Spring Break
Gaming with Grandma
Critiquing the casual gaming trend
Paresh Jha and Fernando Dutra
Issue date: 9/23/08 Section: Focus
How many times have you played "Tetris" or "Bubble Breaker" on the phone while bored in class or waiting for the shuttle? Do you love games like "Wii Sports," "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero?" Is that the extent of your gaming experience? If you answered an emphatic yes to any of those questions, then chances are you have been given a label without knowing it: "casual gamer." This label carries with it both positive and negative aspects.
Before the arrival of the Nintendo Wii, the concept of casual gaming was not as widespread a term or label. Before the console was released, the casual gamer was, generally speaking, one who enjoyed random simple games on cell phones and flash websites. In that sense, casual gamers were somewhat undefined back then. Today casual gamers have risen to form a more concrete identity. Core gamers were people who played "hardcore" franchises like "Halo," "The Legend of Zelda," "World of Warcraft" and "Super Mario Bros." For a long time the industry was moving in a direction catering to these gamers since they were the sole clientele.
Enter the struggling Nintendo in the Fall of 2006 with their new console. The Nintendo GameCube was an overall fiscal failure. The console wars ended with Nintendo in last place, behind the champion Sony and the new kid on the block, Microsoft. Satoru Iwata worried for the future of the company, noting that if the next Nintendo console didn't sell well enough, the company could go under, even despite the success of their newest handheld, the Nintendo DS. They had to start thinking out of the box and move forward with big risks. Nintendo's goal was to differentiate themselves from their competitors, who focused on greater functionality, better graphics, and were becoming more PC-like in configuration. Arguably, the gaming world forever changed with the release of the Nintendo Wii in November of 2006, making the gap between casual and hardcore gamers more distinguished than ever.
The console's revolutionary motion sensing technology attracted so many more consumers than anyone had anticipated, including Nintendo. Supply could not meet demand and the console is still frequently out of stock in stores around the country even two years after its release. Nintendo challenged the industry by saying they wanted your grandmother to pick up and play the Wii. Strangely enough, it worked out exactly as they said it would. Everyone started playing the Wii, from children to senior citizens and everyone in between. If you wanted to get your girlfriend into gaming, this was your chance to do it. Nintendo was on top again and almost everyone loved the Wii. Chalk it up to word of mouth marketing and following an Apple-esque veneer for the console.
Before the arrival of the Nintendo Wii, the concept of casual gaming was not as widespread a term or label. Before the console was released, the casual gamer was, generally speaking, one who enjoyed random simple games on cell phones and flash websites. In that sense, casual gamers were somewhat undefined back then. Today casual gamers have risen to form a more concrete identity. Core gamers were people who played "hardcore" franchises like "Halo," "The Legend of Zelda," "World of Warcraft" and "Super Mario Bros." For a long time the industry was moving in a direction catering to these gamers since they were the sole clientele.
Enter the struggling Nintendo in the Fall of 2006 with their new console. The Nintendo GameCube was an overall fiscal failure. The console wars ended with Nintendo in last place, behind the champion Sony and the new kid on the block, Microsoft. Satoru Iwata worried for the future of the company, noting that if the next Nintendo console didn't sell well enough, the company could go under, even despite the success of their newest handheld, the Nintendo DS. They had to start thinking out of the box and move forward with big risks. Nintendo's goal was to differentiate themselves from their competitors, who focused on greater functionality, better graphics, and were becoming more PC-like in configuration. Arguably, the gaming world forever changed with the release of the Nintendo Wii in November of 2006, making the gap between casual and hardcore gamers more distinguished than ever.
The console's revolutionary motion sensing technology attracted so many more consumers than anyone had anticipated, including Nintendo. Supply could not meet demand and the console is still frequently out of stock in stores around the country even two years after its release. Nintendo challenged the industry by saying they wanted your grandmother to pick up and play the Wii. Strangely enough, it worked out exactly as they said it would. Everyone started playing the Wii, from children to senior citizens and everyone in between. If you wanted to get your girlfriend into gaming, this was your chance to do it. Nintendo was on top again and almost everyone loved the Wii. Chalk it up to word of mouth marketing and following an Apple-esque veneer for the console.
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