Guest column – Things are not always as they appear
Sunday, August 16th, 2009 at 10:23pm by David
[Guest article by Infendo reader Mike Reilly]
If you were to research the state of the video game industry through the most obvious available sources, you would come to the wrong conclusion. If you surfed the most popular gaming websites, blogs and forums and subscribed to the most popular video game magazines still published, you would assume Xbox 360 and Playstaton 3 were in the midst of a heated battle of technological superiority, while Wii was merely an “also-ran,” barely worthy of mention. This is the consensus of the hardcore gaming community, the online “gamersphere,” whose l33t skills and fickle passions have driven the industry to ever-increasing profitability.
Of course, the intelligent and attractive readers of Infendo know better. Wii is the market leader, selling 50 million units worldwide and on-track to be the best-selling video game console ever. And it has done this completely without the support of the online gamersphere. Forum trolls ridicule Wii as a fad. They spew their vitriol about imprecise “waggle” and non-game shovelware. Within the microcosm of their elitist online community, they create a reality in which Wii is not a competitor to their beloved HD consoles. It is the only way they can continue to debate crucial topics such as output resolution and timed exclusivity, and ignore the fact that “2 Gamecubes duct-taped together” has brought video games to the masses.
The internet has become a powerful tool for communication. Email, instant messaging, Facebook and Twitter have made it simple to not only keep in touch with friends and family, but also make connections with like-minded strangers. It is only natural that gamers, already immersed in the latest technology, would congregate online, and build a culture that celebrates their passion. And it is only natural that game developers and publishers, many avid gamers themselves, would be influenced by the seemingly overwhelming consensus of their core consumers. This arrangement has allowed the video game industry to enjoy unprecedented, recession-proof growth which shows no sign of ever slowing.
But, again, things are not as they appear. When population growth and multiple console ownership are factored into the equation, the growth of the industry becomes stagnant. While very vocal and dominant online, the gamersphere represents only a small fraction of the total potential video game market. Selling the same product to a stagnant customer base is a business plan doomed to fail.
The popularity of Wii has brought about a fundamental shift in the way video games are perceived by mainstream society. Wii’s intuitive interface and emphasis on simple fun has allowed many non-gamers to experience and appreciate the appeal of video games. More people, and more types of people, enjoying videogames increases understanding of just what is so appealing about them. In a few short years, public perception of video games has gone from a socially crippling obsession for children and immature men, to a valid entertainment medium for everyone to enjoy.
However, this new public perception of video games as entertainment for everyone is the single biggest threat to the online gamersphere, and the source of their rage. Suddenly, consumers from outside the gamersphere are influencing the industry. Sales of Wii Fit and Carnival Games cannot be ignored by publishers threatened by rising development costs and a faltering economy, so resources are shifted. Hundreds of “casual” titles dilute the marketplace, and the gamersphere is no longer being catered to exclusively. The elitist gamer culture is threatened by an invasion of outsiders; many who once ridiculed gamers for their passion. So the gamersphere gets defensive.
“Wii is a fad. It has no good games. Wii gamers only play Wii Sports; they don’t buy more games. Wii is collecting dust in the closet. Wii games are not real games. Only Nintendo games sell on Wii.” Rather than embracing the fact that more people than ever are enjoying video games, the elitist hardcore gamersphere is angered that their once-exclusive domain is being infiltrated by players who have not earned the right to be called gamers. The celebration of hardcore gaming prowess is diluted by the inclusion of “casual” Wii owners. The once crucial online gamer culture that drove the entire industry is becoming irrelevant.
And, of course, the most devastating betrayal came at E3 2009, when MS and Sony revealed their own motion control solutions to capture that lucrative “casual” market, and further alienate the hardcore gaming elite. Watching the gamersphere forced to praise Natal or Sony’s “wand” as revolutionary is pitiful. I almost feel sorry for them.
It is no secret that Nintendo has aimed to disrupt the video game industry, with great success. More interesting, however, is their inadvertent disruption of the online video game culture that has driven the industry for the last decade. The unique relationship between the gamersphere and the industry has eroded, and while the online community continues to scream its unwavering consensus, no one is listening anymore.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Wow, great article!!! I would like to say that I consider myself a core gamer. I own all three of the systems and I feel embarrassed by the MS and Sony community for saying the things that they have said about the Big N. Just to put my two cents in, the Wii is by far the superior system. Who wouldn’t enjoy playing games with your family who feel frightened from the complexity of the Xbox and PS3. The Wii has brought families closer by simplicity, and I believe that is what scares the “Hardcore Community” the most. And to all of those people who slammed the Wii during its early days, and now are praising Microsofts Natal and Sony’s Wand, shame on you. Without Nintendo perhaps making the boldest move in video game history by incorporating motion to video games, Natal and the Wand would have never of even crossed the minds of game creators, and we would still be stuck with the same old controller with the same old features with the same old results, “children and immature men” being the only group who would play video games.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
What I think is funny is that what Nintendo is doing is actually returning to the true roots of video gaming. When I was young, we purchased the Atari 2600, and even though my brother and I played it the most, the fact is that it was a complete family system. I can still vividly recall having family get-togethers where the Atari was the main attraction. So many of the original Atari games were designed with one purpose in mind – to offer a fun gaming experience that pretty much anybody could play.
As the years past, you could definitely see a shift in the focus of video games. Soon the games started taking on more depth, and requiring more time, thus the “hard-core” gamers were born. No longer were most games designed to be played for a 1/2 hour. Games were now being made that required a level of investment that most adults weren’t able to provide. I believe this is what caused the shift from “family” games to “hard-core” games.
Once this new genre of games took hold, the next thing that started to change was the detail and graphics of the game. Whereas the Atari games were content to provide more basic graphics, but with an emphasis on gameplay. The newer systems were focusing more on graphics and options, and unfortunately were often ignoring the game play.
What we’ve seen for the past 15 years or so is pretty much the culmination of this idea. Who can provide the greatest amount of eye-candy. Who has the most power to offer the greatest graphics.
But then along came the Wii. Instead of focusing on pure graphics, they’ve taken a step back, and have once again made the actual game play the key element. Instead of just catering to a group of hard-core gamers, they’ve returned to the roots of gaming, and have given a whole new generation of families a reason to once again sit around their TV’s and play a video game console.
I don’t have a problem with nice graphics. I’m glad that there are 2 systems out there that can provide those graphics (all though honestly, if I really want to impress my eyes, I’ll stick to PC gaming). I just don’t understand why these “hard-core” gamers can’t accept the Wii for what it is, rather than feeling so threatened by it. Especially when the Wii is actually being more true to what video gaming was meant to be.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
You know, I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and… Well, Nintendo got there before Sony or MS, so in the console space they definitely did do something very important but…
They were second to the party, and it would’ve happened even if they’d done nothing. It’s just that consoles would’ve died off completely instead of having a second lease at life.
Flash would have killed them.
August 17th, 2009 at 12:34 am
I currently own both current gen home consoles and handhelds from nintendo and sony and I’ve got to say i log alot more hours on nintendo’s consoles mainly due to their games being fun and fresh. I’ve spent enough time sitting on the couch with an analog controller and its definetely good to see at least someone bringing fresh and new ideas to the table.
I’d hate to see either microsoft or sony flop on their motion controls even though they’re late to the party. They need it to work to keep up with the industry standard in which was set by nintendo this round with their “revolution.” I can see sony’s “wands” having the potential to be a competitor with the wii. But with project natal, its a little sketchy. From what I’ve heard from the people i hang out with, natal seems a bit too floaty with its controls. Mario Kart Wii with the wiimote steering wheel is already a floating steering wheel. Racing with Natal just doesn’t feel right without something physical there to provide some weight to it. It’ll have trouble taking off if they plan to sell it as a $200 peripheral unless they wait till next generation to integrate it in and have developers make games compatible with Natal/Sony “Wands” right from the get go, Microsoft and Sony respectably will have an easier time selling it to consumers and not end up with a rarely used peripheral (eg. N64DD)
August 17th, 2009 at 12:40 am
Microsoft has done nothing except copy everything that everyone else has done … Apple, Nintendo … it’s pitiful …
and Microsoft does it badly …
August 17th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Good article, but I reiterate again why we need to have one or the other? What’s wrong with enjoying Halo AND Wii Sports?
August 17th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Funnily enough, if you read industry publications about 5 or 6 years ago, they were equally as distorted. Sony and Microsoft were waging a war of Gods and Nintendo was distant and dead. A deserved loser of generations past.
The reality was PS2 sold 120 million units, Xbox sold 24 million, and Gamecube sold 21. The fractional difference between second place and last was inconsequential. Moreover, Nintendo had maintained better sustained profitability than Sony, while Microsoft had burned through +$4billion. The press were painting something very far from reality, as they do today, with a distinctly anti Nintendo bent, towing party lines bought and paid for by MS’s FUD PR men. Just as Sony had done a generation before that. Just as Sega had done a generation before that.
In fact, the default position of new entrants in the market has always been to attack NIntendo, always on the ground that it doesn’t serve some virtualized “true gamer”. The difference this generation is that there hasn’t been a new entrant (because none can afford it), and like the CIA and the public who followed them, the other two started believing their own misinformation, deciding that Nintendo posed no threat, and that their strategies weren’t worth consideration.
I’ll tell you something. One of the problems with 3rd parties right now is that they’re made of a generation of gamers. Games made by ‘gamers’ for ‘gamers’ raised on Playstation, hardened on the PC, and carrying deeply engrained ancient prejudices.
August 17th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
i agree with phil myth. “hardcore” and “casual” gamers r becoming 2 far apart, and put-downs from both sides dont make it better…i like the fresh motion games using the wii remote, but sometimes i just prefer a classic analog feel with supported multiplayer, “hardcore” action, and the graphics couldnt hurt it.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thanks for positive feedback. I wish I had some of my own. Re-reading this after having forgotten about it for a few weeks makes me very critical. It kind of meanders without ever coming to a point.
Much thanks to Blake and David and Infendo for the opportunity.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Great article, thanks for writing it! I feel the same way!