Why we need Casual Gamers

[BehattedWanderer]

So I stumbled upon this little article:

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/03/my_husbands_having_an_affair_w.php

Ladies and gents...

This is an issue. This is why we need to branch out, try to bring in as many as we can to understand the complexity, the involvement, the immersion of gaming. They don't have to understand or be able to master the skills that we have. They don't have to play much more than a few titles. They don't have to game with us.

But they need to understand: This isn't just a hobby, something we do on the side, this isn't what we do when there's nothing else to do, this isn't something that is a little quirk--this is what we are! We are gamers, full blooded, always ready to game. Not understanding that this is something that's beyond habit for us is tantamount to saying you don't know why we wear shoes! There is a huge gap between even an average gamer and those who do not understand what gaming is about, or why we pick up those controllers or stroke those keys.

It is casual games that are needed to bridge this gap. They have the ability to introduce people to gaming, get them familiar with the concept, the satisfaction, and lead them into playing different kinds of games. They're the gateway, as it were. We need them, so that gaming can move beyond a simple pasttime into a recognized motive.

What say you, escapists?

 

[Jekken6]

Yeah, but the BEST games are not 'casual games.'

 

[THAC0]

Well, i can see a lot of plus sides to expanding the gaming community, so i'm on board.

 

[siffty]

fill up servers

 

[tsolless]

Should I make a joke about "Mom Logic"? Probably not.

Well at least they use an appropriate name! ... Oh damn it. I can't resist.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

She thought 'Zelda' was a game where you played as Zelda? If she had even glanced at the screen, she would have seen a MALE character being controlled by her husband. Most of the comments came from close-minded housewives who think that gaming is something simply for 12-year-old boys. Seriously... Gamers and the Video Game Industry in general need some better PR.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

She thought 'Zelda' was a game where you played as Zelda? If she had even glanced at the screen, she would have seen a MALE character being controlled by her husband. Most of the comments came from close-minded housewives who think that gaming is something simply for 12-year-old boys. Seriously... Gamers and the Video Game Industry in general need some better PR.

The guy spends all his time playing a video game and neglects his marriage.

Or so it seems... I bet that if you calculated the number of hours he spends playing video games, and compared them to time spent doing other things, particularly time with his wife, or at work, you'd find that he's not really that bad. If I'm wrong, then that's something else entirely, but she should have calculated his gaming into the relationship from the very beginning. It's partially her fault. If she's unhappy in her marriage, then she shouldn't have married him.

 

[S-Unleashed]

I say you make a great ponit.

 

[Crapster]

Casual gamers are needed to keep Nintendo afloat financially so they can occasionally release a kick ass first party game.

 

[Lyiat]

It is things like these that make me happy that my fiancee' is just as much of a gamer I am...

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I see there is already quite a bit of elitism stirring. I find it rather appalling, but then again not everyone can let go of their gaming bigotry.

Personally, I'm all for the expansion of casual games. Those with easier ways than 10 buttons and 2 analog sticks can begin to gain a better understanding of our chosen entertainment.

Or maybe he should stop being a manchild. When you marry, you have to make compromises, like reducing the amount of time you spend on things like video gaming.

I don't think that was the issue so much as he never included her in his playing, or really gave her a reason at all to connect with it. A shame really, especially after the inevitable murder-suicide when he finds her with her tennis instructor and allowing Thompson to blame games.

 

[tsolless]

I said it earlier today and I will say it again.

There is no highway connecting the nations of Conception, Development, Publication, and Release. And there is no tollbooths on this non existent highway. There is also no game limit to these no where to be seen tollbooths on this hypothetical highway.

Games being released that you don't like do not harm you or prevent you from later on getting a game that you would like. They effect you nothing, so why care?

 

[Lizmichi]

I laugh at the women that commented that if her husband played an MMO she'd sleep around. XD

 

[Flying-Emu]

Yeah, but the BEST games are not 'casual games.'

You know, games started off as what we would today call "casual." Asteroids, Centipede, Pitfall, all of these games are as casual as you can get. And all of those games are considered gems, classics if you will, various high points in gaming.

 

[Void(null)]

I can see where you are coming form OP, but I also have absolutely zero patience for the teething pains that come with people going through the baby steps and infancy into full fledged gamers. The whine threads, the bagging, the constant demands for nerfs or easier difficulty and the pure unadulterated rage and hatred when they are not automatically handed a win or a victory. Especially if it involves something competitive like PVP.

I would honestly rather have gaming be small, and looked down upon again... but have high quality titles, bustling arcades and that gamer comradely that was formed between small groups of individuals... rather than mass acceptance, huge development budgets that rival some movies and games that need to be easily marketable to the lowest common denominator for them to see a return on their investment.

I don't begrudge casual gamers their casual games, but I want my gaming old school and refuse to make concessions for the whining masses.

 

[Justanothergamer300]

The biggest problem is that most casual gamers or pick up and players don't buy real games or what I like to call em games with depth. Do you really think that a house wife who's satisfied with Wii Sports Resort will by Okami, No More Heroes, or the Conduit. I really don't see that happening. But at least they will somewhat understand video games when some douche tries to put a anti-video game law up and that's a plus.

 

[ElDestructo]

Playing video games can be an unhealthy addiction, just like almost anything else. It doesn't seem like the husband in the given article is an incredibly "hardcore" gamer - he seems more like the kind of guy who just plays them to waste time. (Obviously not enough information is given in the admittedly biased article for me to base this conclusion on, it's just my impression.) It wouldn't matter if the wife "understood" gaming or not, she would still be justified in wanting her husband to prefer her over his video games, much like if I were married I would want my wife to value our relationship more than any of the things that she loved to do. Any relationship will require both people involved to put priorities on their interests in relation to the other person. (Now, if the wife were to try to get the husband to give up gaming altogether, that's a totally different thing and is more selfish in nature.) I don't see what casual gaming has to do with the posted article at all really, unless it would be to provide games that both the husband and wife can play together, but I doubt either of them would actually be interested in that.

As far as casual gaming goes, the gaming industry is about making money. If they can make more money by making casual games in order to appeal to a wider audience, then video game companies will do that. I doubt there will really ever be any other motive than that for making casual games, regardless of what gamers think about them.

 

[Alex_P]

But they need to understand: This isn't just a hobby, something we do on the side, this isn't what we do when there's nothing else to do, this isn't something that is a little quirk--this is what we are! We are gamers, full blooded, always ready to game.

I feel like a lot of gamers would be better off if they didn't think like this.

-- Alex

 

[Jekken6]

Yeah, but the BEST games are not 'casual games.'

You know, games started off as what we would today call "casual." Asteroids, Centipede, Pitfall, all of these games are as casual as you can get. And all of those games are considered gems, classics if you will, various high points in gaming.

I don't know about asteroids, that game got really fucking hard.

But i should of phrased my first post better. I meant that the best games in [at leasta decade] did not fit the 'casual' bill. Although, some had casual appeal, like the GTA games. But a lot of those missions were also pretty fucking hard.

But, really, casual gamers only piss me off when they think they know what they're talking about (in relation to gaming) and sequels/spin offs get dumbed down to appeal to them mentally handicapped casuals.

/rant

 

[Satin6T]

No we don't need too many casual games/gamers
thats why we have an influx of crappy games
I really didn't mind when it was unpopular to be a gamer
it meant if you were gonna buy a game, it was gonna be good

now we have 40 versions of freaking guitar hero