I'm old school. Played the NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, etc.
Now over the years Ive seen things come and go... Atari lynx, Sega Gamegear, the Dreamcast. Nintendo losing the title of King to Sony during the n64 to gamecube years and the emergence of Microsoft with the Xbox.
If there is one thing that hasn't changed... It is that Nintendo is an extraordinary company. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo doesn't have extra resources or other branches of tech that they can get money from. The Money is exclusively coming form the one thing they focus on: Gaming.
Nintendo is probably the only gaming company in existence to have proven that they can survive and profit exclusively from their 1st party games.
now before I go praising Nintendo any further... I will admit I am a fanboy for Nintendo. But not really for the company itself. Only for one IP: Fire Emblem. Why? Its due to that it is that great a game. Give me an option between any game u can think of vs a Fire Emblem game and I'll choose the FE game every time. Now unto the point of this Rant before I derail myself any further.
The Hardcore Gamer... Too many times this term has been blurred and how do I say this...? Slandered to different meanings that not many people agree on 100%. For some its playing Call of Duty. For others its about owning one of the HD twins the PS3 or the Xbox 360. For others it could be that playing M+ games whilst ignoring games like Mario, Kirby, DK, or any E rated game makes one hardcore and lol "Grownup" (LMAO being Grown Up is about being mature and I see nothing but immature and childish concerning this version of hardcore.)
None of that is hardcore that is bullshit. Any REAL gamer knows this to be true. What is a hardcore gamer? for me its being someone that can complete a game no matter what Genre, ESRB rating, or difficulty the game may be. Hardcore wud be someone who really doesn't give a shit about these so called console wars. Why? Because real Hardcore gamers get all the available consoles and not play favourites. This sadly Rules me out of being hardcore as I favor Fire Emblem and because Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo I favor Nintendo above all else.
Now why am I making such distinctions of what hardcore is? Don't worry this is very much related to the main point. Having said all this about the hardcore, These "fake" hardcore seem to to think Nintendo has wronged them. Bringing on the Wii and its Motion Controls, Sub par 480p graphics, no AA nor Upscale, no HDMI, no Blu Ray, Finally gone to DVD only when it became obsolete and inferior. Kiddy games, not enough Exclusives, no Original IPs (which this one the complaint is rightly grounded as they do need new IPs), the rehashing of Old franchises, etc. But Most of all, the so called Betrayal that Nintendo went to the darkside by aiming for a non existent market which is now known as the casual market. These fakers think that Nintendo abandoned the hardcore gamer for these casual sheep. How retarded are you people.
I find it pretty sad that people still think that Nintendo abandoned the "hardcore gamer" when it was that same audience that abandoned Nintendo all those years ago. Starting with the n64 was when the so called "hardcore" left and went to the PS1. Sales weren't great but the best game ever came out on n64 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Though my personal choice be Majora's Mask). then came PS2 and GameCube. Granted the GC did look like a lunchbox but i actually liked it especially the "handle" as it makes carrying it much easier whilst at the time ps2 didn't have its slim version and was clunkier. GameCube had more power than ps2, only limited by Nintendo's refusal to adopt dvd and instead went for propriety minidvd. Had Nintendo gone with dvd this gen would have been completely different.
The n64 and GC era showed Nintendo that the hardcore don't give a shit about Nintendo anymore. Nintendo then did what they had to do: just as the hardcore ignored the Big N, Nintendo would ignore the hardcore back. Nintendo then decided to go for a new market that would give Nintendo attention and this gen is the result of that. Whilst the hardcore were all at Sony or ms side, the new gamers aka the casuals started by the masses, siding with Nintendo, and returning Nintendo to its Rightful spot in the world: King of the Gaming Industry aka 1st place as it should be.
Now whether the casuals will go to MS's Kinect will be another topic altogether but nevertheless, There are haters of Nintendo for this reason: going casual. These fake hardcore haters, whom may I add are the scum of the gaming industry, blame Nintendo for this motion gen and bash Nintendo whenever it feels appropriate for anything which is no less than trolling. Not once they thought it was their fault. Well as a keen observer I can guarantee you that is definitely those fakers own fault for the way Nintendo is currently. For those who still bitch about casual Nintendo for those who call themselves hardcore yet bash Nintendo, know that the reason why the wii is a "casual device" and that Nintendo went casual that you forced them into that position. Ye who think Nintendo abandon thee has it wrong its the other way around! Ye abandoned Nintendo!
Why does thou bitch so much when it is your doing that Nintendo is this way. Hypocrites and Double Standarding Scumbags... Scourge of the Industry.
Am I disappointed with the way Nintendo currently is right now? Contrary to this rant Hell no. If it hadn't gone this way... We would not have seen Mario Galaxy, or Kirby Epic yarn. No remake of Goldeneye, No DKCR, No Wiimote, No to alot of things that are great and what makes the Wii a great console to own. I played Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn for Wii and I finished the game Completely Satisfied as if Nintendo knew how to make sure I enjoy the game. So There. Done. Thats why I don't see any wrong with Nintendo going casual and you know what? It's probably for the best. I mean without the Wii's great sales, where else would Nintendo get the money for Devving the 3DS and Wii2 without relying on 1st party sales? Once again Nintendo only does Gaming they have nothing else to fall back on. So as I sit back contemplating to purchase a Virtual Boy as I found a working condition virtual boy from a tip by a good friend of mine while typing this... Currently I enjoy what Nintendo has to offer. For me they haven't changed. You kids say they went casual? Say what you want but the games they release remain top notch and make most PS3 or 360 seem pitiful in comparison.
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Piracy is slowly killing the wii i think. So many people around me did not buy any games for the console. The only official one they have is wiisports...
Nintendo is making effort to bring great games with higher difficulty settings on the wii, but they are disappointed with the sales and i think that piracy will slowly kill any enthusiasm from the developers, and make them go somewhere else. Move is getting a big part of these devs, and many gamers like the trophy/achievement system and online games. Two others things that Nintendo is not providing. Online is extremly broken on wii, it's like playing online 10 years ago with the ps2, and there is no persistent sign of achievement for gamers to show their addiction or love to particulars games.
It's a fact that more than 80 percent of the wii games library is focusing on the casual crowd, no-one can deny that, and now i think it's too late to try to keep the hardcore gamers on the wii.
Excellent blog post! Loved your analysis of the hardcore gamer, and I'll say this: I agree 100%.
However I do think that you should post this blog somewhere else. This pathetic website is infested by ps3 fanboys and closed minded trolls, and it doesn't seem right that such an intelligent and well written blog post remains here.
That said, here's a picture I thought you might like :P
http://www.duelinganalogs.c...
meh i had a wii first before any next gen console and i actually gave it to my sister there aren't enough good games (yeah i said it the only 1 that was wow was mario galaxy)
when i got a ps3 i was like wow with the hd graphics and features high production value in their games with what i find most important an actual story *gasp* i know right for all their inovation nintendo has never been able to do story....
Great post. My personal opinions on the Wii are like this. I like the Wii, i like it's features. However I feel that the Wii has too many minigames and not enough "real" games on it. I love Fire Emblem. I have played and beat everyone (yes including the original Japanese ones). But I have not touched my Wii since Radiant Dawn. I played and beat Radiant Dawn probably a hundred times. If Nintendo were to release another Fire Emblem game i would gladly buy it, and I would be playing it nonstop. Hell I would probably even buy a new system just for it. But Nintendo hasn't made another one, and that's the problem. They are focusing on making minigames. So basically to sum it all up. Until Nintendo releases another real game, such as Fire Emblem, Zelda, or Mario (Those last two are debatable because I'm getting bored with them, same basic thing each game.) I probably won't turn my Wii on again.
so nintendo brought all the hate upon itself?