5 Things Hardcore Gamers Need to Get Over

Dan

Dan

Makhulu Silverback
5 Things Hardcore Gamers Need to Get Over

When it comes right down to it, I can’t say from my perspective that I have seen more complaining from the gaming community as a whole as I have in the current console generation. Even moreso, though I generally can see where most people are coming from in their complaints, there are many of them that exist that are simply resistance to change, as if every gamer has suddenly become Rush Limbaugh. So, for this week’s Tuesdaily List, I’ve compiled what I believe to be the top five things that the Hardcore Gamers need to simply get over.

Casual games aren’t going anywhere – For years on end during this current console generation, casual games have consistently been on the NPD charts, selling like hotcakes. They’re incredibly popular, incredibly accessible, and incredibly safe for kids to play. From the perspective of parents, you can buy them for little kids and entertain them for hours. For older folks, you can play a game without being bogged in narrative or complex gameplay (complex to the layman, mind you). Games like this have made millions upon millions of dollars, and due to that fact, we’re stuck with them. Such is life.

Halo is popular, and you can’t do anything about it. – Yes, the Halo series could be seen as Baby’s First FPS. Yes, there really hasn’t been anything remarkable about the series except how fun the first game was. Yes, ODST was a glorified expansion with a sixty dollar price point. These are all facts that I wholeheartedly agree with. However, because Halo is so simple and easy to get into, it’s a decent gateway drug into the hardcore scene as a whole. In fact, there are probably people out there that got into games like Half Life and Bioshock that started with Halo. They now probably won’t admit it, though, for fear of a tar and feathering.

The economy has more decision making power than you. – This is quite possibly the saddest fact on this list. Whether we gamers like it or not, businesses are going to go with the route that makes them the most money, which means that business models that come from the mind of Bobby Kotick are going to stick around. So, even though we don’t want to see it, game sequels that shouldn’t happen are going to, and game sequels that make sense to happen will most likely be rushed.

Motion controls have an audience. – I think that when it comes to gamers not really understand this fact, it’s simply a matter of perspective. Then again, it seems to me that us gamers as a whole simply have not gotten used to the fact that we are no longer the only target audience. With that said, people outside of the normal gamer niche are interested in what can be done with motion controls, which is why they’ve become so popular. Now, could they be a trend like 3-D? It’s possible, but unlikely with how much the industry has latched on. However, they’re here, and they’re only an option, not the norm.

There’s nothing wrong with the FPS format. – This is quite possibly the one thing that frustrates me the most when it comes to the gaming crowd. Though the market is oversaturated with first person shooter games, at the same time there are still some great ones out there. In fact, I still maintain that Half-Life 2 is the Citizen Kane of video games. Opinions aside, the fact of the matter is that the first person shooter format has brought about some fantastic games, like System Shock, Bioshock, Doom, Quake, Left 4 Dead, and others. So, though there’s a lot of gunk out there, keep in mind there are plenty of gems, so bagging the format out of spite is downright silly.
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sauce

Some interesting points, some bullshit. Opinions?
 
As a hardcore gamer, I spend a lot of time blasting motion control, casual games as well as Halo. Why though? Because I can. Obviously there's nothing that you can do to manipulate the powers of demand and supply (and the hungry money making developers), but I sure as well can express my opinion as often as I want.

That said, I think the last point is a little off the mark. FPS's are still going incredibly strong, mostly to do with the fact that it's a very adaptable and very immersive format.
 
powderbucket said:
As a hardcore gamer, I spend a lot of time (1) blasting motion control, (2) casual games as well as (3) Halo. Why though? Because I can. Obviously there's nothing that you can do to manipulate the powers of demand and supply (and the hungry money making developers), but I sure as well can express my opinion as often as I want.
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1. Have you ever played, say, Resident Evil 4 or Sin & Punishment on the Wii?
2. Have you ever played Peggle, or Plants vs Zombies, or Puzzle Quest?
3. Have you ever actually played Halo? Be honest.
 
Nice read :)

On the point of casual games: I consider myself a hardcore gamer, but I really enjoy the 'casual' titles as well. They are simply good fun to play, and that's the whole point of gaming, right :D?
 
I haven't really played Halo after nr 1, but I doubt Edge would give a 10/10 score to Halo3 if it wasn't something quite special. I seem to remember the first one ramping up the difficulty very very high on Enthusiast mode though.
 
Azimuth said:
1. Have you ever played, say, Resident Evil 4 or Sin & Punishment on the Wii?
2. Have you ever played Peggle, or Plants vs Zombies, or Puzzle Quest?
3. Have you ever actually played Halo? Be honest.
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RE4 on Wii is awesome. I can't wait for RE5 Gold on the PS3 to be patched with Move integration.


Halo is awesome. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
Azimuth said:
1. Have you ever played, say, Resident Evil 4 or Sin & Punishment on the Wii?
2. Have you ever played Peggle, or Plants vs Zombies, or Puzzle Quest?
3. Have you ever actually played Halo? Be honest.
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1. I have played and finished Resident Evil 4 on the Wii. Enjoyed the Gamecube version more. (I can't help it, I like sitting)
2. I have played copious amounts of Peggle and other PopCap games. The casual games that were in my mind at the time were games such as Harry Potter or similar movie-games.
3. I have played Halo 3 as well as Halo 2 on the PC. With a game like Half Life 2 in mind, I couldn't find what was truly special about both of them.
 
Good article, I pretty much agree with it all, the whole "hardcore gamer" thing is so stupid, as if there is some magical hierarchy.

Didn't particularly enjoy Halo to be honest, but Peggle! Now theres a game :P
 
1. I have tried wii games, don't like them, gfx whore in me...

2. casual games some are fun but not my thing

3. played all halo's thus far except odst
 
Murph said:
Good article, I pretty much agree with it all, the whole "hardcore gamer" thing is so stupid, as if there is some magical hierarchy.

Didn't particularly enjoy Halo to be honest, but Peggle! Now theres a game :P
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I wouldn't really think of it as being a hierarchy. I think it just describes a certain kind of gamer who takes gaming in his or her life quite seriously, for whatever reason that may be. We're those people who are somewhat sad to see JRPGs diminishing while the rest of the gaming world continues to show lack of innovation and originality. Some don't give a shit, and that's fine, but some do and will express their opinions about it.

But that's all they are: opinions.
 
1. Yes and they are awesome, correctly implemented motion control is awesome. Also you don't need to stand to play RE4 why would you?

2. Yep, I'll play any genre. Some casual games are awesome Plants vs Zombies and Puzzle Quest are amazing and addictive games based on simple concept. The result? Total win!

3. Yep and, while it's a good series, it just never clicked with me. I must admit that Reach looks pretty cool though.
 
My issues with the casual market don't revolve around games like peggle, I don't even care about them. But the games that have potential for greatness but get dumbed down for people who should go play something else, like in traffic.
Games on this list include:
Spore.
Need For Speed.
Medal of Honor: Airborne.
C&C Generals and onward.
Dead Space.
CoD: MW2.
Battlefield.
Crysis.
See the pattern? EAids!
Also note: great sales =/= great games.

Halo: I quite liked the 1st one on the pc. What I don't like about is the fact that other FPS franchises, that used to be very sophisticated are trying to copy Halo's playing style, at least when it comes to the PC versions. (MW2 is the culprit here.)

The economy: Refer back to the 1st point for the culprit.

Motion controlers: Well just like peggle, I don't give a phyling phuck. If I want to dance around like a twit waving a penis joke in my hands, I'll go to a nightclub.

And the last point I agree fully. FPS games are great! The problem is that it's being saturated with utter crap.
 
powderbucket said:
I wouldn't really think of it as being a hierarchy. I think it just describes a certain kind of gamer who takes gaming in his or her life quite seriously, for whatever reason that may be. We're those people who are somewhat sad to see JRPGs diminishing while the rest of the gaming world continues to show lack of innovation and originality. Some don't give a shit, and that's fine, but some do and will express their opinions about it.

But that's all they are: opinions.
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No I agree, but some people get stupidly passionate about "casual" gamers and games destroying the industry. I don't care, if it's good its good, whether it be a "serious" RPG or Plants vs Zombies.
 
Raven Gold said:
My issues with the casual market don't revolve around games like peggle, I don't even care about them. But the games that have potential for greatness but get dumbed down for people who should go play something else, like in traffic.
Games on this list include:
Spore.
Need For Speed.
Medal of Honor: Airborne.
C&C Generals and onward.
Dead Space.
CoD: MW2.
Battlefield.
Crysis.
See the pattern? EAids!
Also note: great sales =/= great games.
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Exactly, and that is where my gripe about 'causal' gaming lies. However, it's not that there's anything particularly wrong with the games, it's the motivations behind the development that make one feel more like a consumer and less like a gamer.
 
Something I do agree with is that developers are trying to cast too wide of a net in crafting games for any possible market segment - which I suppose becomes a dumbing down.
 
powderbucket said:
Exactly, and that is where my gripe about 'causal' gaming lies. However, it's not that there's anything particularly wrong with the games, it's the motivations behind the development that make one feel more like a consumer and less like a gamer.
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Yeah. If those games were made to tier full potential, than I wouldn't care about the casual market. Everybody CAN actualy get what they want. True gamers can get great games, casuals can still get games, pubs/devs can still get lots and lots of cash. So why shaft the gamers?

The thing is that casuals are willing to accept anything and the developers ask "why bother?".
 
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jasong said:
Something I do agree with is that developers are trying to cast too wide of a net in crafting games for any possible market segment - which I suppose becomes a dumbing down.
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Very true, and it's for this very reason I have problem with both EA and Microsoft. Targeting a specific audience won't rake in as much money as targeting a very wide audience (and let's face it, it's Microsoft, they've monopolised one department so why not try monopolise another?). Note that I'm not insulting the Xbox, as a console, here, just the people behind it.

Just look at what happened to Final Fantasy XIII. In an attempt to attract as many people as possible they completely messed up the whole formula and left the fans disappointed and wondering just what the hell went wrong. That, however, doesn't matter to Square Enix provided they are making profit.

Makes a person wonder what PopCap is doing with all the millions they are making. It costs piddles to make one of their games and more people play their games than eat cheese, yet nothing bigger seems to come from them. They stick to their working, money-making formula. Sure, the games are fun and good, but don't tell me you preferred Peggle to Okami.
 
Raven Gold, you almost had me until you slagged off Dead Space. That's just unforgivable.
 
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