Comments on: Hardcore gaming is dead

By: J Frazer

J Frazer — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:49:03 +0000

I tend to agree. I think we are already seeing the growth of adjustability. We are going more the ‘easy to learn, difficult to master’ route. It lets you jump in and get going easily, but for those that desire it there’s a lot of tweaking, finite controlling, and customizing to be done.

By: Evan

Evan — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:16:58 +0000

Bruce, I agree that the continuum between casual and hardcore games will become broader in the future. However, it seems to me that hardcore games will thrive in the future and that the hardcore demographic will expand over time as the overall gamer market continues to expand.

As casual gamers mature, the demand for more sophisticated, complex, and immersive games will explode. Well-designed difficulty is a good thing in games — it is part of the immersive element that experienced gamers seek out.

In short, I think the current explosion of casual gaming is the harbinger of a future hardcore bonanza.

By: Stone Bytes

Stone Bytes — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:43:18 +0000

I don’t see them dissapearing anytime soon.
At best, they’ll get watered down with friendly difficulty levels, more savings, maybe some customization (and that’s clearly not a given), but with core mechanics still playable on hard.

If anything, the arrival on violent core games on the Wii will probably mix both niches and bridge them. In no way this would kill the hardcore segment.

@ Orakga

I grew with these games from the 80s and 90s.
They’ve become more complex and prettier, but at their core, they’re still intense, difficult and require great determination and dedication.

The mere difference being the growth of dofficulty settings, and then dynamic systems. Other than that, if you want to play God of War on smack my bitch up level, you’re clearly going to hammer controllers through walls.

And people in their fifties and those grannies playing Wii Sport are not the kind to put a finger on a mouse and play Quake. I don’t see this happening anytime soon. If it happens, it will just prove that people move more freely between genres, but said genres will still be present and fit for all tastes.

It would be dramatic for the industry if all games had to be cut in the corners to pull them together towards some sort of soft middle field.
Truly, this would be disastrous on all fronts.

I don’t even see hardcore gamers dissapearing. If pro gaming gains even more momentum, the exact opposite would actually occur.

By: 911 Gaming

911 Gaming — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:14:19 +0000

Brucey, Brucey, Brucey…
You really need to open up your eyes. Hardcore gaming ISN’T dead. More people are hardcore gamers. From jocks [whom used to laugh at the matter of being a "video game nerd"] to celebrities [hey, Mr. T's doing it]. Look at the amount of people on WoW, or maybe playing CoD4 (to this day!).
Its not that hardcore gaming is dead, more like… it slept with a girl and was murdered in a drive-by the next night, later found that his strict Catholic girlfriend was pregnant, and she gave birth to a new Harcore gaming, that more people wanted to play.
But the real question is, who is the mother?

By: Orakga

Orakga — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:33:42 +0000

If you guys really understood what “hardcore games” used to be like in the late 80s and earlier 90s, you would know that they have already become far more obtuse than they used to be.

Name any “hardcore” game from the last couple of years. MGS4, GTA4, CoD4, GoW2, Bio Shock, Mass Effect… all also ironically FPS of some kind, but if you took ANY hardcore gamer from the 80s and showed them this game, the last thing they’d think is “wow this is so hardcore, I can’t handle it!”.

It would actually be the opposite. They’d be impressed by how much easier it is to access and play the games compared to what used to be “hardcore” back then.

It’s history. It’s factual.
And It’s a phase issue.

By: mostMighty

mostMighty — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:45:36 +0000

this is no phase, it’s a mistake is what it is.

By: Orakga

Orakga — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:05:18 +0000

Very nice to see that you recognize this as a “phase” issue. I wholeheartedly agree with you, Bruce, and I hope people on both ends see that hardcore gamers and casual gamers are really the same (and by extension, all PEOPLE). They are merely at different phases along the lifespan of a “gamer”.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:37:12 +0000

For someone so involved in the gaming industry, you know nothing, Bruce. How can you say that hardcore games will become “less obtuse?”

There will always be the hardcore games that take a decent amount of time and effort to learn how to play. That’s what’s so appealing to me (and IMO many other hardcore gamers); not everyone can just sit down and play the game. It takes more than a minimal amount of effort.

And for the record, the Wii sucks.

By: Pseudo

Pseudo — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:24:53 +0000

It wouldn’t voom if you put 10 000 volts through it!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:06:19 +0000

This parrot has ceased to be!