Gamers get the boot??

[child of Thor]

bbc article about games industry

Does this matter? Will we be looking at 'Sims VII' for the rest of our computer game playing lives, or maybe worse?
Or will it bring much needed balance into what is a mostly young+male violent games market?

Will we take to the streets to vent our displeasure
Or lie in front of our consoles consuming whatever clap trap is shoveled our way

As this was specificaly talking about the games industry - i thought it would be more relevant here in 'other games' rather than 'off-topic' where there are many/mostly non-gamers, but please move it if it really doesn't belong here

[:) Smiley]

This ought to be a good sign. It'll draw more people into the total gaming population. It certainly won't decrease the number of hardcore gamers or the demand for such games.

[Spaced Cowboy]

What they are saying is that they need more business from the non-gamers. However, some non-gamers will turn into hardcore gamers, not all but some. The cycle will continue, but there will be more out there, especially for consoles. This is a business afterall.

[pg]

what the heck is a casual gamer? when i have free time and a really fun game i play a lot, otherwise i don't. it's the same as any entertainment media - books, tv, music, etc. i weight my choices and pick the best one and the one i want to do most atm.

[Zero]

pg, id agree with u. definition of hardcore/casual gamer is kinda confusing.

I think they meant it in the most popular sense. casual gamer being you VS hardcore people who play game as a lifestyle. Playing EQ 10 hrs a day crazy folks or other games. Own all the system, plays em all etc.

I also have another definition used often by ppl like myself of hardcore and casual, totally independent of playing time, which is taking game like a sport, playing it for competition and strategy, vs just playing it. In this sense, someone who spent all their life playing street fighter can still be a "casual" player, while someone who played it for a week can be hardcore.

Either way, for both definition, the market is defintely leaning toward "casual". Theres market for mindless dumbed down game to entertains both casual players.

[Traianvs]

I found this most disturbing

Microsoft has declared its intent to make video games a dominant form of "social entertainment" and has launched a new range of online games for its Xbox console to appeal to the less hardcore gamer.

Even though I'm a pretty wicked pcgamer myself, I still enjoy other forms of entertainment (such as drinking beer till I pass out ) that are slightly more useful! I'd hate to think most people find the 'dominant' means of enjoying themselves is playing games on a console .

Most people are stupid, but we should try not keep them stupid aight .


About casual gamers, that basically doesn't exist. If you only play 30 minutes on a sunday evening you'll probably not even find out how a game functions let alone enjoy it! If I don't have the time to play then I simply don't play games!
Hardcore gamers don't all play 10 hours a day. There are weeks in which I hardly play my 'competitive game' SoF1 () but I'm still pretty serious about it when I do play! Playing against noobs simply isn't fun anymore when you're getting a bit good at the game.

Btw professional players that practice at least 5 hours a day aren't hardcore, they're freaks. The sheer boredom of playing 5 hours of Q3

[Zero]

for clarification i shouldnt even bother using the word harcore.

casual gamers exist. They dont play games. They know nothing about games, but the own a system or two. They pick up games completelly on a whim and on game cover perhaps. Good review maybe they heard from friends.

Then there are freaks. They buy all games (or maybe download) cause they play em all. Maybe 10 hours a day, the EQ freak types. No point in targetting market to these ppl because they play em all anyway.

Then there are competitive players. They play only games that they compete in what lil time they spend just on that game. No point in targetting market on them unless you expect a huge multiplayer player base.

The professionals you speak of, dont exist. Well there are some in korea that make living off of playing stracraft.

[Traianvs]

there's some dumbasses like that fatality freak that made some good money with gaming.

I really hate those competitive or professional gamers whatever u like to call em

[Zero]

Originally posted by Trajanus
The sheer boredom of playing 5 hours of Q3

are u kidding me. Being able to play 5 hours of q3 would be awesome. Its so hard to arrange good players to play together for that long...

like u said so urself. playing scrubs is stupid an pointless. u think competitive player play for even an hour a day? Sure I could play my lil brother in SC2, but whats the point, I havent played a good game of SC2 since march madness....

When u get better it gets difficut to play more. Scheduling a session with people worth playing gets harder and harder (as there becomes less and less people worth playing)

[Zero]

Originally posted by Trajanus
there's some dumbasses like that fatality freak that made some good money with gaming.

I really hate those competitive or professional gamers whatever u like to call em

u just said ur a competitive player urself.

[Jamski]

I'm a completist freak. I have to play every game in a series, do every quest, play with every tribe, test every character, try every strat... and then mod the game and go again.

Having said that, I know there are enough people who are like me that there will always be one or two new games that can be played for 100+ hours in a week without exhausting them. Thank god.

And if the new games I need don't come... well, there's PLENTY of good old ones on my HD

-Jam

[Zero]

hmmm u dont fit in my category. because u dont buy most games.


u goto freak section because u have that sheep in the avatar.

[DrSpike]

/me mutters something about Sunday gamers.

[Jamski]

Do you still have my copy of the Sims I lent you last Saturday night, Spikie?

-Jam

[Zero]

i think sunday gamers are better than pennyarcade types.

That guy gabe whined so much when couple of guys i know in seattle kicked his ass.... He thought just like trajnus, more playing time = more skill