Sony: We've Captured The Hardcore

[Samurai Goomba]

I think actually the wii has, and will never loose the casual gamer.

The thing about casual gamers, they have no loyalty. Dangle something better under their noses, and they'll have forgotten the name Nintendo within a fortnight.

Generally speaking, I do not care for the term "loyal" with regard to gamers. It sounds too positive. Perhaps "too stupid to go with a superior product" would be more appropriate. I'm not speaking of you or the PS3 specifically when I say that, mind, but of every person who refused to play the "something better" that was under their nose.

Gamers should be about playing the best games. Loyalty is for suckers (except with small developers who always make good games, like Treasure and The Behemoth). Why shouldn't I play something better if there's something better to play? I think a true gamer should have no ties or loyalties to any particular platform. If it comes out and it's a good game-play it! I played Nintendo games for many years, then played PS1 and PS2 games up until now, and now I'm planning to play some original Xbox exclusives.

As for Sony, it's great that they think they've captured the "hardcore" market (what exactly are they trying to say with that? Who's definition of hardcore, anyway?) Now maybe if they lowered the prices of their systems and games, some other people could afford to play them, too. Yeah, yeah, they cut the price of some system or other recently, but it definitely wasn't enough. I'm poor, and I'm sure I'm not alone here.

 

[Thurston]

Claiming a potentially contrarian, individualistic mob like "hardcore gamers" as your own corporate lackeys is dangerous thing to do.

Most people don't like the the idea of being "owned" by a corporation.

 

[Rhayn]

I would pay five bucks to see hardcore gamers in a pen. Even more so if they've got the 360 aswell as the PS3 species in the same pen.

 

[Ben Legend]

Again with the useless 'hardcore' and 'casual' labels.

How about trying to capture the market of 'everyone' by making games designed for everyone? Easy accessiblity while still challenging and easy to play in short bursts, yet containing a lot of depth, difficulty and replayability? In theory you'd be profiting more from both groups at once instead of catering to one or the other.

Sony's really having a tough time right now, due to just how they designed their Space Odyssey-esque monolith to be difficult to design games for. And even then, like fix-the-spade said, Sony's relying too much on previous franchises. So in reality they don't have many hardcore PS3 fans, just PS1 ans PS2 fans who've made the jump to PS3 to still play their favorite franchises.

Do you work for Sony? I think you should.

 

[chase211]

Hardcore = PC gamers only... (online games)

This man winz.

ps: OP is rather nitpicky, thread seems to be about getting all upity because sony used the word 'capture' and the OP doesn't want to be a pokemon.

pss: holy shit what is wrong with me I want eyePet

 

[Woe Is You]

yeah but you allways prefered the PS2 didn't you?

That might be explained by it having by far the largest game collection out there of that generation. If all of those games were on the Gamecube instead, most people would've bought that.

Buying some system out of loyalty, though... makes little to no sense. Better just look at the software now and base your decisions on that. A lot of the guys who only own a 360 or a Wii this generation used to be PS2 owners.

 

[Schnippshly]

WTF is a hardcore gamer? A big loser? Somebody that plays really well? What?
I play on XBOX Live and on the PSN all the time and I don't notice any difference between any of the people... I mean, obviously I can't see them, but it's not like everyone on the PS3 has mad skills or something.

 

[Doug]

I would pay five bucks to see hardcore gamers in a pen. Even more so if they've got the 360 aswell as the PS3 species in the same pen.

I suspect that before an hour had passed, they'd have killed each other.

 

[Ilosia]

Trying to get casual gamers to go for the most expensive current gen console? That's one hell of a laugh.

 

[fnph]

I think actually the wii has, and will never loose the casual gamer.

The thing about casual gamers, they have no loyalty. Dangle something better under their noses, and they'll have forgotten the name Nintendo within a fortnight.

Whether they forget the name Nintendo or not is irrelevant. Do you really think casual Wii owners are really going to go out and buy another console? Chances are, it's not going to happen. Say what you like about Nintendo, but they've got the casual market, at least partially because they got there first. Anybody that doesn't own a Wii isn't about to buy a more expensive console for casual gaming. Taking that into account, there's practically nobody left in the casual market for the PS3 to appeal to.

On the Team Ico note, am I a gamer if I've never played one of their games but want to?

 

[Samurai Goomba]

yeah but you allways prefered the PS2 didn't you?

That might be explained by it having by far the largest game collection out there of that generation. If all of those games were on the Gamecube instead, most people would've bought that.

Buying some system out of loyalty, though... makes little to no sense. Better just look at the software now and base your decisions on that. A lot of the guys who only own a 360 or a Wii this generation used to be PS2 owners.

... What? NO! oh you misunderstood me, I was asking why he was complaining about a price cut to the PS2 when his sister(?) sold his and brought a Wii, I thought he would be elated for a cheaper PS2. I don't expect him to WANT to upgrade

Well, I already got my PS2 now. And yeah, the PS2 rocks simply because of the games library and for pretty much no other reason. The Sony hardware in the PS2 actually isn't very well-designed (you have to rip apart your system if the disc drive messes up-no manual opening method) and the controllers are extremely flimsy (I'm replacing one about every 4-6 months).

My problem is that Sony really hasn't given me a reason to want to upgrade to a PS3. They're more expensive, have a smaller library (obviously, unless you go for the 60-gig ones, but leeching off the PS2 library shouldn't count), stupid gimmick Sixaxis controls that don't work and, while the free Internet thing is good, I've heard the online service on the PS3 isn't anywhere near as amazing as the now-fairly-refined Xbox Live experience.

Then again, Microsoft can't seem to make 360s that actually work, and Nintendo's system just really doesn't appeal to me at all. My sister has a Wii (as mentioned). She's had it for several months, and I still haven't bought a single game for it. There's just nothing on the Wii that looks good enough for me to want to buy.

Frankly, I'm somewhat disappointed in all the major systems. The 360 and PS3 could potentially be good somewhere down the road, but I don't feel either of them are there yet. Right now I'm sticking to last-gen games until one of the companies gives me a reason not to. I can pick up stacks of last-gen games (games that aren't even 5 years old) for the price of just one new Wii, 360 or PS3 game.

 

[Velocirapture07]

This article made me laugh. Sony can't be serious....the only hardcore players they have are the fanboys who could afford to buy the damn thing. Good luck getting the "casual gamers"...

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

This article made me laugh. Sony can't be serious....the only hardcore players they have are the fanboys who could afford to buy the damn thing. Good luck getting the "casual gamers"...

...Or people who prefer the system compared to what is on the other two. I don't like the games offered on the Wii, so that one is out. The exclusive games that I like on the 360 usually end up better on the PC, and the PS3 works as a backwards compatable machine without having to have multiple systems hooked up to my TV. Plus, the library of exclusives are very high quality and very good. It's win win. The only downside was how pricey it was. The Xbox is almost as pricey if you want one that has a decent hard drive, not to mention Live. As well, having to replace the damn thing regularly is more than just an "inconvenience" to those who only have one system.

Honestly, I'm surprised that people still buy XBox 360s considering their failure rate. It's one thing that astounds me that people will put up with shoddy product to such a degree just to get a game...

 

[CoziestPigeon]

Lulz, sony actually thinking they are doing well compared to the other 2...

 

[Doug]

This - basically, grow up Mazty. I hold that you aren't a gamer yourself, you're merely a fanboy trying to declare yourself 'ze Master Race of gaming!' And yeah, I know PC gamers joke about that after the whole Yahtzee thing, but yeah, its a joke!

How about you actually play a Team Ico game before trying to comment on them...Considering they are probably one of the only publishers who can cross the art/game boundary

I wasn't actually commenting on Team Ico, as I've repeatedly stated. I was commenting on Indigo's, and apparently your own aggronance of passing judgement on who is a gamer based on your own subjective standards.

And you've not played 'The Path', have you? I didn't particularly like it, but it is an art game. Again, grow up.

 

[Woe Is You]

Hahahaha, no, Mazty, I can't take you seriously anymore. You don't know why Infocom is an important company in the history of gaming and something gamers should know about (and at least tried their games) but you still manage to be supremely arrogant about your arbitrary requirements of what constitutes a gamer. Or a good gamer, since we're moving goalposts.

 

[edgeofblade]

Poor poor Sony. I thought we discussed this before. You can't go around claiming victory until you actually achieve victory.

 

[Doug]

Hahahaha, no, Mazty, I can't take you seriously anymore. You don't know why Infocom is an important company in the history of gaming and something gamers should know about (and at least tried their games) but you still manage to be supremely arrogant about your arbitrary requirements of what constitutes a gamer. Or a good gamer, since we're moving goalposts.

Agreed. With have Indigo v2.0 here, I think. Fine and polite until the topic of Sony/PS3 comes up, heh.

 

[Nomad]

On behalf of all Tribals everywhere:
Sony, my cock, suck it. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtnIKvnuKlI]

Hardcore my arse.

Looked fun, I think I might get it.

Actually, they get it, you don't. The have captured all of us, and you can't escape it. Two words, dude - Team Ico. You cannot not play their next game and still be considered hardcore, you simply cannot do it. Of course, the Pub Fund thing isn't likely to hurt.

... What? I've played Shadow of the Colossus, but it doesn't make me any more or less of a gamer. You don't have to play certain titles in order to be called a gamer. All you need is to have a genuine interest in gaming, and you're there. That's like saying you're not really a driver if you're not driving a Volvo. Or aren't really filling your car with gas if it doesn't come from Shell. Just because you played and liked something, it doesn't make it a universal requirement for everyone else. Seriously, what are you getting at?

I think actually the wii has, and will never loose the casual gamer.

The thing about casual gamers, they have no loyalty. Dangle something better under their noses, and they'll have forgotten the name Nintendo within a fortnight.

... As they should, then? Why stick with an inferior product..?
Anyway, I doubt that's even true. Sadly, nintendo fans are the most adamant fans I've ever come across - even more adamant than you seem to be about sony.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

I think actually the wii has, and will never loose the casual gamer.

The thing about casual gamers, they have no loyalty. Dangle something better under their noses, and they'll have forgotten the name Nintendo within a fortnight.

But isn't being loyal despite the fact it's not as impressive being a fanboy?