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During the previous console generation, Nintendo was very often criticized by gamers for putting too much of an emphasis on casual games. However, in a recent interview with Edge, Shigeru Miyamoto explained that Nintendo’s current strategy is the complete opposite of that time:
“[These are] the sort of people who, for example, might want to watch a movie. They might want to go to Disneyland. Their attitude is, ‘okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.’ It’s kind of a passive attitude they’re taking, and to me it’s kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games]. In the days of DS and Wii, Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population. Fortunately, because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. It’s a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people’s daily lives.”
Not counting Game Boy, Wii and DS were Nintendo’s best selling consoles. But now, with the casual audience gone due to confusion with Wii U and the continuing rise of smartphones, I think it’s only natural for Nintendo to focus all its attention on hardcore gamers.
Do you think Nintendo should concentrate solely on the “hardcore” audience or try to recapture some of the lost casual gamers? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Nintendo Everything
Honestly I think this is great news for fans of gaming (and gameplay) in general. I see things said sometimes about how certain game companies are essentially making interactive movies. While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, the point behind that statement is basically that many game designers have moved away from gameplay as a selling point.
Things like a celebrity actor in a game may bring in the casual crowd, but for me at least it adds nothing to the experience. It looks like Nintendo is also against that philosophy by this quote.
Focus, yes. It’s good to get back the hardcore crowd. But completely abandoning the casual market isn’t right. I for one still enjoy some casual gameplay when I’m too tired to play hardcore. Other people start out as casual and sometimes move on to hardcore. Yes most casual gamers become complacent, but some grow weary for a challenge. At any rate, focus on hardcore is good as long as you leave a few casuals as bait.