Wii U too late to capture the Hardcore crowd?

[Jammy2003]

So am I the only one who thinks they are on to something here? I doubt that this is going to "win" the console war or anything and phase out Xbox or PS, but it's truly an interesting concept. I think the thing they are going for here is not the hardcore crowd particularly, and it's weird people seem to think it will be a fail if it doesn't attract us guys who could even be considered "hardcore". (I hate that phrase, it's just the way people begin arguments about who's system is better, or can do more shit, whatever happened to just enjoying games?)

Think of it this way, this looks like it is finally fulfilling what all those sci-fi films promised would happen in the future, this one box that can do everything you want it to. I don't know about the specs, I looked briefly and they looked pretty good, so did the graphics demo video, but it's the functionality of this that kinda draws me to it. Look at it this way, this controller promises to be able to play your game only using the controller, not needing the tv, and still be multiplayer/better than standard handhold gaming systems. It will have an internet connection and so will, I suppose, support web-browsing etc. (To me, it looks like it could basically be used as a tablet as well, with a wireless internet connection).

Now I dunno about you guys, but one of my parents complaints is that they don't see enough of me at all, as I'm off doing my own thing upstairs most of the time as they watch tv. I'm sure this can't just be my parents, and for anyone under the age of having a job to earn money, who are the ones in the family who buy the console? So if you can do that, and be sat in the same room as them, then that makes them happier.

Basically, if they time the release right (say, a year before the next gen of PS/360 comes out?) I think this could get a chunk of the "hardcore" gamers back, will still keeping all their new customer base, and more. I think it's a truly interesting bit of kit, and I look forward to seeing how it all pans out.

Edit: Wow, just read the news about the stock prices hitting the floor, so maybe I am the only one thinking that...

 

[teh_Canape]

I'm gonna admit, that "Hardcore Gamers" name/denomination is really fucking annoying me

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

There are already hardcore gamers with Nintendo. Nobody in their right minds would want to miss out on those first party titles.

I second that.

The Nintendo originals are real, quality games. I don't care if I can't play a state-of-the-art Call of Duty game on my Wii. Anytime I want to play a game of popular mediocrity, I can go to a friend's house, but for the best of the best games I bend my knee to Nintendo.

Certainly, Nintendo has a different breed of hardcore gamer, but we are out there.

Yeah, it's called casual.
Suck it up.
Accept it.
Live with it.
*cocks PSG1* Now back to Team Deathmatch!

The point of being a hardcore gamer is that you are a loyal follower.

Also, Call of Duty is about as casual a game as you can get. Hardcore gamers follow the real game series' n development, like the Mass Effect games. hardcore games put themselves out as being new, exciting, and actually pull it off as real quality gaming art. Call of Duty may have been hardcore gaming once in a distant past, but that is long gone. The games are the same, mundane experiences every time.

In fact, I'd say Nintendo has more Hardcore gamers than other systems, if only because its people will stick by the old classics. For instance, my favorite game of all time is Ocarina of Time, because it's an amazing game, not because its mainstream and cool to play. Certainly, Wii games have left the mainstream of the important body of gamers, meaning most of its games are popular only with younger kids, but its good games, mostly Nintendo originals, are the very best of the best for fans.

As much as I recognize the complete lack of the meaning of the term Hardcore gamer as it seems to be commonly used, I will still fight to point out that Call of Duty does not fit the Hardcore criteria.

The way I see it, Hardcore gaming is about the games that were large investments of effort followed by success in creating truly high-quality experiences. The Call of Duty developers can hardly be considered to put much of a real effort into anything. They crank up the graphics from the last game, redesign the maps and skins, and then release the newest clone of Modern Warfare. To be honest, for all of that, they only put out a frustrating, unrealistic, crudely designed war simulator wearing the guise of a realistic shooter.

To summarize my rant: Hardcore gamers are the people that care about the games and their real qualities (i.e. graphics not on the top of priorities list), not just the popularity of the title. You pretty much have to be a hardcore gamer to even bother with Nintendo, because none of the games are aesthetically overwhelming or overmarketed as I feel most mainstream games are. On the contrary, they are completely focused on narrative, gameplay, and fluidity.