My opinion is that Nintendo should completely abandon the hardcore gaming scene altogether and leave it to Microsoft and Sony. Because of one word: Money. Money makes the world go around. It pays Nintendo their salaries and a good money maker for the video game industry.

Video games should be mainstream, like movies, books, music, television, food. Otherwise you’ll see it as a 21st century medium that will be regarded as a niche. Nintendo is trying to mass appeal and they are the 21st Century Gutenburg of Video games today. Books used to be niche and for the elite and royality, Now Books are mainstream thanks to the Printing Press invention

The Wii and the DS are catalysts for this type of printing press like motive that Nintendo is doing. The Wii and the DS will open up video gaming as a mainstream form into the 21st century and will lay the foundation for “mainstream” interactive entertainment/gaming for future centuries.
Games aren’t for Halo players, Doom enthusiasts, Kiddies, Zit faced male teens. Gaming should be for everyone, like Sudoku and Crosswords.

I used to be a hardcore gamer (playing 15+ hours Zelda, Doom, etc. back in my school days) and a former Zelda fan. I’m fed up with arguing about Hyrule’s timeline and such especially in forums and blogs.

My personal stance and opinion on hardcore gaming:
1.> Hardcore Games are too damn long. Who plays 15+ a day if your doing other things: Like Work, Sleeping, eating, etc.

2.> Save Points. Can we just press start to save?

3.> Replay Value. I played Twilight Princess and beat it.
That’s it. Done. Now, Tetris DS, I can go back and replay.

4.> No sandbox type value. I guess my tastes have changed.
I prefer Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, Brain Age, Cooking Mama, Wild World over Resident Evil.

I have no patience for linear games anymore. Exception of New Super Mario Bros (since I love punching blocks)

So casual gaming and nongaming that Nintendo is providing now is really great. They cater to my needs. I’m sorry if the hardcore gamer is left out, well too bad!!! You got your chance! If you don’t like it: Go to Xbox 360 and PS3, PSP. The Wii and the DS are casual systems.

Times have changed. We casual and nongamers own the video game market now and we will shape it to be casual because there is nothing beyond casual/nongames. So Nintendo cannot dump the casual gamers, thats the end result. Who else will they cater to in 30 years?

CD owners = Hardcore Gamers (Obselete) = like people who grew up in the
1950s

iPod owners = Casual/Nongamers (The Future) = like people who grew up in the 1960s

Hardcore gaming is for the 20th Century! I also applaud Nintendo for dumping the Gameboy. Because the Gameboy isn’t fit with this whole
WiiDS strategy, plus Wii & DS are selling well. #1.
We also have to forget where we came from: NES, SNES, N64, GCN
(lets pretend these consoles never happened)

We are entering a “REVOLUTION” – just like how the 60s came to be.

Thank you Nintendo (Reggie, Iwata, Miyamoto, and crew)
for giving us the Wii and the DS. Thanks for Wiifit.

This clearly shows that you love us Casual/Nongamers.
Now let’s forget the Hardcore gamers because they don’t
need us and we don’t need them. Games should be fun, not hardcore!

Fine, but what art are we talking about? I thought this was about video games. If it’s about Dante translations or macrame, you might be on the wrong website.

Isn’t it in the masses’ interests?

What if I’m one of the masses?

I’m with you most of the way here psu – I think people are getting upset about something which is a) inevitable and b) not necessarily a bad thing. Hell, if anything, a sense of it being OK to make a “casual” game might actually bring in more creative, low-cost titles, which, I think, is another common gripe (there aren’t enough creative new games anymore…)

Also, I’m not sure I get the distinction between a “casual” game and a “real” game. Counter-Strike is definitely a “real” game, but I play it pretty casually (15 minutes at a time). I used to do that with Diablo II Mephisto runs.

So I play “real” games. But my play style is “casual.” What gives? It’s all arbitrary.

Bah. Ram the tossers sideways with a bag of singing oysters, I say. I look forward to the manic expansion of the gaming audience because, hey, the more money there is to be made making games, the more weird-ass games are going to come out and the more likely I am to encounter something I haven’t seen before. If the price of another thing as excitingly weird as Katamari Damacy is one less Quake, I think that is a sacrifice I may be able to bear with lip-quivering fortitude.

Anyway, in one case there is objective goodness, in the other there is people who will dislike a better game if it is easier and less complex.