Miyamoto Refocusing on Hardcore; Casual Gamers' Passive Attitude "Pathetic"

[Something Amyss]

Oh please... first its all "Hardcore isnt our market anymore, casuals is where its at" with the Wii... and when said casuals leave you for mobile devices you suddenly act like "damn them casuals! They arent real gamers anyways! Lets focus on the hardcore crowd again!"

First of, there's that. But closely related:

"Their attitude is, 'okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.' It's kind of a passive attitude they're taking, and to me it's kind of a pathetic thing."

It's kind of what you're supposed to do, though. Do your freaking job. This comes off as petulant whining. Especially since they spent a generation advertising their games as shiny squeak toys for children.

 

[Jacked Assassin]

No mention of removing that gimmicky touchscreen & replacing it with Wired / Wireless GameCube Controllers.

....

Yeah, I don't think Miyamoto wants my money.

 

[AJ_Lethal]

Prolly he learned the casual/passive gamer does not have a sense of loyalty, but on "jumping in the next hot thing".

 

[AJ_Lethal]

double post

 

[iniudan]

In fairness, he might have meant apathetic. It fits better with the context, and is an easy mistake to make if English isn't your first language (although the interview may have been in Japanese for all I know).

Miyamoto usually do all his interview in Japanese with a translator for other languages, even if he understand and speak English, just as to be more spontaneous in the discussion.

 

[CaitSeith]

Passive gamer... does somebody here knows the definition of that term? I think it's the first time I hear it.

I know that mobile market and videogames together sounds really bad (and a lot of bad games validate it). But looking closely I don't see the usual "giving the mobile audience what they are used to have" tone that other companies like EA use; and that's a plus, isn't it?

 

[gigastar]

How is "going where the money is" something to be criticized for? It's what businesses do, and Nintendo's push for the casual market with the Wii made them mad dough while it lasted. The fact that Nintendo isn't stupid enough to stay on a sinking ship isn't something to be mad about.

Its not about that they decided to try and find a new or larger audience with thier produce, but rather that they kept trying to appeal to said audience long after they moved on to Android and iOS devices. How much better could the WiiU have been if they got thier 2013 fiscal report a year or two earlier?

Or at least thats how it is for me. Opinions vary, of course.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

I'm pretty happy to hear he knows that the mobile market is sweeping up casual gaming. I was worried Nintendo would constantly try to hammer home to a market that is less and less interested in them. They're always going to be seen as the "safe" brand for the casual market, but it's good to know they're refocussing.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

in other words

GIT GUD CASUAL!

many people told nintendo this a good while ago, they couldve saved themselves the whole WiiU debacle!

the problem is not casual games themselves, but they shouldnt focus too much on those, release a few of those here and there, but you should count on them to sustain your company in the long run

in the end while less in number, your hardcore players are arguably your most important fans, they are your tech priests, converting people to your console, they probide the most useful feedback, they make promotional material for you for free

 

[Redd the Sock]

Thus reenforcing my belief the man is a god.

It isn't difficult to get: the Wii was supposed to be the gateway drug to get people to see a wider world of gaming, and so many were happy to stay in the doorway. In out efforts to try and not judge others for playing differently, we forgot that "casual gamers" were on par with people that wouldn't eat an unfamiliar food, or try a new vacation spot, or read a new author. It's a purposeful limiting of one's experience and it's fair to look down on it a bit.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

This is most likely bad translation or meaning lost during translation. I doubt Miyamoto, as a public figure and face of Nintendo would use that kind of language to talk about their costumer. It doesn't seem like something Nintendo would do.

However, I agree with the statement. The passive attitude ticks me off as well.

'okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.'

I'm all for this new mindset that Nintendo has, but isn't this kinda the ultimate point of video games? To be entertained? Anyway, here's hoping for the best for Nintendo

I think it's more like "Here is a video game, entertain yourself". Rather than having everything served to you, you have to invest yourself into games if you want the most enjoyment out of them. More than with movies or books or any other non-interactive entertainment.

 

[Vivi22]

'okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.'

I'm all for this new mindset that Nintendo has, but isn't this kinda the ultimate point of video games? To be entertained? Anyway, here's hoping for the best for Nintendo

The point he's making is that they want someone else to do the work for them, whereas playing games is very much interactive, and you can get a lot more out of it if you put a bit more effort into learning to play games beyond Bejeweled or Doodle Jump. People who are casual gamers would typically see something like a 3D platformer, or even a simple FPS as too complicated and give up before they even try them. Those aren't people that are gamers. They're people who play simple games so they can pass the time without ever having to commit to something.

 

[deth2munkies]

People are misconstruing what he said. People are wanting games these days where everything's upfront, everything's free, and there's little to no challenge involved. He's saying that "casuals" just want a "passive" experience where they have minimal participation in what's going on in the game.

That's opposed to a more active experience created by tactics, competitive multiplayer, and high difficulty that makes you work for your fun.

If it gives us more old school tactics and JRPGs (recently, Fire Emblem: Awakening and Bravely Default), I'm all for it.

 

[And Man]

snip

snip

Alright, yeah, that makes sense and is much more reasonable

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Personally I don't think it makes much sense to focus entirely on one or the other, but instead make games form both the "hardcore" *heavy sarcastic air quotes* and "casual." However as long as "focusing on the Hardcore" doesn't mean jumping on the Call of Duty bandwagon, I'm ok with this.

 

[Fox12]

'okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.'

I'm all for this new mindset that Nintendo has, but isn't this kinda the ultimate point of video games? To be entertained? Anyway, here's hoping for the best for Nintendo

I can understand, in the sense that games can be more than pulp fun. They can say something. They can make the gamer question his or her values, or explore complex character. Just look at spec ops and SH2. The problem is that Nintendo has never made these kinds of games.

 

[omega 616]

I think it's pathetic you make a game, skin Mario characters on to it and then people eat it up! Or the bare faced fucking cheek of remaking a pokémon game! They are all more or less the same game with different pokémon, all they have to do is think up another 100 or so and BAM, 2 new games (which is cheeky as well. Imagine if street fighter did that, released 2 versions of the same game with 5 fighters exclusive to one and a different 5 exclusive to the other) ... then to not even be bothered to think of another 100+, and just remake an old game but people still go ape shit for it!

I think it's fucked up people hate on COD for being the same game every year, when it probably has more changes than the Mario Franchise.

I think Nintendo is the most over rated company by a huge mile.

 

[gargantual]

*CLAPS*

" Thats what I like to hear. You go, Mr Miyamoto. Now show'em yo' motto!"

Come on people. Take microtransactions and skinner boxes out of the picture. End of the day who's gonna spend the money, or wait up all night to be first. Others are shallow, they don't respect games the same way, why prioritize them first?

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

That headline is incredibly misleading. Nowhere does Miyamoto say anything about 'casuals', just gamers who expect the game to be driving the entertainment as opposed to gamers who use the game to create challenge for themselves.

 

[Nurb]

Ohhh, so now that the "casuals" went to the next interesting gadget, they're "pathetic" since they left Nintendo with the core fans that made them money in the first place.

Now they're begging their original gamer fans to come back.

Spoiler: Don't forget they called the hardcore fans Solitary Anti-social Teenagers (Pic)