Rather than going on a debate, and writing word after exasperated word, it all boils down to questions. In light of these, how can casual games be called “meh, casual” while hardcore games remain their holy tag of awesomeness? How can we be told, as console gamers, to “respect” mobile gaming when putting it aside into it’s own category is discriminating enough already (yep, I’m playing the race card here)? And just who’s casual and hardcore in the first place?

Here are the questions in…er, question:

1. Are casual games “casual” because they reach a larger audience, or because there are more of them in a year than “AAA” releases? Is distribution and ease of access a better defining factor than unit sales and long development cycles?

2. What’s the distinction between today’s “causal” games and the old-school puzzlers and platforms? Many of them, like their console brethren, feature the same mechanics and far better graphics – but do we consider the first Legend of Zelda casual? Is Tetris casual? Almost every so-called casual gamer has played Mario in some form or the other. Does that make it a “casual” platformer?

3. A number of “hardcore” franchises have found new life on the mobile. Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes and The World Ends With You: Solo Remix are two such titles. Does optimizing these titles for the mobile gaming platform suddenly make them casual? Or are they just hardcore titles on a casual platform – which leads to the next question…

4. Is mobile gaming “casual” simply because of the people who play it? How is some one who enjoys Call of Duty more “hardcore” than some one who plays an RPG hack-and-slash like Infinity Blade 2 and Bastion or tower defense like Anomaly: Warzone Earth and Plants vs Zombies?

5. Is it the games or the audience that defines whether a console is hardcore? Does the sheer number of people partaking in a particular game make it more “casual” or simply more popular? Take the example of other media: Is Terminator 2 considered non-serious cinema despite being one of the most commercially successful action films of all time? Is Fight Club meant for readers of all ages, despite it’s iconic status among novels?

6. How are handheld games not considered “casual”? Despite packing more power and featuring classic titles like Ocarina of Time and newer, more faithful renditions of series’ mechanics like Killzone: Mercenary, they essentially have a wider reach than consoles. This ties into the Question 3: If it’s optimized for that platform, even significantly changed, does that make it any less hardcore than it’s predecessor or bigger brothers?

7. Are console games more “hardcore” because of their length and content? Because they can hold larger amounts of content, with cutscenes and plot and side-missions? Because they feature more complex controls and inventory systems? They can be considered what I like to call, “playable” and “unplayable” considering how well they execute the above.

8. Where exactly does indie gaming fit into the “casual” vs “hardcore” debate? Are they less hardcore because they have smaller budgets, or more casual because they have smaller budgets? Is Dust: An Elysian Tail hardcore because of it’s mechanics or casual because of it’s overall length and layout? Is Super Meat Boy hardcore because of it’s difficulty or casual because of it’s simplicity?

9. If this wasn’t clear before, I’ll state it again: If you think playing Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty each year makes you “hardcore”, smack yourself. People who watch a new Saw or Paranormal Activity don’t call themselves “hardcore” horror movie fans either.

10. What is the point of all these questions? For this one we have an answer: The debate is bunk. Distinguishing between games on the basis of their platform is quickly becoming ridiculous. The increasing power of tablets and smartphones, bringing bigger titles to the platform, has nothing to do with it. Putting a set of factors deciding who’s more dedicated to video games doesn’t work, for the simple reason that everyone, everywhere is playing a game of some sort. Some one might be better at Fruit Ninja than you – does that make them more “hardcore” or the game more “casual”?

The logical conclusion is to remember that games are meant to be fun, and that graphics, development platform and scale aren’t the best yardsticks for deciding a game’s fun factor. If nothing else, the advent of gaming across several new platforms and markets shows that just about anyone can be a gamer, regardless of whatever tag makes the most sense.

We recently sat down with Nintendo UK’s Head of Communications, Rob Saunders, and we got to talk of their future support for their systems.

We asked Mr Saunders if Nintendo will be taking the more hardcore approach with the 3DS- lately, they have been known to be shifting towards the casual market a bit, but the 3DS, with games such as Splinter Cell and Resident Evil, looks to change this perception. We asked him if with their new handheld, Nintendo will try to reclaiming the hardcore market.

To this, Saunders said, “I don’t think it’s so much about reclaiming them…  I think with a game like Mario Galaxy 2, for example, we’ve continued making those sorts of games and we still try to make games for as broad an audience as possible.”

“What we are trying to do with the 3DS launch line is to mirror that and show that there is an amazing breadth of software there,” he continued. “Whether you’re a more casual user and like Rayman or you’re a hardcore Street Fighter fan, whether you’re a football fan and love Pro-Evo or even if you just love stroking a dog, via Nintendogs and Cats, there’s something for you.

“It would be a pretty dull launch line up if it was thirteen shoot em’ ups or thirteen driving games. I think it’s about having something for everyone. There are always going to be people who aren’t happy or cry that a certain title isn’t there but, as we’ve shown at E3 and as Mr. Miyamoto said recently; there’s a Mario game coming, we’ve shown Zelda Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart will be there, those titles will come.  What we’d rather do is bring that title out when it’s finished, ready and brilliant, rather than rush it and bring out an inferior title.”

Nintendo also got nominated in the BAFTA’s, and regarding that, they said, “People who pigeonhole us as being ‘something just for kids’ or being all about shooting or fighting games should take a look at this list.”

In the very same interview, Saunders told us that Nintendo are already working on a new home console, which may include 3D. He also told us that the Ocarina of Time 3DS remake will be very “faithful” to the N64 original.

Here’s the full interview.

Activision, the most successful, sadistic and evil publisher in the market replied this way: “It’s a great opportunity,” said senior producer Brian Pass. “This game was originally on the N64, so there’s the nostalgia factor for people that are Nintendo fans. So we wanted to partner with Nintendo for this.

“The opportunity on the Nintendo Wii platform is huge. There’s roughly 12 million Wiis in North America. But it’s not really a console that a lot of shooter fans are playing on. So we wanted to offer them their own first-person shooter, that’s unique and exclusive to that console.”

“Maybe it’s because people don’t like using the Wii Remote and the Nunchuck. They don’t like using the pointing device. Now they’ve got the Classic Pro Controller. This is dual analogue stick. It’s got the exact same layout you find on PS3 or 360,” he added.

What do you think? Will GoldenEye be good on the Wii? Or will it be better off on the HD consoles, with all their online and high-def graphics? Tell us via your comments!

In an interview with MCV the Big M stated that 2010 releases such as Alan Wake, Halo Reach, Crackdown II and Fable 3 will make this year one of the best in the Xbox 360’s history.

“From the beginning, Xbox has always had a very deliberate strategy to focus on core gamers and then expand the market,” said European Xbox Boss Chris Lewis, ThatVideoGameBlog reported.

“Project Natal is meant to complement, not replace, the experiences on Xbox 360. We’ve reached new heights in creating a more natural and responsive gaming and entertainment experience for people of all interests and skill levels, whilst maintaining our commitment to deliver quality core games that consistently exceed expectations.”

But not matter what platform you are playing on, 2010 looks set to be a great year for gaming.

Not to be stopped by a simple flood, these three lads from the Philippines are hard at work on what appears to be either Starcraft or Warcraft 3.

Those are some sweet rigs too by the looks of things, but all the zooming in the world won’t tell us what’s under the hood.

I sure hope that’s muddy water they’re sitting in.

Source: Imgur