So. Easy Mode, huh? Okay.
I always figured the hate was unfounded. Why? Because some of us enjoy the escapism or diegetic value of games, but aren't the most skilled min/maxers, power-levellers or twitch gamers out there. Some of us might enjoy Dark Souls for its design and basic premise, but be pretty bad at surviving its challenges.
According to some fairly overreacting types, if I can't play the game on Normal, I don't get to play at all. I lose my gaming license. I'm officially declared a Tryhard and a Noob and told to pack my bags and leave. Why? Because by God, this game is for the Hardest of Core, and we won't tolerate no Filthy Casuals in our midst!
That kind of attitude is just really sickening.
I like DotA, for instance. I'm not good at it, I stick with bot matches and play with close friends who don't mind my turning into a complete wash - but I like it. Is my lack of skill an invalidation of my right to play the game? Of course not! Why?
Because one gamer's lack of skill isn't something like cooties, people. You can't catch The Fail like you can chlamydia. It's my sixty bucks, isn't it? Shouldn't I have the right to use it like the way I want? Some communities become closed-off circles where only players who have proven their worth are allowed, and this becomes such a noxious atmosphere that you're automatically kicked out of a game that's about to start. I suck at BlOps II, for instance. Even if I do, is the fact of booting me out of any and all matches I join because of my lack of Prestige a valid way to go about making sure you're playing with people of a sufficiently high skill level? You could try hosting private games and building up your Friends list, for instance. Just saying.
Consider Dark Souls. Let's say Easy Mode does get implemented and it allows me to enjoy the level design, story and mechanics the same way a person of higher skill does for standard gameplay rules. How does that, in any way, invalidate your right to play the game using basic settings? How does the game's code containing an OPTIONAL OPTION (the repetition is intended) to lower the difficulty level prevent you from NOT choosing and NOT playing on Easy?
The answer is, it doesn't.
I haven't met a lot of elitist gamers in my time but the few I *have* met were ultimately immature and insecure. You're saying your ego and general sense of self-worth and accomplishment depends on you clearing a video game on the hardest difficulty? That's it? One game played on Normal or Easy and your ego is destroyed? Then, my friend, you've got problems.
A game is just that. A pastime. A hobby. A lark. A game doesn't net you skills or a job or a roof to call your own or food on your plate. Be worried if you can't procure one of these things for yourself as an adult - but Easy Mode?
Yeah. That's really in the nadir of Things to be Considered Important in Everyday Life.