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Wii may have a negative effect on PS3-360 gamers, says Bleszinski |
Listed in: Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: Cliff Bleszinski, Metroid, NPD, SIXAXIS, Zelda
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Through an email sent to website Level Up, Tyler Bleszinski, older brother of Cliff Bleszinski from Gears of War fame, expressed his thoughts on the Wii's rapidly gaining popularity and its possible effect on hardcore gamers. Apparently, he's troubled by how Nintendo is reaching its hands to casual gamers and pushing the market towards that audience.Being a gamer himself, Tyler grew up with Zelda and other titles generally aimed at guys. With the Wii reaching millions of non-gamers, he believes that publishers might also move in the same direction. In other words, casual games could overrun deeper games.
"The NPD sales figures since November have been troubling to me as a hardcore gamer who loves new IPs and in-depth experiences... There have been umpteen stories about the scrappy little Wii wooing non-gamers and bringing in hordes of new converts to worship at the altar of Mario," he said.
"I'm not saying that the videogame industry shouldn't strive to bring in as many new people as possible," he added. Tyler told a story about how he found an old woman at the store looking for Cooking Mama and Wii Play. "If these are the type of games that become blockbusters, then you can count on other gaming companies who cater to the more hardcore gamer to promptly change direction."
Tyler strongly believes that gamers who got into the scene because of the Wii and its casual games aren't likely to get into more hardcore titles. It's difficult to imagine that the woman at the store would be playing Metroid. He continues:
If Nintendo winds up outselling the 360 and the PS3 by a wide margin, how soon will it be before we gamers are using the Sixaxis to chop up onions with in Metal Gear Mama? How long before we're frantically swinging waggle remotes for tennis, bowling and golf in Halo Sports?
I sincerely believe that bringing new people to video games is a good thing. I like seeing the business continue to grow and be even more successful, because I'm old enough to remember the videogame industry crash between the Atari 5200 and the Nintendo Entertainment System. But ultimately, going more mainstream can have unintended consequences--ones that could negatively impact the breadth and depth of the kinds of games that I love, as do millions of others.
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Also, I researched the crash of 83, and the problem that caused it was that people who shouldn't be making games were making games. (for example: general mills.)Parents bought these games because they were cheaper, not realizing that the games were cheaper due to low quality. Thus, the market was flooded with crummy games, and this caused a crash because no one bought the games because they assumed they were all bad.
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The same is true for the development and publishing side. There might be companies that fully concentrate on low cost, low quality games to be quickly rushed out to customers, but there will always remain big players. Giants like Square, Rare before the MS deal, Blizzard, Epic, id Software... After all there IS a big difference between casual and hardcore gaming experience. No flood of casual games will change that. In the end such a mass output could even help the hardcore segment to set itself apart, to rise and shine above the competition!
The Wii can be considered the easy entry. People that never before even cared about the computer and video game shelfes are now not only actively searching for new content for their own console, but are glancing at the titles for other systems as well, as they all sit side by side. They start reading magazines and websites about video games. A lot of these newcomers would not build up interest in a PS360, but as a side entrant to the market they might want to at least give it a try when they are shopping for new games and see an abandoned kiosk for a yet unknown console or watch other people having fun there.
Have a look at history. Did luxury cars vanish once cars became available for nearly every household? Did quality software die out as computers became a mass market phenomenon?
This "fear and concern" Tyler Bleszinski is voicing is just throwing dirt at the rising phoenix of nintendo, the company that dominated computer entertainment in the eighties and nineties. MS and Sony gained market shares by the death of Sega and Nintendos descent during the N64 and Gamecube cycle. They grew upon those former players who were looking for something to replace their dreamcasts and N64. And now, as Nintendo reclaims some ground, the "real next gen" monkeys with HD horsepower act as if they invented the whole business on their own and just have quality games and hardcore gamers. Bull*****!
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That said, Wii sales aren't going to mean jack S4!T if 75% of the owners only get Wii play and Cooking mama. You won't see massive sales of Zelda, Donkey Kong or any other huge titles like those. Which will just drive nintendo into making more and more casual games.
Also, Casual gamers can get lots of enjoyment out of 'hardcore' games. I know lots of non-gamers who have a blast in GTA or a fighting game like... soul calibur or tekken.
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Like making babies, it takes a lot of you time, it's not good for a company when his employees need to work less, have parental holidays etc... but in the end, they'll be the working force....
Yeah, of course people will say this and that, always find negative points with what is happening if the money does not go into their pocket.
If you think the Wii will break the hardcore gamers world, then make hardcore games on the Wii...
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Doesnt take you that long to run through it, fairly easy and straightforward and the story is mediocre aswell. It only sells because it has the Zelda name on it, if you were to change the name and the characters' heads.. It wouldnt be as succesfull
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But the funny thing is it is looking like MS is going to attack the Wii and release the Premium at $199(while the Elite goes in as its top model) this will be a killer move when all those people go into the shops and see games like GEARS and FORZA 2 running on a machine at that price the Wii and especially the PS3 will have no chance..
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And no, I'm not missing the point. Many have already pointed out that the PS3 and the 360 will continue to attract the more serious gamers, while Wii might attract those who enjoy video games, but also have a job, life etc. Harsh? Maybe a little.
But price is the key... as a causal gamer, $400 - $600 is a pretty steep commitment. $250 is much more reasonable. Would I love to have a 360? Of course. But I can't justify the cost knowing I'll only have the time to play it a couple hours a month.
If anything, Wii will help bring down the cost of 360 & PS3 eventually.... which is the best thing possible for the future of gaming.
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You mean, to get PS3's right?
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Metroid
Smash Bros
Mario Galaxy
Just because they are not blood and guts like you sick, insane, bastards like. But these are great games, so go play them before you hate them.
Thats all I'm saying.
(P.S. Sick Bastard games: GoW, Condemed, Quake, etc.) Yes I have played these, they are great games, but I don't think a great game has to have peoples guts being eaten by a cyberHumans.
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If you compare it to PS2, it had a few casual games(most at the time) with Singstar, DDR, Eye toy ,Guitar hero series etc. Most casual gamers that owned these games had at least 2 series, remember that these games they keep releasing new updates, so people are likely to keep buying updates(Singsta r pop,80's,rock etc) .
The difference this generation will be is that gaming will become even more excepted as a past time by a majority of people.
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TURE TRUE
Guy in artcle is also true
i don't lke nintendo
microsfot is alright
but sony just come up with better ideas than microsoft
free online play and home = worth the money and fun for me
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For example: Do these analysts really believe that all of those RPG's that Japanese go crazy for, will be replaced by "no story, casual games". It just won't happen. Video games are becoming more like cinematic movies. People want good stories with great gameplay.
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Are you waiting for Nintendo to send you a personal apology for the innovations of 1. their controller and 2. oh wait, people want games that are actually fun to play. (even if they have lame graphics). Try to learn something from reality l33t boy. The world isn't going to sit around cranking out the same old tired FPS for your personal pleasure.
In 5 years we'll look back and everyone will be far better off for the Wii's innovations.
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