entry, and casual games have empowered consumers of all ages
and abilities to feel like they can give gaming a go."

Look forward to Final Fantasy: Carnival Games coming to a Wii near you!

http://www.destructoid.com/square-enix-chats-bollocks-about-casual-games-123657.phtml

Cute' video game provides hardcore gamer fun

Citação :

'Cute' video game provides hardcore gamer fun
12/10/2008 12:10 PM
By: Adam Balkin, NY1


Playing "Little Big Planet" is similar to playing inside a second-grade art project.
Calling a video game cute is like calling a house charming in the real-estate section of the newspaper; whereas charming is code for tiny, cute is usually code for a game for kids.

This is not the case with "Little Big Planet" though. This may actually be the first cute title that even hardcore gamers are desperate to get their hands on.

While the game is difficult to explain, it is similar to playing inside a second-grade art project. You play as Sackboy and navigate your way around, trying to get through levels and collect all sorts of prizes for use in the other main feature of this game – the level-creation mode.

The level creator is what's most exciting to gamers because not only is throwing together your own scenes relatively easy, even if you don't want to get into it yourself, you can download levels that other gamers have created for free. In this case playability and creativity of the game is nearly endless.

"Little Big Planet" is out now for the PS3 only for about $60.

Sticking with Sony, its latest Playstation Portable, the PSP 3000, is now on sale – boasting features like a new, more vibrant screen and a built-in microphone for an easier time making calls with a mobile version of Skype, which comes pre-installed on the system.


For $200, the PSP 3000 comes as a bundle with a "Ratchet and Clank" game, the movie "National Treasure 2," and a 1 gigabyte memory stick.

The package also includes a free download voucher for "Echochrome," perhaps one of the most mind-bending new games out now. It's another game that's difficult to describe. In "Echochome" you navigate a little character through a series of optical illusion type puzzles.

As you flip, twist, and rotate the entire universe on its head, you're also changing your perspective. As you change your perspective, you're also changing the rules of gravity and logic that govern this virtual world.

While it sounds confusing, it's easy to pickup and difficult to put down. Plus, with classical music playing on a loop in the background, you get the feeling while playing this game that you're actually doing something to help sharpen your mind – until you hit an impasse and decide to throw your PSP3000 through a window, at which point, you realize the game is maybe helping more to sharpen your temper.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=226562&SecID=2