Are hard-core gamers being "nudged aside" in favor of a growing demographic of non-traditional gamers?
Longtime industry pundit Chris Morris argues at Forbes that the "vocal minority" that helped to make games like Grand Theft Auto a household name matters less, as games with a broader appeal take on greater relevance.
The argument is sound: Supposedly soft-core titles like Spore are selling like gangbusters regardless of what the gaming elite has to say about them. And the success of the Wii, despite the fact that hard-core gamers prefer their next-gen high-def behemoths, is a sure sign that something is happening to the industry.
But citing the surge in popularity of casual games and explaining that the hardcore gamer matters less is skirting the real issue. The natural evolution of gaming – like any entertainment medium – ultimately leads to content creators attempting to reach the largest possible audience. This is a combination of wanting to get their message out to as many people as possible and going where the cash is.
As a result, what we're seeing here isn't just the rise of the casual.
It's the gradual replacement of gaming's traditional intended audience by a new hard-core, as developers spend less time and resources trying to out-gun the latest high-res blockbuster shooter, and more time following the money trail.
Games like Bejeweled and Tetris prove that you can make a killing, pulling in traditional gamers and (more importantly) curious folks who've got $5 and a moment to spare, without burning tens of millions in development costs. What's not to like about that?
Plenty, if you're not a member of the intended audience. Especially when that intended audience is a previously untapped revenue stream, and sales potential begets lackluster titles that someone, somewhere is buying (see the phenomenal sales records of Ubisoft's Petz series and its ilk, for reference).
Of course, it's not all crapware. Some core gamers, myself included, enjoy The Sims, and won't begrudge EA the money they're printing with the title's prolific expansions. After all, we don't have to buy games we don't like. But as long as game developers have mouths to feed, they'll make games that sell, and they will sell them to as many people as possible.
In a sense, the enigmatic "core gamer" we hear so much about isn't being nudged to the side, or ignored. They're just being replaced by a much larger core audience, a mass of wallets and pocketbooks that prefers cheaper, simpler games.
Image: Nintendo
Requiem For The Hardcore [Forbes]
