Satoru W. Iwata

Whew, I just had to come up for air. I know I said I'd post more, but this holiday rush has been FAR larger than previous ones. I have plenty to say about that, but for now, I'd like to talk about something far more important, at least to me.

Back in 2000, when George W. Bush was elected (if you can call it that) to the White House, he was sold by the Republican party as a uniter, not a divider. “Compassionate conservatism,” was billed as a conservative policy that could still at least be agreeable to moderate and liberal elements in the country. Fast forward to 2009, 18 days from the inauguration of Barak Obama. The country is the most bitterly divided it's been in recent memory, clustered into coalitions of red and blue states, with about five “battleground states” deciding the last election. I wonder if President-Elect Obama will ever be able to repair this broken husk of a nation.

Why do I bring this up in a gaming blog? The success of the Wii, rather than bring gamers and non-gamers together as Nintendo envisioned, has served to partition the gaming community in much the same way the presidency of George W. Bush has partitioned the United States.

The term “casual” has always been around, of course, but never before had it been such a venomous word. In the prime of the PS2/Xbox/Cube, people who played games with dedication would throw the occasional barb at one another, but didn't much give a bunch of crap to those who enjoyed games casually. Now look at where we are. Instead of meaning someone who enjoys gaming without the intensity of the traditional gaming demographics, or even the short association with PopCap Games' style of easy to learn, hard to master and addictive as hell puzzle games, “casual” has become a classification of cheap to make, unimaginative shovel ware like Rig Racer and Anubis II. It's become a derogatory term, not only for many games outside of the traditional gaming genres, but also for the people who play them.

The PS3 and 360 camps have, with some exceptions, united under their mutual hatred of what Nintendo has become, but the real tragedy is the rift seen within Nintendo's fan base. On one side, you have people who have become myopic about the company, defending even the most pedantic, infantile effort from them (Wii Music, for example) as signs of the sort of progressive thought that only Nintendo has (in their mind, anyway). On the other, you have disillusioned gamers, of which I am admittedly one, who view Nintendo's current console as little more than a cynical attempt to make quick cash from the mouth-breathing Oprah crowd.

While there have always been divisions with regard to gaming, they've never seemed so deep, so bitter, or so irreparable as they are now. Say what you will about the PS2, but the diversity of games offered on the platform made for an equally diverse community that the majority of people with any interest at all in gaming were part of. Today, the gaming nation is tangibly split into coalitions of Wii and PS3/360 states. And unlike the US, there's no Obama coming to try uniting us.

I weep for what the gaming community has devolved into.

Whew, I just had to come up for air. I know I said I'd post more, but this holiday rush has been FAR larger than previous ones. I have plenty to say about that, but for now, I'd like to talk about something far more important, at least to me.

Back in 2000, when George W. Bush was elected (if you can call it that) to the White House, he was sold by the Republican party as a uniter, not a divider. “Compassionate conservatism,” was billed as a conservative policy that could still at least be agreeable to moderate and liberal elements in the country. Fast forward to 2009, 18 days from the inauguration of Barak Obama. The country is the most bitterly divided it's been in recent memory, clustered into coalitions of red and blue states, with about five “battleground states” deciding the last election. I wonder if President-Elect Obama will ever be able to repair this broken husk of a nation.

Why do I bring this up in a gaming blog? The success of the Wii, rather than bring gamers and non-gamers together as Nintendo envisioned, has served to partition the gaming community in much the same way the presidency of George W. Bush has partitioned the United States.

The term “casual” has always been around, of course, but never before had it been such a venomous word. In the prime of the PS2/Xbox/Cube, people who played games with dedication would throw the occasional barb at one another, but didn't much give a bunch of crap to those who enjoyed games casually. Now look at where we are. Instead of meaning someone who enjoys gaming without the intensity of the traditional gaming demographics, or even the short association with PopCap Games' style of easy to learn, hard to master and addictive as hell puzzle games, “casual” has become a classification of cheap to make, unimaginative shovel ware like Rig Racer and Anubis II. It's become a derogatory term, not only for many games outside of the traditional gaming genres, but also for the people who play them.

The PS3 and 360 camps have, with some exceptions, united under their mutual hatred of what Nintendo has become, but the real tragedy is the rift seen within Nintendo's fan base. On one side, you have people who have become myopic about the company, defending even the most pedantic, infantile effort from them (Wii Music, for example) as signs of the sort of progressive thought that only Nintendo has (in their mind, anyway). On the other, you have disillusioned gamers, of which I am admittedly one, who view Nintendo's current console as little more than a cynical attempt to make quick cash from the mouth-breathing Oprah crowd.

While there have always been divisions with regard to gaming, they've never seemed so deep, so bitter, or so irreparable as they are now. Say what you will about the PS2, but the diversity of games offered on the platform made for an equally diverse community that the majority of people with any interest at all in gaming were part of. Today, the gaming nation is tangibly split into coalitions of Wii and PS3/360 states. And unlike the US, there's no Obama coming to try uniting us.

I weep for what the gaming community has devolved into.

The gaming industry is the most competitive industry out there... If there was no competition there would be no need for one company to innovate or make games better than the other company... Thank God they are not united and nor are "we" and people argue as to which is the best (unfortunately that also generated fanboysim).

The gaming community is the product of the most competitive industry, and it is the most awesome community at that.

"The gaming industry is the most competitive industry out there... If there was no competition there would be no need for one company to innovate or make games better than the other company... Thank God they are not united and nor are "we" and people argue as to which is the best (unfortunately that also generated fanboysim).

The gaming community is the product of the most competitive industry, and it is the most awesome community at that."

Really good read and well put.

The last thing gamers need to be is united. The more flavors of gaming to choose from, the happier gamers in general will be.

I think way too many gamers claim to be "hardcore" as opposed to "casual" in order to validate themselves.

Casual or not, these gamers are buying games and fueling the industry.

Personally, I don't care what games other people play or what the gaming industry becomes just so long as I get to play an original game that breaks the mold at least once a gaming generation.

"Snail said:

"The gaming industry is the most competitive industry out there... If there was no competition there would be no need for one company to innovate or make games better than the other company... Thank God they are not united and nor are "we" and people argue as to which is the best (unfortunately that also generated fanboysim).

The gaming community is the product of the most competitive industry, and it is the most awesome community at that."

You entirely missed the point.

There was still competition back in the PS2/Xbox/GC days, but it was competition from relatively like minded companies. While you were more likely to find kid friendly games on the Gamecube than the Xbox, you still didn't have the big rift you have now between what most people use 'casual' to mean now and us, or what most people would consider 'hardcore' gamers.

EDIT: Great blog, by the way."

i don't feel united - but then I am still waiting for a uniter to come along.

Obama is at least a better speaker than Bush ever was but will wait and see if he can produce better.

I hope so.

you make some excellent points....as always.

Competition is part of humanity - but it gets carried to excess too often.

Great thought provoking blog! I agree wholeheartedly with the whole division thing. Nintendo has always marched to the beat of their own drum, and while this generation is no different it seems more obtuse than previous gens. If I had to categorize myself I would be a hybrid because while I do enjoy and play games (and have since the original NES days) I don't live, breath and shit video games 24/7. I do have some semblance of a life and responsibilities that prevent me from squirreling away in my mom's basement while I clock 300+ hours into my character in Oblivion. That type of "passion" is more of a sickness, but to each their I own I suppose.

I still have yet to find anyone that can define exactly what a "hardcore" gamer is comprised of. Is it the amount of hours you spend per week playing games? Is it the type of game you play? What is it?! I think that term has been thrown around way too liberally this generation to the point that it has lost its meaning. So much so that it's just something people say as a reactionary impulse rather than actually knowing what the hell they're talking about. I think a lot of hate has come down to "casual" players because they are perceived to be the ones that are buying the steaming piles of crap that gets released on the Wii as opposed to the "hardcore" triple A games like MGS4and Bioshock, etc. I don't think the word casual should be synonymous with shovelware. But a casual player can also be someone like me that enjoys playing the "hardcore" games but on a more relaxed basis.