Not long ago, a friend pointed me to a VGCats strip that appears to sum up how a lot of gamers are feeling about the casual gamer revolution.
I have to admit that I don’t mind it quite as much as some others do. Granted, it’s not the greatest thing in the world — I’d love a new Zelda (or six) and maybe, if we’re really really lucky, a return to the old-style FFs, right about now — but I am also horribly addicted to Brain Age (and Brain Age2, its hyperactive cousin*). I will not rest until I’ve beaten my sister at every “event” in Wii Sports.
And I’ve only tried Wii Fit once, but I’ve become a step fiend.
All that said, I do feel an incredible sense of nostalgia for the way things used to be; game series consisted of classics rather than random knockoffs intended as cash grabs. At the same time, that’s probably what people said about Dr. Mario when it was first released.
Nintendo realized long ago that a huge part of keeping its base audience happy is nostalgia — hence all the remakes and ports of old-school games for newer systems. Will it be enough to keep people tuned in in the era of gaming as a casual endeavour? Only time will tell.
*Mad bonus points if you get the Clone High reference.
