Life or death for hardcore gaming.
By William Countiss
There is a storm coming. The video game landscape was changed forever when the Nintendo Wii introduced casual gaming to the masses. Even while Microsoft and Sony continued to placate to a diminishing audience, Nintendo paved the way for graphically simple games which value simple game play over beautiful graphics. Hardcore gamers everywhere reputed Nintendo’s console that could as merely a passing fad. It wasn’t just a fad. The message to the hardcore gaming audience from the Nintendo camp is loud and clear, we simply don’t need you anymore. Now don’t get me wrong, Nintendo won’t deny your cash if you’re willing to part with it. Rather Nintendo doesn’t need your money anymore like they needed your money during the Game Cube and Nintendo 64 days.
Microsoft are late to the party with Natal which claims to revolutionize gaming. I cannot say for sure whether Natal will be a success or a failure. As a hardcore gamer, I’d hate to see it be too successful because it would mean the true end of hardcore gaming. Sony is also playing catch up with the release of their Motion wand. You see casual gaming and hardcore gaming cannot peacefully coexist. The two are polar opposites. When third party companies make the decision between hardcore gaming vs. casual gaming, they’ll go in the direction which will allow for the most profit with the least amount of overhead. Casual gaming on the outside is perfectly positioned for this paradigm shift. The only question regarding whether or not casual gaming will completely marginalize hardcore gaming is whether this new market that Nintendo captured can create sustainable profit over the long term like the Playstation and Playstation 2 has. If the answer is no, then we’ll see budgets focus on the hardcore gamer again. If the answer is yes, then hardcore gamers as a demographic will continue to diminish until it completely disappears. Game studios out of necessity will need to focus on casual gaming just to stay alive.
The storm will hit this Fall/Winter when Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are all competing for consumer dollars. If sales of motion controlled games fall below expectations then in my mind, hardcore gaming is safe. If not; if consumers swallow casual motioned controlled gaming whole, then hardcore gaming is doomed. I’d love to hear your comments on the subject no matter what your perspective is.
