??geek-turned-popular kid (Wii) is starting to realize that their new friends (casual gamers) are fickle and mercurial, and that maybe they shouldn?t have abandoned their true friends (hard-core gamers).?
What the hell does this even mean? WiiFit Plus, Wii Sports Resort and NSMBWii are going to join previous Wii titles as the best selling games of this console generation. They might not do it in one month, but they will continue to sell, at FULL PRICE, for years.
The perceived schism between so-called hardcore and casual gamers is the greatest myth of the decade, and any legitimate discussion on videogames would be well-advised to ignore it. The ?hardcore? is a tiny fraction of the total customer base, they just happen to be the most VOCAL online. The bulk of those 6 million MW2 sales went to gamers who only buy a few games a year, and they all bought MW2 because that?s what all their friends bought. Madden, GTA, Halo are casual games, bought buy people who only buy a few games a year. They don?t surf the interent, post on NeoGAF, or even realize that they are hardcore or casual. They buy the most hyped games for this very reason. The hardcore is not the market-driving force they think they are. In fact, they are becoming more niche each year.
The hardcore gamers described in the opening paragraph of this article are far, far, fewer than the market would have you believe. It is certainly not 6 million strong, though they would use MW2 sales numbers to convince you otherwise. The reality is, 90% of those 6 million are just people who like to play videogames with their friends, casually.
