Casual gaming, Casual Gamers (1 Viewer)

[Drg0nzo1]

Has anyone else noticed that the "easy" setting on many games has now become..."casual"? Casual games are essentially easy games that take absolutely no thought or learning to play. It's almost like casual is the new politically correct term for easy.

Gamestop has recently announced that they will start stocking more "casual" games, and less "hardcore" games. This is essentially an industry leader in game sales attempting to push developers to create more "casual" aka easy newb games, and less serious thought provoking immersive games in my opinion.

Is this the final death signal of the industry? Will gaming soon become like the music and film industry? Where art and intelligence come second to wide appeal to the average idiot? Are we going to find ourselves asking "what has become of games?" like so many of the older generations say of the pathetic corporate music/film industry?

We are still seeing great games now, but as time goes on we are seeing a greater corporatization of the industry in general, and less independent developers than ever. But how long will true creativity thrive in an industry thats shifting its focus to the "casual" aka EASY game?

 

[Jan]

Oh come on. You say this, yet in the last year or so we've seen Oblivion, Gears of War, Final Fantasy XII, Portal, Okami, Guitar Hero, Zelda Twilight Princess, Overlord, The Witcher, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Rock Band, etc. And this is only a short list based on what I have on my shelves right now.

Creativity isn't going away, it isn't even threatened. And say what you will, "casual" doesn't mean dumbed down and devoid of creativity.

 

[The Squealing Fairy]

Hardcore gamers are a very small percentage of the gaming market. PC gamers are a small percentage of the gaming market too. Then when you look at the hardcore PC gamers they're -- uh, well... have you seen GameStop's PC section over the past 5 years? It has always been stuffed a little miniscule corner of the store, near the redheaded stepchild. In fact... I'm the redheaded stepchild.

Gamestop has recently announced that they will start stocking more "casual" games, and less "hardcore" games.

Aside from unresearched blogger paranoia and hearsay, I have yet to see an official annoucement by Gamestop stating that they are reducing their stock of hardcore games. If you could please point me in the direction of that official statement, it'd be a huge help to me. I have seen them state that they will increase their stock of casual games. Yet somehow... I don't think we'll have any problems finding Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on their shelves in March.

I'm glad that there are more gamers out there now than there were years ago. Maybe if more people gamed, there'd be less fear, uncertainty, and doubt about gaming.

I haven't seen the quality of gaming go down-- although I love to rip on the game companies that ride their sequels of "That One Good Game" into the ground like a dead horse that they keep whipping, and whipping... That's about the most uncreative side of the gaming industry right there. But it's just as much as our fault as anyone else's. We, as gamers, are supporting that by not exploring new and uncharted games.

 

[Drg0nzo1]

Oh come on. You say this, yet in the last year or so we've seen Oblivion, Gears of War, Final Fantasy XII, Portal, Okami, Guitar Hero, Zelda Twilight Princess, Overlord, The Witcher, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Rock Band, etc. And this is only a short list based on what I have on my shelves right now.

Creativity isn't going away, it isn't even threatened. And say what you will, "casual" doesn't mean dumbed down and devoid of creativity.

Like I said, we are still seeing great games. Creativity will never go away, look at the music industry...they try to be as creative as they can. But they are confined by the narrow restraints of easily digestible garbage for the masses that will sell well.

Creating games is a very expensive project, and I don't anticipate it will get cheaper any time soon. Combine this with the industries leaning toward wanting to create easy, flashy games for the average idiot. You have the same recipe that has made the mainstream music industry the void of passion that it is.

The death signal is admittedly a huge exaggeration, but in my opinion we don't have many more years of good gaming left.

And casual does mean dumbed down and easy, I am just waiting for the day when the word newb is offensive or racist and we must call them "casual gamers".

 

[The Squealing Fairy]

Okay, lets look at games like sodoku which has logic-based number puzzles, or Tetris which requires fast-paced problem solving.

So you wish to call people who enjoy those types of games, idiots...

You're free to believe that. No, really. Please do, and don't let anything that anyone tells you, or any books or papers that you might read; including mathematical research and scientific studies convince you otherwise.

After all, these newbs may gain knowledge on how to do things, such as spell fancy words that contain more than three syllables, solve complex mathematical and geometrical equations, and a bunch of other stuff that nobody cares about, but they'll never be able to create a run-on sentence as well as I can. More importantly, they'll never last a day in Red Ridge!

 

[Saediien]

HARDCORE GAMING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Goaddman librel pussies are at it again, pretty soon they'll want ot restrict my first amendment rights to say "n00b".

I AM THE REAL VICTIM HERE.

 

[Runned]

After all, these newbs may gain knowledge on how to do things, such as spell fancy words that contain more than three syllables, solve complex mathematical and geometrical equations, and a bunch of other stuff that nobody cares about, but they'll never be able to create a run-on sentence as well as I can. More importantly, they'll never last a day in Red Ridge!

:furry: :furry: :furry: :furry:

 

[Drg0nzo1]

Okay, lets look at games like sodoku which has logic-based number puzzles, or Tetris which requires fast-paced problem solving.

So you wish to call people who enjoy those types of games, idiots...

You're free to believe that. No, really. Please do, and don't let anything that anyone tells you, or any books or papers that you might read; including mathematical research and scientific studies convince you otherwise.

After all, these newbs may gain knowledge on how to do things, such as spell fancy words that contain more than three syllables, solve complex mathematical and geometrical equations, and a bunch of other stuff that nobody cares about, but they'll never be able to create a run-on sentence as well as I can. More importantly, they'll never last a day in Red Ridge!

Soduku? Lol are you actually going to compare that to games like....Viva Pinata?

WoW is a casual game, Assassins creed is a casual game. You are misconstruing the lines intentionally to prove your point, and it's a total failure.

Tetris is of a different breed than the modern so called "casual" game. Assassins creed for example, such potential but they had to dumb it down for the average idiot 12 year old that owns an xbox, so it was playable for him. Today "casual" means EASY games that are flashy, easily digestible, and can entertain the average idiot.

If i was trying to knock every shitty little java game that came into existence, i would have come out and said so to being with. I am not talking word games, puzzle games, or things that are INTENDED to be SIMPLE and casual. I am talking about REAL games that are being infested with this "casual gamer" mentality.

Durrrrrr, get it?


Or are you going to argue that the success of games like word scramble on yahoo and Tetris are a testament to the need for more casual games? The people that are avidly playing those games are NOT "gamers" by any stretch. And most likely wouldn't be able to comprehend a 3D world on a screen much less actually create a demand for simple bullshit games. So why don't you take that "OMGZ puzzle games are the bestest" attitude somewhere else? Are you going to tell me that the average gamer is spending their time on java puzzle games? Are you actually going to suggest that this has a serious impact on the gaming industry as a whole?

Give me a break, nice try buddy.

 

[Jan]

Well, you keep on living in your little world where every game looming on the horizon might be infested by the casual syndrome, thus preventing you from gaining any form of enjoyment from them.

Me, I'll just play my games without being a whiny bitch, it's more fun that way.

 

[Khatib]

/rant.

Well you had a decent point going in this thread, until you spent 3 paragraphs ranting about puzzle games.

Learn to argue man. If puzzle games don't fit your arguement, dismiss them with 2 or 3 sentences saying they don't and why. Ranting about them and throwing stupid insults for 250 words or so just adds more credibility to that counter to your original argument.

Personally, I've always been of the opinion that WoW being a first time MMO for millions of gamers is going to set the tone of the MMO market for years to come, and we are going to be stuck with easy-mode games like WOW that aren't even full on MMOs because they're going to be instanced so much they're closer to Diablo II and may even move more towards Guild Wars over time. No thank you sir. I like my games with a large open environment and consequences. Just give me EVE online in a medieval fantasy format and I'd be one happy camper.

 

[Drg0nzo1]

Well you had a decent point going in this thread, until you spent 3 paragraphs ranting about puzzle games.

Learn to argue man. If puzzle games don't fit your arguement, dismiss them with 2 or 3 sentences saying they don't and why. Ranting about them and throwing stupid insults for 250 words or so just adds more credibility to that counter to your original argument.

Personally, I've always been of the opinion that WoW being a first time MMO for millions of gamers is going to set the tone of the MMO market for years to come, and we are going to be stuck with easy-mode games like WOW that aren't even full on MMOs because they're going to be instanced so much they're closer to Diablo II and may even move more towards Guild Wars over time. No thank you sir. I like my games with a large open environment and consequences. Just give me EVE online in a medieval fantasy format and I'd be one happy camper.

Oh crap, three paragraphs. I knew that was wayyyy too much.

hahahaha.

Don't worry, im not going to lose any sleep at night knowing that i derailed my good point with a "rant."

Go play tetris. ;-)

 

[(Un)conscious]

Well, you keep on living in your little world where every game looming on the horizon might be infested by the casual syndrome, thus preventing you from gaining any form of enjoyment from them.

Me, I'll just play my games without being a whiny bitch, it's more fun that way.

Amen!

 

[Drg0nzo1]

Well, you keep on living in your little world where every game looming on the horizon might be infested by the casual syndrome, thus preventing you from gaining any form of enjoyment from them.

Me, I'll just play my games without being a whiny bitch, it's more fun that way.

Oh yes, because i spend about 75% of my day crying about video games, then the other 25% i am just sulking and shooting up heroine.

I'm having plenty of fun with the games I'm playing now. I have just seen an increasing amount of editorials in gaming mags from devs about wanting to create games that are more "accessible to the casual gamer", and the increasing production of them.

It's inevitable that the industry is going to become watered down and good games will be far and few between...it's already heading in that direction.

 

[The Squealing Fairy]

Soduku? Lol are you actually going to compare that to games like....Viva Pinata?

WoW is a casual game, Assassins creed is a casual game. You are misconstruing the lines intentionally to prove your point, and it's a total failure.

Tetris is of a different breed than the modern so called "casual" game. Assassins creed for example, such potential but they had to dumb it down for the average idiot 12 year old that owns an xbox, so it was playable for him. Today "casual" means EASY games that are flashy, easily digestible, and can entertain the average idiot.

If i was trying to knock every shitty little java game that came into existence, i would have come out and said so to being with. I am not talking word games, puzzle games, or things that are INTENDED to be SIMPLE and casual. I am talking about REAL games that are being infested with this "casual gamer" mentality.

Durrrrrr, get it?


Or are you going to argue that the success of games like word scramble on yahoo and Tetris are a testament to the need for more casual games? The people that are avidly playing those games are NOT "gamers" by any stretch. And most likely wouldn't be able to comprehend a 3D world on a screen much less actually create a demand for simple bullshit games. So why don't you take that "OMGZ puzzle games are the bestest" attitude somewhere else? Are you going to tell me that the average gamer is spending their time on java puzzle games? Are you actually going to suggest that this has a serious impact on the gaming industry as a whole?

Give me a break, nice try buddy.

I'm not misconstruing anything. I'm naming off actual "casual games" -- or at least, considered such by the gaming industry's standards of what a casual game is. I guarantee you that GameStop's announcement-- which, you seemed to misinterpret-- was talking about actual casual games, and not Assassin's Creed or World of Warcraft.

And am I going to tell you that the average gamer is playing puzzle games?

No.. of course not, don't be silly. Just ignore industry research. Haha, research... checking facts-- that's for old , dumb people anyway, right?

And no, I don't have a "puzzle gamez R teh bestest" attitude. I'm presenting facts to you, and you're acting like a moronic pissant about it. At least for now... I'll assume you're acting.

 

[isobelle]

i got to the sentence about what "gamestop declared" and stopped reading the post.


last time i checked, gamestop is a store. it's like Foot Locker making sweeping generalizations about emerging trends in the next generation of Athletics, or commenting on some olympic controversy. They sell fucking shoes.

living in japan obviously distances me from the topic at hand, but even when i lived in california, i hated even calling a gamestop (HITHANKYOUFORCALLINGGAMESPOTWHEREHALO3ANALLUBEWILLGREASEYOUUPANDRUBYOUDOWNMYNAMEISDAVEANIDLOVETOINTERESTYOUINTHEPREORDERRELEASEMADNESSCOUNTDOWNEXTRAVAGANZAFORZELDAPOOPOOWRISTWATCHEDITIONPLEASERESERVENOWTONOTMISSOUTONEXCLUSIVEPREORDERSWAGGYMCBUNDLESITISCURRENTLYSLIGHTLYFOGGYWITHA32PERCENTCHANCEOFPRECIPITATIONANDWINDCHILLFACTOROFHOWMAYIDIRECTYOURGAMINGNEEDSTODAY) much less walking in the fucking place.

 

[isobelle]

the problem with charts like these is the pool sampled.

it's like the stupid saying that "most car accidents happen within 5 milesof you home"... duh, most of the time you use your car, you're going grocery shopping, picking the kids up from school, or driving to the train station to commute to work. most trips taken in a car are short distances.

there's also the shocking fact that cel phone cameras accounted for 800,000% of all pictures taken last year. well, shit. everyone has a fucking cel phone, and i'd say the potion of people that actively carry around an actual camera are pretty slim. it doesn't mean the market for honest to god cameras is in any danger.


if square or capcom fired an emplyee every time some jackalope on the train going to work fired up sudoku on his cel phone to kill 10 minutes, we'd be in trouble.


i don't think we're in trouble.

 

[The Squealing Fairy]

the problem with charts like these is the pool sampled.

it's like the stupid saying that "most car accidents happen within 5 milesof you home"... duh, most of the time you use your car, you're going grocery shopping, picking the kids up from school, or driving to the train station to commute to work. most trips taken in a car are short distances.

there's also the shocking fact that cel phone cameras accounted for 800,000% of all pictures taken last year. well, shit. everyone has a fucking cel phone, and i'd say the potion of people that actively carry around an actual camera are pretty slim. it doesn't mean the market for honest to god cameras is in any danger.


if square or capcom fired an emplyee every time some jackalope on the train going to work fired up sudoku on his cel phone to kill 10 minutes, we'd be in trouble.


i don't think we're in trouble.

My point is this... lots of people play puzzle games and casual games. It doesn't mean that they're idiots any more than someone who can kick ass on the "insane" difficulty in Gears of War is a rocket scientist. And although casual games are going to be put onto Gamestop's shelves, it doesn't mean that GameStop will carry less hardcore games-- in fact, they never said that they would lower their inventory on them. The OP pulled that one out of their ass.

 

[Zavien #2]

A trifle curious....you rant about the ignorance and stupidity of the "casual" gamer, yet on your tag you're a "casual" poster. So we're to take everything you post in a casual fashion, correct; as in, you're ignorant and a moron who doesn't know what he/she is talking about?

Please, satisfy my curiosity, casual poster...

 

[Ripperjack]

Like I've always said... World of Warcraft is the McDonalds of the MMORPG genre.

Care to play some McWarcraft and get your epic purplez happy meal?

Humm... TASTY!

 

[Drg0nzo1]

I'm not misconstruing anything. I'm naming off actual "casual games" -- or at least, considered such by the gaming industry's standards of what a casual game is. I guarantee you that GameStop's announcement-- which, you seemed to misinterpret-- was talking about actual casual games, and not Assassin's Creed or World of Warcraft.

And am I going to tell you that the average gamer is playing puzzle games?

No.. of course not, don't be silly. Just ignore industry research. Haha, research... checking facts-- that's for old , dumb people anyway, right?

And no, I don't have a "puzzle gamez R teh bestest" attitude. I'm presenting facts to you, and you're acting like a moronic pissant about it. At least for now... I'll assume you're acting.

hahahahah, you are going to give me a pie chart of who plays what ONLINE & WIRELESS GAMES? Is this a joke?.....Wireless games?! LOL! Wow...ok...thats too funny.

Cell phone games are SHIT, and the only ones that even play well on a cell phone are puzzle games like Tetris, wheel of fortune, whatever lame quiz/puzzle game you are playing lately. The market fits into exactly what i deemed puzzle/crap games before...and doesn't even apply to what I'm saying here..

While you're at it, why don't you just photocopy the latest crossword puzzle from your newspaper?

Maybe if you actually had a survey that contained non-cell phone games...you would prove a point. And puzzle games were only on ONE survey on that site they MUST be a gaming powerhouse!!!...come on man...lol.

Reread my previous post, k?

 

[Runned]

I buy the paper every day just to play the crossword

 

[Drg0nzo1]

A trifle curious....you rant about the ignorance and stupidity of the "casual" gamer, yet on your tag you're a "casual" poster. So we're to take everything you post in a casual fashion, correct; as in, you're ignorant and a moron who doesn't know what he/she is talking about?

Please, satisfy my curiosity, casual poster...

Ohh yes, the inevitable "you aren't a regular in our forum so fuck off" response. wow...i am speechless. LMAO.

PS, being a regular poster in an obscure forum...doesn't = cool guy. =)

 

[Drg0nzo1]

I buy the paper every day just to play the crossword

Ahhhhhhhh, you newb!!!

LOL, no...thats fine...playing puzzle games etc is not reprehensible or anything. A lot of people do it. I'm just saying it has no impact on the "gamers", they aren't playing them and they are not a recognizable force in the gaming industry aside from cell phones and java games...which do not even fit into the context of gaming that i was speaking of in the first place.

But thanks for changing the whatever w/ cheese to casual poster, that fuckin makes my day.

OH, and next time you feel the urge to call someone a newb...resist....refer to them as a "casual gamer".

 

[Drg0nzo1]

Like I've always said... World of Warcraft is the McDonalds of the MMORPG genre.

Care to play some McWarcraft and get your epic purplez happy meal?

Humm... TASTY!

It really is! And thats why it's so popular! It provides the taste, feel and texture of a meal...but it's really completely void of real food or nutritional value! Apply that to games, boom-bango...you got WoW.

 

[Khatib]

PS, being a regular poster in an obscure forum...doesn't = cool guy. =)

He never said it had anything to do with being cool. He used it as a roundabout way to get to his point that you're a moron and your posts suck.

And I don't know if I'd call it obscure. First off cause you might piss off the people who run it, and you apparently like to lurk here. Second, sorting by views on the news forum makes for probably a million views on the first page alone. Not that this site is necessarily big shit, but it isn't "obscure." And in comparison to your "big shit" forums, most of the content here from registered posters is clever and/or interesting, aside from yours. By the way, throwing out generic white bread opinions about casual gamers and then flaming the responses on an obscure forum != cool guy.

P.S. The != (or alternatively, <>) sign means "not equal." I'd think your average forum goer should know those by now. Just trying to help save you some typing! :yea:

 

[The Squealing Fairy]

Reread my previous post, k?

Okay! Your posts are almost as fun as a rousing game of Bejeweled- nay, Bejeweled 2! I'm not sure why I feel this way, maybe it's because I share your love for the elipses... it's just so awesome.

Gamestop has recently announced that they will start stocking more "casual" games, and less "hardcore" games.

Again, could you please provide us with some proof of this? A link to that announcement perhaps?

 

[Jan]

I, for one, am done feeding this troll.

 

[Zeke The Plumber]

Mmk, not sure what point you are making other than disliking WoW right now but Id like to address your original point.

Games already are mindless and void of creativity. As soon as graphics became the selling points of games they started trending downward. Its getting especially bad on the console side of things, even though I commend games like Guitar Hero for breaking the mold. However I feel as though I won't ever see a game that rivals say "Earthbound" in terms of creativity again.

Maybe Im just not much of a gamer anymore. But platformers seem abrupt and repetitive. RPG's seem void of imagination and charm. Fighting games dont seem to exist outside of smash brothers, the arcade feel having been totally abandoned. First person shooters are the only ones really flourishing right now with Crysis Bioshock and Halo 3. Sadly those just arent my cup of tea.

Online games. I mean bash WoW all you want. Ive played a ton, the best ever being the Guild Wars server on EQEMU. A private mod created for EQ that was simply brilliant. But WoW as an actual game isn't wretched, its mechanics are outstanding. However those running the show have turned it into a revolving door through the same scenery again and again in an attempt to extract cash as opposed to continue greatness.

Anyway, thats my SLASHRANT.

 

[Zavien]

Ohh yes, the inevitable "you aren't a regular in our forum so fuck off" response. wow...i am speechless. LMAO.

PS, being a regular poster in an obscure forum...doesn't = cool guy. =)

Wow....I'm about as irregular in this forum as the next guy or girl, I was simply curious. But you've satisfied my curiosity, and I have to agree that your posts do suck hind tit. I also have the opinion that you should either seek medical help for whatever condition you have or simply kill yourself and do the rest of humanity a favor!

Have a nice day! Great casual posting to ya!

 

[Ripperjack]

Wow....I'm about as irregular in this forum as the next guy or girl

Correction... GUY!

As we all know, there is NO such thing as girls on the Internet. They are all IRL lonely, horny computer geeky guys looking for that nights inspiration, as they take their nightly white-kunckeled ride on the flesh bus! :yeahok:: :freddy:

 

[The Squealing Fairy]

:freddy:

/steals this .gif

 

[Zavien]

I had to lol, RJ...thanks

 

[derkaderka]

Well, it's one thing to be an idiot, it's a completely different thing to play non-hardcore games and prove it.

 

[derkaderka]

Ahhhhhhhh, you newb!!!

LOL, no...thats fine...playing puzzle games etc is not reprehensible or anything. A lot of people do it. I'm just saying it has no impact on the "gamers", they aren't playing them and they are not a recognizable force in the gaming industry aside from cell phones and java games...which do not even fit into the context of gaming that i was speaking of in the first place.

But thanks for changing the whatever w/ cheese to casual poster, that fuckin makes my day.

OH, and next time you feel the urge to call someone a newb...resist....refer to them as a "casual gamer".

K so can we stop calling baseball players athletes then? I mean, they aren't athletes in the context that --------> I <------- think of? KK? rite? rite?

 

[isobelle]

i liked the part where he had three replies to himself over the span of ten minutes.

 

[mven]

Awww. Being so mean to a new guy with the balls to stand up and say "fuck you" to those wanting to end gaming as we know it... FOREVER.

The most casual game that I have played in years is still probably WoW (no matter how uncasually it is usually played [is that even a word?]). And that really stops being casual friendly once you hit max level IMO. Sadly most MMOs, even older games like EQ, have "WoWed" themselves up a good deal. Other than that I am not sure what sort of casual games have come out in recent years to push "real" games out of the picture. I only see this trend having a noticable effect on MMOs which even at their most casual are still ridiculously time consuming. *shrug*