Posted May 02, 2008 at 06:10PM by Ryan C. Listed in: Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, Games for Windows Tags: New York, Dan Houser
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Dan Houser - Image 1 


Casual gaming has definitely seen a recent boom this generation, what with the casual-friendly Nintendo DS and the equally-accommodating Wii. And while many a games development firm has cashed in on this recent phenomenon, it seems that some are still not ready to embrace this particular market.

Rockstar's Vice President of Creativity Dan Houser said in a recent interview that he's not much of a fan of casual gaming.

In an interview with the New York magazine, Dan Houser praised the Nintendo Wii for doing something different for a change. At the same time, however, he explained that Rockstar has pretty high goals for its games - that is, to compete with movies as a narrative device and be about something that people can actually relate or aspire to. His statement, verbatim:

F*** all this stuff about casual gaming. I think people still want games that are groundbreaking. The Wii is doing something totally different, which is fantastic. We're hopefully going to prove that there's also a very big audience for people who want entertainment in another form, who think of games as being a narrative device that can challenge movies. 


Very strong words from Rockstar indeed. Does that mean we won't be seeing casual games from one of the most innovative and most daring game developing firms of this generation? Only time will tell. Updates as we get them!

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12 Comments


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   by Payka - 2008-05-02
 » WTF Ryan C

When did he ever say he didnt like casual games. Hes basically saying that there is still a big audience for non casual games and thats what he wants to make.
"The Wii is doing something totally different, which is fantastic."


   Re: rawrskies - 2008-05-02
 » ..

Backpedal a bit. '***** all this stuff about casual gaming.' In other words, he may like the Wii going a different direction, but casual games ? '***** that.'

Doesn't really mean he hates 'em, but you can't blame someone to take it that way.

   Re: NarooN - 2008-05-02
 » read...

"F*** all this stuff about casual gaming."

That says it pretty clearly that he doesn't care about casual games.
   by roddollente - 2008-05-02
 » a game that will be inspiring?

like what? bully? basically rockstar games are about a white guy set in a thug/hiphop environment wearing and talking like blacks. that's it. and it's all about money or violence.i know they want to make it real, but really, they're just doing the same games but only different characters.


   Re: rawrskies - 2008-05-02
 » ...

Never heard of San Andreas I guess.

   Re: jgtc - 2008-05-03
 » ...

Or GTA VCS.

   Re: Barakku - 2008-05-03
 » Or

GTA Vice City...
   by mantixen - 2008-05-02
 » not everyone wants to be entertained by a movie

This guy assumes that movies are the most appealing form of entertainment, amiright? While they may have a large audience, not everyone wants to watch a movie when they turn on their consoles. Oh well, no matter. People liking games that feel like games is something, like balding, Mr. Houser can't stop, although he can still try to ignore it or cover it up.

   by Dr1ver - 2008-05-03
 » humm

im supprized that he wasnt pleased for EA to buy take 2 im sure EA would have got GTA iv onto the wii.

it seems that gta 4 has got a dose of this new game play with the character being more interactive with things around him.

   by pspgamerau - 2008-05-03
 » Casual games are games too!

Who cares what this dumb baldy ***** has to say about a genre that doesn't appeal to him? As long as games give you a good experience it's completely irrelevant.

You can spend your entire budget on developing the most complex graphics engine possible with physics coming out your arse, but if the gameplay sucks - the game sucks.

'Casual' games win here, they concentrate on the actual gameplay and do away with the fancy crap.

Perhaps he's just jealous developers are making a squillion out of low cost game development that appeals to a wider audience? Perhaps he feels threatened that perhaps there's more money to be made in this genre and that a casual one week development time game can compete commercially with his 2 year project?

Diddums.


   Re: Mister Common Sense - 2008-05-05
 » .

The only reason there is this casual game "craze" is because Nintendo realized they couldn't compete with real next gen systems, they wanted to make heavy profits on each console, and they can throw together a casual game that sells in a month.

I don't have anything against casual games, some are very fun.
What sucks about the Wii is it has almost nothing but casual games.
   by xyal_zx - 2008-05-08
 » all games are casual

man that guy is an idiot for simply refering to less time consuming games as 'casual games'. i guess by his own definition and login we should call every other game life project or simulation. arcade games are the best games. he is just sore cuz he sucks at fighting games.



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