Hardcore Gamers Are Killing Creativity

         Yes, I know reading a title like that may upset, anger, or even confuse some of you, but it's true. The whole hardcore mentality is destroying gaming. I'm not saying we should get rid of hardcore gamers or hardcore games. I'm Just saying that developers are apparently more focused on looking dark, gritty, or edgy, than they are on actually making a fun experience. What happened to games that were just fun for fun's sake? What happened to the talking animals, quirky characters, and nonsensical gameplay that captivated us in gaming's younger days? Gaming is in serious need of a wake up call, but it seems the hardcore crowd would rather tease and mock anything that dares to be different than the standard dark, gritty, edgey, motiff.

   one of the greatest  "What the hell?" moments in gaming came for me with the intro to Nintendo's E3 2014 Direct, but it was not because of the Direct itself. It was because of the saddening reaction it received by the supposed hardcore gamers on the internet. The Direct opened with an over the top, anime styled battle between Reggie Fils-aime, and Satoru Iwata. I personally thought it was very entertaining and funny, but apparently the hardcore crowd thought it was immature, childish, or kiddy. At what point did we decide that anything goofy or funny is kiddy? They are a GAME COMPANY. They create VIDEO GAMES. What is serious about video games? nothing? no matter what game you play, there's nothing serious about it, it's still a game. Lighten up! Why does everything have to be dark and edgey now? Even Epic Mickey felt like it was trying to hard to be dark and edgey, and is most likely why I didn't bother to finish it. Though colorful, the colors felts washed out and faded.

  Another example is creativity being killed off by hardcore, lets look at the Final Fantasy XIV Tokyo Gameshow Trailer. Last Time I checked it was called Final FANTASY. Its right there in the title, so how do you not have fantasy elements? They got rid of the chocobos for a convertible car you drive around. I can drive a car in real life. Give me that weird fantasy creature. The entirety of Final Fantasy XIV looks way more Sci Fi than it does fantasy in my opinion. Its trying to hard to be realistic or believable, but why does a GAME have to be believable? Are not the vast majority of games considered to be the greatest game of all time just unrealistic as can be and full of creativity? That is the beauty of games. You don't have to follow any rules whatsoever.

   So, what can be done to revive the creativity of the gaming industry, so that we can see more than urban environments with dark, gritty, edgey elements? to be honest, I have no earthly Idea. I'm still researching trying to figure out when dark and gritty became so popular even with kids. I think maybe the next big thing will have to pop up out the blue to run off this "hardcore" image. Maybe something like Yu-gi-oh!, Pokemon, or Kingdom Hearts will have to surface. Those three took the gaming world by storm and are full of creativity. Sure we have League of Legends and Hearth Stone on the PC, but Why isn't anything like that on the consoles? It seems like the main console that dares to be creative, is the main one being mocked, Wii U. I'm not going to rant about creative Nintendo games being called kiddy, so I'll stop here. I'll close with this prediction: unless hardcore gamers start showing an interest in games that are nonsensical and fun for fun's sake, console gaming will become stagnant and die a horrible slow death.

Where is the Wii Audience Now?

     It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the Wii U is not selling nearly as fast as its predecessor, and one of the main questions people ask is "Where are all those Wii owners?" That very question may seem like it has an easy answer at first, but upon further research, I believed I've found the best way to answer that question. For the most part, the Wii U isn't aimed at them, so they are not buying in to the next generation of gaming.

   Consider this, The Wii was seen by many as the casual console, or the console for the younger audience. In reality in was just the console for the masses, be they casual, hardcore, or nongamer. To first begin answering this question, let us first examine the Playstation 2 and the Playstation 3. The common view is that the Playstation 3 is a hardcore gamer's console, and I'm not going to argue with that, but was the Playstation 2 a hardcore console? If so, why didn't that crowd migrate to Playstation 3? The answer is simple. he Playstation 2 was the same thing as the Wii. It was the console for the masses for it's respective gen. Yes, we often get the argument that the Playstation 2 was more hardcore than the Wii, but when you look at it's staggering install base, and the comparatively small amount of hardcore titles sold, that doesn't seem to be the case. The Wii's Hardcore titles actually sold more than the Playstation 2's, and it did it with a smaller install base. Why? Because it was the console for the masses, as well as for the Nintendo fans. The reason why Wii sold so well, is because those Playstation 2 owners who did not get a Playstation 3, were nongamers and casuals who instead got a Wii. 

       Yes, though the media, your best friend, your brother, and everybody wants you to believe thateveryone who owned a Playstation 2 was playing Hardcore games, thats simply not true. A prime example is  the Guitar Heroes games, Those gamers moved over to Wii. There was also a ton of people who played games like Jambo Safari, Katamari Demacy, and Mr.Mosquito, that migrated to the Wii and began to play games like Wii Sports, Cooking Mama, Just Dance, and Wii Fit. So I would argue that those Wii owners stayed on their Wii. Who could blame them? They moved from Playstation 2 to Wii, so they could play the games that Hardcore and the media call casual and shovelware, but surprisingly, the successor to the Wii has slim picking for people who are into those kinds of games. The Wii U is rather hardcore whether we want to admit it or not. That is one of the main things holding back the Wii owners. Even the Gamepad has a bigger learning curve than the Wii Remote. Its not that they vanished, It's that they have no console to call home this generation. No console has their Cooking Mama, Their Boom Blox, Their Boogie. But even that is just half of the fanbase

     The other half of the Wii owners are those who like Nintendo games, and Exclusives that you can only get on Nintendo Consoles, such as No more Heroes, DragonQuest, Monster Hunter (yea.. it counts now), and this time around even Bayonetta joins that list. If you look at the games that sell best on the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One, you will see mostly multiplatform games in their top 10. The Wii U's Top 10, however, is made up entirely of exclusives. So the people who say 3rd party does not sell on Nintendo consoles is right to a certain degree. 3rd Party multiplats don't sell, but Exclusives sell well. A Nice chunk of the Wii owners were fans of the Lego games, so its no surprise that Lego City Undercover caused a sales boost for 2 weeks for the Wii U, and sold nearly as well as Nintendo's own Pikmin 3. Thats because that game caused a few Wii owners to upgrade, because they couldn't play it on their Wii. For comparison sake, The Skylanders and Disney Infinity games have sold better on Wii than any other console. Its a safe bet that if Nintendo discontinued the Wii and forced Activision to only make a Wii U version, that the Skylanders games would have boosted Wii U sales. As it stands Swap Force on Wii U is outselling the PlayStation 4 and XBox One version 2 to 1. Again, that is  Wii owners who migrated to Wii U, maybe even some of the same who migrated over with Lego City. 

  So, What  can Nintendo do to get the rest of the Wii owners back, or at least a decent amount of them? They're already set to do just that. Nintendo will be releasing their own games that use figures, which has been code named NFP. Nintendo must also be aware that the biggest part of the figures and games fanbase is on their console, so if they are to make their own game with figures, those remainders on the Wii and even the other consoles will have to buy a Wii U if they want to play the lastest Figuringe Collection game. Also, Mario Kart 8 will be out shortly after this article is published. The online Mario Kart experience and the new features will only be able to be played on Wii U. Wii's online is going down, so that too will be incentive to upgrade to Wii U. The other thing that Nintendo seems to be doing getting ready to show off the benefits of the gamepad. We all know the Wii audience loves a fancy controller with nice "gimmicks" so that should win back a few of them as well, granted it is not something too complicated. 

   When its all said and done, Nintendo can not win back all of those Wii owners, because a lot of them are happy playing the old Wii Sports every weekend with their parents, friends, or frat buddies, but they can definitely can win back a sizable chunk that gives them a nice sized install base, and possibly even the lead this generation but they will have to shake the hardcore image and once again be the console for the masses like the Wii was, which still was home to some stellar exclusive games. Here's hoping E3 knocks it out of the park.

Why Indie Developers Are More Creative Than 3rd Party Developers

  I've been saying it for about 5 years now. Creativity in the gaming industry is dying. However, there was one thing I forgot to factor in, and that one thing is enough to make me backtrack on my words.  I am, of course, talking about independent developers. These small teams, and sometimes even one man efforts, are bringing creativity back into the gaming world. In this article I'll explain just why indie games are becoming the hot new thing.

   Anybody with a functioning brain stem can tell you that the video game industry is a copycat industry, and that has a direct effect on the creative process of developers. One thing we, as gamers, tend to forget, is the fact that there are shareholders involved in the game making process. These shareholders are watching and taking note of what's selling, and why. Admittedly, I think they have the "why" part all wrong, but they definitely know what is selling. Because of this, they then more or less pressure third parties to copy what is selling best, and they outright reject anything that is wildly different that they believe will bomb and cost them money. That is why third parties are mostly making shooters. Call of Duty blew up, so the shareholders won't to try their luck on making their own equally as successful shooter. With most third party games playing copycat, or playing it safe, who do we have to turn to for creative, new, and unique experiences?

     That is where indie developers come in. indie developers are just that, independent, and they don't have anybody pressuring them to make their game a certain way. Indies have as much creative freedom as they need, and they aren't just trying to cash in. They truly have a passion for gaming, and they want to create new and unique experiences. Knowing this, it is no surprise that indie developers are delivering the most unique and creative experiences in the gaming industry at the current time. With the gaming community becoming saturated with shooters and hack and slash games, by comparison indie developers are like a Godsend. The only downfall is that the average indie game looks at least 2 generations behind graphically. 

   Indie developers are the most essential thing to the growth and development of the industry at this moment in time. If just one of their games could reach the status of a Mario, Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto game, they could very well change the face of gaming as we know it, and that is one possibility that I would love to see become a reality. So what are your thoughts on the topic? Comment, Rate, or click that button to buy me a taco. Until next time: Be you. Be true. Be human.

What the hell, Gamers?

Warning this is an angry rant! Hell, this is beyond angry! What is going on here?! At First glance when I saw the numbers for the launch week of PS4 and XBox One, I was overly excited about it. That was until I noticed something truly disturbing. Call of Duty was the highest seller on both platforms? What the hell, Gamers? Isn't this supposed to be next gen? Why bother with a port? The Call of Duty obsession should die with last gen. A new generation of gaming should mean new things.

 Seriously, Am I the only person who would be completely pissed off if this gen becomes a repeat of last gen, wherein Microsoft and Sony fight over DLC rights to multiplats and shooters, while Nintendo offers the most variety in exclusives, yet is somehow discredited for it and considered casual? I mean Damn! How many different ways can you play Call of Duty? I know Pokemon is released a lot too, but at least there is years between the releases and there is noticable upgrades, and at least those gamers try NEW games and NEW ideas.
 
 I'm not saying that all of the PS4 and XBox One owners are Call  of Duty Dudebro gamers, but it's a sad day in gaming when 2 new consoles launch and they both have the same game as their top seller, and its a damn port that is also on last gen consoles. At least Wii U's top sellers aren't ports. They're NEW games made for the NEW hardware! What's the point of upgrading if you're still just playing what is already on the older systems? is it graphics? no slightly better graphics that the average joe can't even notice give you wood or something? This Gen is upsetting me already. E3 2014 better be a hell of a lot different than the yawnfest that was E3 2013, or I'll have one hell of a rant.

The Wii U Has The Advantage This Holiday Season

By now there's already been thousands of articles claiming the Wii U or Nintendo as a whole is doomed. I find that a bit odd considering the 3DS has been doing great for a long while now, and the Wii U is picking up steam following it's price drop and WindWaker HD bundle. I'm not going to waste time arguing counter points against the doomsayers. Instead, I'm simply going to point out why Nintendo has a clear advantage going into this holiday season.

  The first advantage is the Wii U's price. The Wii U is effectively $100 cheaper than the nearest competitor, Sony's Playstation 4, and even comes bundles with a Zelda game. For the Price of a PS4, a potential Wii U owner could get a Wii U and 2 or more games, depending on what they buy, and for the price of an XBox One, they can get a Wii U and a 3DS/2DS to go along with it. With the majority of consumers who buy consoles during the holiday season being parents, that put Wii U in a nice position. They can buy the cheaper option, and still get the biggest titles such as Batman Arkham City, Assassin's Creed Black Flag, and Call of Duty for their child. Price will definitely give Wii U an edge.

  Another advantage is Nintendo's franchises. We all know Mario sells. Nobody can deny that. In fact 80% of Wii U owners have New Super Mario Bros. U, and a brand new 3D 4-player Mario is coming this holiday season, as well as other famous franchises like Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Mario and Sonic Olympics, and Wii Party. Ever since the announcement of Wii Sports Club, the original Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort have seen a sales spike in the US. Both Titles have made their way back into the top 20 weekly games for consecutive weeks. People are apparently preparing to take the new Wii Sports Club online and challenge the world. The biggest key to Nintendo's success this holiday is not even Wii Sports or Mario, believe it or not. the biggest key to their success is Wii Fit. If a consumer already has the Balance Board, they can effectively get Wii Sports for just $19.99 when they buy a Wii Fit Meter. Wii Fit was already a powerhouse system seller for the Wii, and now its only $20 on the Wii U. That is definitely going to sell some Wii U consoles.

  Last but not least, Wii U will be the only new console available in every major region this holiday season. Neither PS4 nor XBox One will be available in Japan this year. That gives Wii U home field advantage for this holiday. leaving the Wii U alone with no competitor except for  PSVita TV in Japan was not the best idea on their part. So with price, their storied franchises, and availability as there big advantages, The Wii U is set to have a very successful holiday 2013. 

Gamers DON'T determine the winning console

There was once a time where gamers determined what the top selling console was. Yes, in its infancy, game sells relied almost entirely on the gamer. Ever since the days of the Playstation, well before the Wii, casual players and non-gamers entered the market in huge waves. Sure, we as gamers love our action/adventure, RPGs, shooters, Hack and Slash, etc, but its the casuals that boost the sales of any given console into the 100 millions. 

Let's examine the most recent generation of games as an example. The Wii was the clear winner saleswise, yet the average "hardcore" gamer seems to have a serious disdain for it, claiming it to be the casual, or kiddy console. An incorrect view of the console, but if we look at what games sold the most, we see games aimed at casuals, such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit at the top of their charts. I know we can look at the Call of Duty games and say they sell a lot too, but in comparison to a game that both gamers and average joe's play, such as Mario Kart wii, Those numbers are small.

The same thing will happen with this generation. the landscape of gaming has changed. Why else would the XBox One come with Kinect packed in? Though we are the ones who buy more games and keep the industry afloat, we are but the minority when it comes to deciding which console will have the largest install base. Throughout video game history, you can see that the highest seller has always been the one with the most casual games. Us gamers are here to stay, but to think that we are the deciding factor for who wins a supposed console war, is far from the truth.