Video Gamer, Not "Hardcore" or "Casual"

I was listening to the latest installment of Invisible Walls from Game Trailers this week and was hit by part of a conversation I heard. I’ve transcribed the portion in question. Read it and then my comments will follow.


What you do think is the biggest downfall of this generation of gaming?

Shane Satterfield: For me the biggest downfall of this generation of consoles is the emergence of the casual gamer. Never thought I’d say this, as much as I love, ya’ know, being able to play Rock Band with people other than the dudes I usually play games with. When I look at the overall cost benefit analysis of it I’d rather have it just me and my dudes playing games and getting more games for my tastes.
Um, I don’t like it that anybody is diverting resources away from making games I want to play for making games my wife, or your girlfriend or whoever wants to play. It really struck me with Prince of Persia. Like, that game has totally been made for, like, the Wii crowd, the Scene It! crowd, the people who play one or two games a year. They’re going to be able to jump on that game, they’re going to be able to finish it. Ya’ know, they may die, but you’re not really punished for dieing in that game. I just feel that that whole game has been set up for this new audience of people. The same people, ya’ know, my wife has some magazine called N Style and she’s, like, flipping through it I see and ad for the DS in N Style.
I see the commercials for Animal Crossing and they’re all 30 year old women going, ya’ know, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you got that pair of jeans”.

Marcus: You know who we can blame for this is Nintendo

Shane: You’re exactly right. It does go back to them. They are the one who started this, and granted it’s making them a lot of money, but it’s not resulting in a lot of games I wanna play from it.
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I see this sentiment a lot when perusing video game websites and blogs and listening to podcasts. I spend many hours a week listening to the latest and greatest gaming podcasts out there while at work and I am amazed how often I hear statements that mirror this or are very closely related. “Elite Gamers” or “Hardcore Gamers” as they like to call themselves like to vilify “Softcore” or “Casual” gamers because games are being made for the latter category. I personally hate those terms and think that there are simply people that like video games and those that don’t. I hate those labels. I, myself, would be classified somewhere in the middle even though a “Hardcore” gamer would probably call me “Casual”. I couldn’t be a “Hardcore” gamer because I don’t have an Xbox 360 or PS3, but I’m not a casual gamer either, because I don’t play Popcap games exclusively. According to my Wii’s clock I play around 15-20 hours of video games a week. That doesn’t include any time spent playing the PC where I do play games like Call of Duty or Half-life.

I don’t understand this mentality. Why should it be wrong, like the conversation above insinuates, to create games for “Casual” gamers? Are these people not allowed to play games? Is it wrong for them to have fun playing Wii Fit, or Mario Kart, or Scene It!? I don’t remember reading anywhere it was illegal for these people to enjoy themselves with a video game console. They may not like getting shredded with a Lancer or attempting to survive against the biggest Zombie apocalypse the world has ever seen. The Wii has been credited with this rise in “Casual” gamers and while that may be true it’s not exclusive to the Wii. Every gaming platform out there has games that could be considered “Casual”. Every company is out there trying to make games that appeal to every audience. This may take away resources from the latest FPS, but it also shows that there is a hugely diverse gaming population out there. Gaming isn’t just about the boys anymore.

Gamers everyone are asking, “Where can I find a girl that’s into video games?” “I wanna be with someone who enjoys games as much as I do.” Well, they’re out there. They may not want to play Gears of War 2 or Halo 3, but they’re out there. When they find them they may be into playing games like Peggle, or Cooking Mama, or Wii Fit. The next phrase is, “How do I get her to play Co-Op Call of Duty with me? She likes crappy games.” The answer, you might not be able to. You can’t have it both ways my friend. What do you want a girl who happens to like electronic entertainment or not? I was lucky enough to marry a woman who enjoys playing video games. I like Resident Evil, she likes Diner Dash. Do I think she shouldn’t be allowed to play that because I want another Resident Evil game? No. We have been able to find games that we both like to play. You have to go out there outside your testosterone filled gaming bubble and play something different. Those games are out there. They’re fun, they’re exciting. They can bring a sense of competition to your relationship. You have to be willing to play games like Mario Kart, Scene It!, Buzz, Sing Star, or Rock Band. You have to understand that not everyone enjoys the same things you do. You don’t hear this kind of talk in the movie industry or the book industry. There’s room for everyone. Everyone that wants to play games is entitled to play the games they like to play.

Companies today are starting to realize this and they’re opening their game libraries to different experiences. Nintendo seems to the “Hard Core” to be focusing solely on the “Casual” market. That may be true in their eyes, but I look at it a little differently. I look at it as the “Video Game” market.

Video games really started growing in the 80’s with Nintendo. Back then their audience was young boys and their friends. Gaming was looked at as a young male hobby. The games back then were marketed toward them and designed for them. Now 20-30 years later that audience is grown up. They have wives, and children. They want to be able to play games with their families. Their wives want to be able to play games because they’ve been introduced to them through those family games. That’s the type of experience they want. You can’t sit down on the couch with your 5 year old and play Gears of War with them, but you can sit on the couch with your 5 year old and play Mario Kart, or Wii Music, or Scene It!, or Viva Pinata. Those games are accessible to them. They understand them. They enjoy watching them. Then as they grow up and start to understand the controller a little more or want a bit bigger of an experience they move on to games like Super Mario Galaxy or Geometry Wars. The get used to those games and they become teenagers and they begin to get interested in Halo, or GTA or Call of Duty.

Wives play Mario Kart with their husbands. They’re good with time management so games like Diner Dash or Cooking Mama begin to appeal to them. Some enjoy movies like Saving Private Ryan and so the shooters may appeal to them. You can’t toss them in there with a controller and say have fun. Sometimes you can, but that’s not always the case. You have to ease them into the experience sometimes.

I can’t stand how the attitude among gamers is that games have to appeal only to me. If I don’t like a game then it’s stupid and shouldn’t be made. I want everything to appeal to me.

You were a “Casual” gamer once. You might not have realized it but you were. There are games that appeal to you and games that don’t. Play the ones you like. Don’t play the ones you don’t like, but everyone has the right to games they find appealing. I personally think that. You may not. The beauty of our country is at the moment we’re still allowed our own opinions. This one is mine. You don’t have to agree with it.