Hatchetforce, a user on Kotaku, discussing the rise of casual gamers' influence in game development decision-making (link):
"The Wii will be the damnation of hard core gamers. I hate squatters.
Now I know how bears in a park feel when people show up, cut down a bunch of great trees and have paved roads put in to make it more 'accessible'. Then they fuck the place up with the garbage, start a fire or two and leave. I hate 'em."
Hahaha. The only possibly untrue component of his comparison is that the casual gamers flocking to the Wii may not leave. It has been a year and a half since Nintendo's newest flagship console launched and the casual gamers do not appear to have abandoned the console. Had they done so, we would be seeing more used Wiis in GameStops, more used Wiis on eBay, and eventually a trickling-in of new Wiis on store shelves. The fact that the Wii, even used, continues to be a rare sight for American consumers suggests that this metaphor, while humorous, is wrong.
Still, it was a great laugh, and I hope my analysis hasn't ruined it for you. :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The sense of selfish entitlement and fear shown by "Hatchetforce" is pathetic and completely unjustified.
I actually love the fact that the Wii has brought droves of people (other than males age 12-25) to gaming. There was a particularly good story in the Chicago Sun-Times about a month ago about how nursing homes are increasingly using the Wii both for patient entertainment and for therapeutic purposes. These old people who probably couldn't pick up a bowling ball or tennis racket for fear of breaking a bone or, at the least, inflaming their arthritis are now able to enjoy a pastime they long for!
Meanwhile I don't see any flagging in titles produced for XBox or PS3 designed for the people who want to dedicate hours and hours to defeating a boss or honing their 5k1llz. If there is any decrease, though, the overall detriment is vastly outweighed by the good done by the Wii for non-traditional gamers.
Agreed. You are precisely correct in my opinion: it is a sense of entitlement and fear. Precisely! But I still find his comment funny and, as one of the "bears in the park," were it not for what I've already written I think I'd find myself in agreement with his humorous snarky finisher of "I hate 'em."
I agree that what the Wii has brought, if seen in evolutionary terms, is "broadening the niche beyond one species," i.e. introducing competitor species. The old species had a monopoly over the niche and now he fears for his very way of life because of the competition. In the words of Charles Darwin and Sam Walton? TOUGH. ^^;
Post a Comment