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Joystiq On The <cite>Wii Fit</cite> Aftermath

As you might imagine, Nintendo’s reveal of exercise game Wii Fit caused quite a bit of consternation from the hardcore gamer crowd. Joystiq’s Jared Rea decided to write an article about the meltdown and ask some level-headed people, including me, what they think about it all. "It says the games business is about to enter […]

Meltdown_reggieAs you might imagine, Nintendo's reveal of exercise game Wii Fit caused quite a bit of consternation from the hardcore gamer crowd. Joystiq's Jared Rea decided to write an article about the meltdown and ask some level-headed people, including me, what they think about it all.

"It says the games business is about to enter a period of mass acceptance and prosperity." says Chris Kohler, editor of Wired's Game|Life blog. "Developers aren't tasked with a choice between 'casual' and
'hardcore' -- they have to choose between 'casual' or 'go out of business.'"

I'm exaggerating (a little), but as I've said before, the sort of zero-sum game thinking that says casual games are destroying hardcore games is wrong. If hardcore games die out, it's not casual games' fault -- it's their own. If anything, casual games, by increasing the total audience, will only help other kinds of games.
Feedback Fallout: Nintendo's Wii Fit [Joystiq]