News Nintendo: Wii gamers are hardcore too

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05/22/nintendo-wii-gamers-are-hardcore-too/

Nintendo reckons that Wii gamers can be hardcore gamers too, despite the general opinion which suggests otherwise.

 

I don't see why it's really important whether the Wii is snapped up by hardcore gamers or not... I mean, the console is selling the best out of the three 'next gen' consoles, so they're doing something right regardless (that and they're actually making a profit on the hardware, rather than a loss)... why try to dazzle people with PR when it's not necessary? If someone wants to buy a Wii (and they have the money) then they will. It doesn't matter whether they're a 'hardcore' gamer, or a 'casual' gamer - or a 90 year old grandparent who wants to spend some time with the grandchildren on "their" playing field.

 

I think part of the success of the Wii is the fact that it "Bridges the gap" between hardcore gamers, and their "non gamer" friends.

I'm very much the gamer of my household - and for years my girlfriend, parents, siblings etc could never see the appeal. However, with the wii, it's made it so much easier to get them involved. Even my mum likes a good bash on "Mario and Sonic at the Olympics".

As such, the real magic to me is the fact that it allows hardcore gamers like myself (and most other readers on this site) to involve friends and loved ones who have maybe never gotten into gaming before.

 

Sorry, Nintendo, but you don't have me convinced.

The console is selling well, trying to tell us that because in one country (I notice she doesn't mention the rest of the world) it's not overwhelmingly owned by younger people means the console is a 'hardcore gamers console' just isn't cool. The games for it are massively aimed at kids, and I mean massively.

While I confess that I don't know the Wii title line-up particularly well, the only games I can think of that're not aimed the younger market are Zelda: Twilight Princess, No More Heroes, Red Steel, Resident Evil: TUC, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, although there are probably good reasons for saying SSBB is aimed at the younger players.

Nintendo are trying too hard to spin the Wii into the 'hardcore' arena. They're making a tidy profit on it already, there's no need for this pointless PR bullcrap, especially when the console is flying off the shelves like it is.

I'm not even sure what makes a hardcore gamer, these days. I mean, time commitments can't be taken into account, because otherwise people with jobs outside of the gaming industry/games journalism industry are immediately discounted, because they don't get paid to play/design/work on/work with/blahblahblah games.

It's certainly not about top of the range graphics, because consoles have killed the need to spend hundreds and hundreds of pounds/dollars to get the best out of a games engine anymore. Performance is a stalemate, too, for the same reason.

IMO: Consoles have made the line between casual and hardcore gamer so blurred, that it really doesn't make a blind bit of difference anymore. I know gamers who play top of the range titles, and things like bejewled, a game is a game to them, and to me.

 

it does matter, having a good fanbase means more sales and therefore better product support and game variety and console lifespan (see PS2 as a great example of this)

problem is for hardcore gamers, we want somethin that poses massive challenges in a traditional gaming style. ie, we don't want to see how uber we can get on wiisport, or mario galaxy, or zelda, any anything like that, we'd rather spend time getting good at CoD or unreal or warcraft or something with a serious, extended gameplay approach.

that's the main reason i wouldn't get it. it's a great console, introduces people, but there's just nothing that's mature about it, and i think in the long run that's going to dissuade a good legion of gamers such as myself from buying one.

 

who cares?

 

Just because a game can be played by younger players doesn't necessarily mean its aimed at them. Take Smooth Moves for example, just as suitable for a 5 year old as anyone else. In fact, its best after a night out when everyone has had a couple drinks too many, so maybe that means its aimed at adults? A game does have to have an 18 rating to be enjoyed by adults

I think people are getting confused between "for kids" and "suitable for kids"

 

I did say I don't know the Wii's title line too well

As demonstrated by not even beginning to know what 'Smooth Moves' is.

When I see the local Game stores' Wii game range, though, I just don't see anything that doesn't seem to be aimed at kids.

I assume, not being a fan of the Wii to start with, that I'm not paying enough attention to see all the more adult orientated games. When games like Cooking Mama or Eledees/Elebits are at the forefront of the 'selling points' from friends, I'm not exactly going to get the best view of the games line up (Considering, IMO, Zelda and Mario games can go fall into a volcano as far away from me as possible). I'm not saying that adults can't enjoy those games, or any games like them. I'm just saying that their style (Basic design, large colourful environments and characters) are more appealing to younger people, and is saying to me "This game is aimed at younger people". Which more often than not, is the entire Wii display at my local Game store. Where as the 360/PS3/PC shelves are a much wider spread of games, more of which don't scream "designed to appeal to younger players" at me.

As for the rating thing, I don't have that many 18 rated games. Being an 18 isn't a guarantee of an adult theme. I mean, the Shrek series is a U (Or something equally far down the chain of ratings), and it was incredibly enjoyable, yet had some rather entertaining adult undertones that cracked me up.

 

I've lost count of the amount of people who purchased a Wii for exercise instead of going to the gym. The only thing hardcore about Wii gamers is the amount of exercise they are doing.

 

Yeah, Boom Blox is way hardcore. I don't know why they need to prove themselves to serious gamers when their main target audience (and the people driving a lot of the purchases) is obviously casual gamers.

 

since when does age come into being a hardcore gamer? i would consider myself a hardcore gamer when i was 5....

 

who cares if the wii is for hardcore gamers or not? if it is fun to play, then play!

 

an average of 50000usd, are they serious, or do those americans really earn a lot of money, because i get nowhere near that amount a year.

 

We have 4 players in our household... 2 children, 1 adult casual, and one adult video game enthusiast. We also have an XBOX 360 and the Wii will get lots more hours in from myself (the enthusiast) and the others. The XBOX 360 games are not nearly as tight as Nintendo's games - compare Metroid for example to the beast that is GTA IV. No comparison. Wii also has better controls when implemented properly. HOWEVER: I don't see a lot of JRPG or RPG in general coming for the Wii in the near future, and that's why we have also opted to have an XBOX 360. Also Euphoria hasn't been implemented on Wii to my knowledge, so I expect that ports of games such as Force Unleashed will not be as good on the Wii. The relatively low horsepower of the Wii has forced players like myself to have two consoles... I would have preferred a stronger platform for the Wii, but it's still my favourite console and it's a required console for any serious gamer IMHO. Zelda Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Okami, Zack & Wiki, Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart ... are required gaming for this generation.

 

There's a lot more to it than just the dollar amount earned per year. After you figure taxes, medical, and all the other cost of living expenses, $50,000 really isn't that much. It's kind of upper-lower/lower-middle class; enough to get by, but not enough to sit back and live comfortably. Plus cost of living expenses vary by state, so it becomes even more difficult to say whether $50,000/year is a high or low salary.

Edit: From what I can see in the article, she never really defined what a 'hardcore' gamer is. Folks in this thread are defining 'hardcore' gamers as people who play X game or Y game; but, in the article it appears as though Cammie Dunaway is defining a 'hardcore' gamer by the number of hours played. So, in her opinion the Wii is suitable for hardcore gamers, for a given value of 'hardcore'.

Personally, I don't think it matters one way or another. The Wii is designed to play certain games. A lot of people are buying the console because they think those games are fun. The sales figures seem to indicate that CoD and Unreal aren't exactly critical titles.

-monkey

 

Pah, who cares if its hardcore or not, its immense fun and it does allow your non-typical game player (ie my wife) to join in and have a laugh. Apparently she finds my antics on the Wii Fit balance games particularly hysterical, the heading practice and the hula hoop games get the biggest laughs.

 

a friend of mine does IT support for an aged care facility and theyre putting in some Wii's with wiFit for physiotherapy. so theres 30 Wii's sold that arent even gonna be used for gaming at all. the school i work at are lookin at doing the same thing for part of phys ed.

 

its not so much as proving themselves to the hardcore gamers, but to the third party publishers (and, in a way, the press). many developers aren't even attempting making a non-casual game for the Wii because they know most publishers won't touch it. this seems to be changing slightly with a couple of "mature" games on their way to the Wii (MadWorld, The Conduit), but a majority of the publishers still see the Wii as something of a toy