Topic: The smartest person on the Internet

[Kairon]

If it hasn't happened to you at some point you're either very young, very easily pleased or very lucky.  Eventually you will hate something you used to love.  It will turn to sh!t and the frustrating thing is all the younger fans around you will love it and won't notice the change because they lack the perspective.  Try arguing that The Simpsons sucks now with someone younger than the show itself.  How do you argue that the show went downhill around Season 7 when the person started watching in Season 10?

Oh geez. Anime and RPGs....and the increasing use of graphing calculators in math classes. It all makes sense now.

[Luigi Dude]

If it hasn't happened to you at some point you're either very young, very easily pleased or very lucky.  Eventually you will hate something you used to love.  It will turn to sh!t and the frustrating thing is all the younger fans around you will love it and won't notice the change because they lack the perspective.  Try arguing that The Simpsons sucks now with someone younger than the show itself.  How do you argue that the show went downhill around Season 7 when the person started watching in Season 10?

That's a horrible comparison because Nintendo is still releasing high quality, traditional games that are just as good as their older games, unlike The Simpsons which has been complete sh!t for the last 10 years.

Hell, in the last year alone, they managed to Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart and Smash Bros Brawl all within 6 MONTHS of each other.  Each of these games where top quality traditional games, that are some of the best for their respective genre, and can easily be compared to their previous installments.  Not to mention Smash Bros Brawl and Mario Galaxy alone cost Nintendo more money, then all the Brain Training, Wii Sports, WiiPlay, Nintendogs, and Wii Fits games combined.

If Nintendo was so bent on destroying traditional gaming, then why are they spending more money on creating traditional games?

[Kairon]

Maybe hardcore gamers are jealous for Miyamoto's attention?

[Shift Key]

Try arguing that The Simpsons sucks now with someone younger than the show itself.  How do you argue that the show went downhill around Season 7 when the person started watching in Season 10?

Simple. You pull out a Season 7 DVD and tell them to watch it.

What's that? They may not agree with you even after watching Season 7? OH NO! IT'S ONE OF THOSE VILE OPINIONS! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

[ShyGuy]

Those punks won't watch season 7, just like they won't watch old black and white movies or play 8 bit video games. Kids these days!

[Shift Key]

Did you say something? I missed it because I was busy yelling at kids to get off my lawn.

[KDR_11k]

Oh geez. Anime and RPGs....and the increasing use of graphing calculators in math classes. It all makes sense now.

Not to mention people who buy third party games just for the sake of buying third party games.

[Kairon]

Oh geez. Anime and RPGs....and the increasing use of graphing calculators in math classes. It all makes sense now.

Not to mention people who buy third party games just for the sake of buying third party games.

Don't be jealous, I've just evolved to the next level of fanboi.

[BeautifulShy]

Here is a new article.
http://Http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/secret-to-the-casual/

[NWR_insanolord]

That link was nowhere near worth catching a glimpse of the above conversation and getting mad about what they were saying about The Simpsons all over again.

[KDR_11k]

BTW, Malstrom's "hardcore" gamers are the kind that wants processing power and graphics. People who have been chanting the mantra of "screw graphics, we want to experience something really new" count as casual (er, New Generation, as opposed to Next Generation) under his definition. Kinda funny since the old gamers are probably a harder core than the next gen people.

[Flames_of_chaos]

While the guy does bring up some interesting points my main problem with the guy are his things are a bloated convoluted mess. Whatever happened to the phrase: "Keep it simple stupid". Instead of running around with circles full of redundancies and repeating yourself except in a fancier way and using other words.

Nintendo knew that if they stayed on the tried and true method of just increasing the hardware power and doing absolutely nothing else they would just end up getting diminishing returns just look at the NES - SNES - N64 - Gamecubes sold, if Nintendo just made a gamecube 2 you sure as hell would see Nintendo in last place again. When Nintendo did something different with the Wii and DS and they brought in a whole new dimension of an audience base and yet they are retaining their old consumer base and guess what? the majority of stuff on Wii caters to the old audience Nintendo had and their new audience.

Microsoft are sticking to their same strategy like last time and they are getting diminishing returns, it's still a dud in Japan, Europe is still ruled by Nintendo and Sony. The only difference is that Microsoft is trying to secure games with money and if the only way your getting specific software pieces as an exclusive or timed exclusive as your main strategy there is something wrong with your strategy. It seems that Microsoft is in desperation mode, now with the rumors of the motion controller it seems that Microsoft is blindly running into things just look at how the Xbox vision turned out.

Sony's main mistake is arrogance and overpricing the heck out of their console. Their audience around the world shrunk significantly but slowly is crawling back up through slashing a lot of features to accommodate the current price which is still too much. 

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

BTW, Malstrom's "hardcore" gamers are the kind that wants processing power and graphics. People who have been chanting the mantra of "screw graphics, we want to experience something really new" count as casual (er, New Generation, as opposed to Next Generation) under his definition. Kinda funny since the old gamers are probably a harder core than the next gen people.

That would be the Core, actually.  The Casuals aren't expressing the demands, like you describe; they'll flock to what's new and attractive, and express their demands through their purchases.


"Instead of running around with circles full of redundancies and repeating yourself except in a fancier way and using other words."

Malstrodamus writes for casuals.  He knows reiteration has benefits.  What's key about his repetition is he'll bring back his old points whenever he discovers NEW/ADDITIONAL content/evidence/references that support them, as he is continuously documenting how this cycle is playing out -- apparently there isn't a shortage of such evidence as of late.  And maybe you've been reading too much of his stuff within a short period of time and you're burned out, while reading his stuff over the past 1.5+ years would've been more gentle to digest.

"except in a fancier way"

A-HA!  YOU'VE FINALLY REVEALED YOURSELF, ELITE HARDCORE WRITING ARTIST.

[Deguello]

Flames, do you have any issues with what he's saying or how he's saying it?

He's actually dead on for most of what he's saying, as the market is showing.  Price isn't really much of an issue for the PS3.  It's that nobody seems to want it.  Same with the 360.  the most major software hits and it barely registers as a blip on the radar, while the Wii sells briskly or out regardless of what's released.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Ironically I didn't think he wrote for the casuals, sure its good to be informative but convolution your article with redundancies will just risk making your audience bored or lost. While it is good to be insightful the way he wrote it makes me think that he is arrogant person and is rubbing it in everybody's face sort of like an elitist. I won't argue with if he's right or wrong because he is right however his method that he presented is atrocious.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I haven't read the article because I did not see my name anywhere listed in the topic.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Haha funny one GP.


I disagree with Malstrom's portrayal of a "hardcore gamer" he portrays it as a person who only cares about the tech used on a game like engines or whatever, I think that's just a tech geek that just gushing over how pretty something is. In my eyes a hardcore gamer is someone who appreciates games regardless of what platform it's on  or the graphics, scale or scope contained in the game.

"Hardcore gamers" want to play games because they love them and are open minded about them. The thing I hate about analysts and a lot of writers and people in general portray whats a gamer or whats a hardcore gamer or a casual gamer.

I think that people like Bill, GoldenPhoenix, Infernal and a bunch of other people on NWR are "hardcore gamers" because they are open to what games they play and don't care about a specific image that a game has but rather purchase and play the game because they are genuinely interested in playing it.

[KDR_11k]

I think with "hardcore" he means the current traditional game market, not really hardcore people (I reserve that term for tournament-level players but YMMV). He elaborates that this distinction really is nonsense (and that it cannot be defined) but keeps using the term for some reason. There are a lot of people who reject the Wii because it is less powerful than the 360/PS3, he means them.

What should not be forgotten about his articles is that he matches Nintendo's approach to an economic theory, Blue Ocean is not a term Nintendo made up, it's a recognized pattern. Making the Wii less powerful than the competition is actually a required step of that strategy. The VC/WiiWare is a preemptive counter to other people trying to pull the same thing on Nintendo. Malstrom theorizes that that's the reason Reggie was hired, the books describing the strategy weren't translated to Japanese until recently and Reggie probably had experience with the pattern.

[Urkel]

Haha funny one GP.


I disagree with Malstrom's portrayal of a "hardcore gamer" he portrays it as a person who only cares about the tech used on a game like engines or whatever, I think that's just a tech geek that just gushing over how pretty something is. In my eyes a hardcore gamer is someone who appreciates games regardless of what platform it's on  or the graphics, scale or scope contained in the game.

"Hardcore gamers" want to play games because they love them and are open minded about them. The thing I hate about analysts and a lot of writers and people in general portray whats a gamer or whats a hardcore gamer or a casual gamer.

I think that people like Bill, GoldenPhoenix, Infernal and a bunch of other people on NWR are "hardcore gamers" because they are open to what games they play and don't care about a specific image that a game has but rather purchase and play the game because they are genuinely interested in playing it.

When Malstrom says "hardcore", he's referring to the hardcore elites that believe technology and "art" are the most important parts of games. You know, the people that say Nintendo is killing gaming and whatnot.

He does make the distinction between the "hardcore", and the "core". The core being like your own description what "hardcore gamers" are.

This is but one of many reasons he makes fun of hardcore gamers.

You can't make stuff like that up.

[KDR_11k]

Well, there is a certain sense to it, Diablo had graphics and music that tried to evoke a sense of fear and desperation but since the actual gameplay was pretty much "Player = Chuck Norris" that feeling didn't last long anyway. I guess more color could help against Act 1 syndrome (after trying a few classes and doing restarts on LAN parties so everyone was on the same level I got sick of seeing that goddamn first act) though.

[Flames_of_chaos]

The Diablo petition thing is really retarded, we barely knew that the game for a good month and yet people whine like crazy. The main trend I hate with gamers is that they are too hard to please (or act like it). When I first read the Diablo 3 petition it made as much sense as NWR wrote a petition to Nintendo to stop making awesome games.

But I don't know I can never take Malstrom seriously, while he's inclined about HIS OPINION and so is everyone else about what a good game is and what it isn't, however everyone has different definitions what a good game is and what a bad game is. Sure he does make some good points but there is something that it sounds like he's forcefully pushing his opinion on us and is trying to define a good game.

[Nick DiMola]

I noticed this thread a while back, but didn't bother to read into the guy's articles because they were a bit too long winded, but seeing how it has popped up again in various spots on the forums I decided to read some of his stuff.

All I have to say is that this guy is so pompous and full of himself it makes me sick. I'm glad he has a vision of what gaming is supposed to be rather than what it is. No one is going to argue that making things simpler can make a fantastic game, but that doesn't mean you can't have complicated games which are also fun, some of which even require a tutorial.

It is so narrow minded to call something crap because it doesn't follow some particular formula. Guess what ass clown, if everything followed the same exact pattern, games would be pretty damn bland. I don't want every single game to be a Nintendo game, that's why I own two other systems, to experience other games that follow different formulas.

Whoever created this whole concept of hardcore/casual gamer needs to be shot. Both words mean **** and it shows whenever anyone tries to explain something within the terms. Gaming appeals to a HUGE variety of people, most of which don't fit either definition. In the end, games are what they are and I'm glad that every system and game has a place in today's market, even the ones I can't stand. Who am I to say that the x shouldn't exist just because I don't think it is the best game experience?

[Flames_of_chaos]

I noticed this thread a while back, but didn't bother to read into the guy's articles because they were a bit too long winded, but seeing how it has popped up again in various spots on the forums I decided to read some of his stuff.

All I have to say is that this guy is so pompous and full of himself it makes me sick. I'm glad he has a vision of what gaming is supposed to be rather than what it is. No one is going to argue that making things simpler can make a fantastic game, but that doesn't mean you can't have complicated games which are also fun, some of which even require a tutorial.

It is so narrow minded to call something crap because it doesn't follow some particular formula. Guess what ass clown, if everything followed the same exact pattern, games would be pretty damn bland. I don't want every single game to be a Nintendo game, that's why I own two other systems, to experience other games that follow different formulas.

Whoever created this whole concept of hardcore/casual gamer needs to be shot. Both words mean **** and it shows whenever anyone tries to explain something within the terms. Gaming appeals to a HUGE variety of people, most of which don't fit either definition. In the end, games are what they are and I'm glad that every system and game has a place in today's market, even the ones I can't stand. Who am I to say that the x shouldn't exist just because I don't think it is the best game experience?

Thank you for proving my point. Everyone has a different opinion on games and what people like or dislike in a game whether its a specific thing or a universal thing that someone doesn't like in general. Hell now practically all atari, intellivision, coleco vision era games are considered "casual" games but back then they were considered "hardcore" if there was such thing as a concept.  I think that it's just a vicious cycle of trying to label stuff whether its for self satisfaction or just for arbitrary reasons is beyond me.

Also if games are going to be the exact same thing every year with no improvement it's just going to be a Madden, Tony Hawk, "insert sports game here" and it will lead to another gaming crash because people won't be interested in it anymore. Just like how I said if Nintendo made a Gamecube 2 and had a similar strategy that it employed during the Gamecube era,it sure as hell wouldn't be as popular as Nintendo's predecessors. Microsoft and Sony fell into the pitfall of focusing primarily on the audience that it traditionally focused on, that's not a bad thing at all in one standpoint but on a business standpoint its bad because you always face the fear of diminishing returns and it does happen.

[Nick DiMola]

I guess I just don't like the fact that he dresses up his opinions and fanboyism as intelligence. It is the "Slashdot Syndrome", where sounding smart =/= being smart. Anybody can write a damn dissertation on why they know the best, but it sure as hell doesn't mean they do (see Mein Kampf).

[Flames_of_chaos]

I guess I just don't like the fact that he dresses up his opinions and fanboyism as intelligence. It is the "Slashdot Syndrome", where sounding smart =/= being smart. Anybody can write a damn dissertation on why they know the best, but it sure as hell doesn't mean they do (see Mein Kampf).

Agreed, he just sounds like a elitist prick that makes fun of "hardcore gamers" for being pricks. He also makes fun of tutorials since when do games diminish in quality just because it has a tutorial. So now in his eyes Metroid, Zelda, Mario and countless games are broken games just because it has an in game tutorial. The only way I really get annoyed with tutorials is if it takes 1/4 to 1/2 of the game to teach the player how to play the game (See GTA:4) but even if it has that much tutorials doesnt mean that the game is broken it just means that the developer just over complicated themselves.

Nick I also recommend you to read this forum post and the rest of the forum topic its an interesting debate