Eltigro

Krondonian

Eltigro

~~

The Earth rests on a turtles back.

Well what does the turtle stand on?

It's turtles all the way down.

MasterSauce

Now, i'm a hardcore gamer and i'd say that i buy more than 40 games a year.

A casual gamer? My mum is a casual gamer and so is my sister. My mum bought one game last year and plays only that. My sister has been gaming longer but only generally buys a game a year or possibly two.

When i was younger i had 2 games for my NES, 6 games for my SNES (after selling the NES to buy it), 2 games for my gamegear and one game for my Gameboy. I used to be a casual gamer.

I currently don't own any current gen consoles (only a DS and PC)
My defence of not buying a Wii - even though i'd like to - is that most of the games are not to my taste. i.e. Why would i buy a movie player that was only supported mostly by dramas or musicals with a few good action flicks thrown in from time to time? Some of which had been around for years and i already owned?

My defence for not buying a 360 - even though there are games i want - why would i pay for unreliable hardware?

My defence for not buying a PS3 - i personally think it's too expensive for what it offers me.

Obviously, living in a country which isn't either the US or Japan colours my views on issues like online content etc and these issues affect my choices as well.

:)

Duoae

Acute Gamer

And that's exactly why Marcel Proust doesn't contribute to this forum.
So you've scared of a dead French bloke, happy now?

Cruithne

Gam3r

Acute Gamer

There is a difference between "comments", and a commentary, many which are quite a bit longer than the original story.

Partime "philosophers" and "market analysts".......keep it short, I don't read/like mini novels!

Acute Gamer

hotfiredude123

hotfiredude123

The only way anyone can argue that "Nintendo is #1 again" is by hardware sales, and even then their lead in home console sales is fairly marginal right now, if not nonexistent...

Look at software sales. Then who's #1? Activision. Know who really owns the console market? Sony. Globally. Even the Wii isn't going to change that. And those people who buy 5-10 games a year and play the shit out of them??? NOT CASUAL GAMERS!

Also, not Wii owners if you look at the software sales data. Wii owners are generally non-gamers buying for their children, and usually purchase less than 5 games a year. Many Wii owners only buy WiiSports, and only then because it comes with a controller. If Nintendo can sustain themselves on a consumer base like that, good for them. It doesn't take a genius to see that once the supply constraints disappear, so will the demand.

The question then becomes, without legitimate 3rd party support, how many controller pack-in games and franchise rehashes can Nintendo sell to truly sustain their profitability?

I understand the point that Nintendo's strategy, success, and future viability are in no way rooted in catering to the "Hardcore" market anymore, but so does just about ever other Kotaku commenter over the age of 12.

Going completely off of the deep end in attacking this imaginary majority of people who are both "Hardcore gamers" and who also now must hate Nintendo for their current success is way overzealous, and completely unfounded. Which would be fine if the post was actually funny...

The people who spew hate @ Nintendo as is being referenced to in Sixtails post are the diehard, old school Nintendo fans, and lets be honest: Nintendo is "abandoning" them for the sake of being a profitable mass market fad, I personally don't blame either side.

Sure Nintendo's making money hand over fist now, but it won't last forever. The Wii install base nowhere near what the PS2 has hit (so far), and it never will be without real, interesting, quality software that supports the unique functionality of the Wii-mote.

You want to talk about who owns the mainstream gaming audience? Talk to Sony. Ask them about how they manage to consistently outsell the Wii, PS3, & Xbox 360 with the PS2. Ask them about their 100 million install base, and the global future of the PlayStation brand. Ask them about the PSP's continued momentum despite an obselete disc format and a lack of real software support.

The only arena where a "Nintendo's #1 again!" comment is valid is in the handheld market. That's it.

stranger

*middle finger*

Now I have to wade through uninvited trolls, elitist fanboy asshats, AND 10 pages of essays just to read the funny, short comments. UGH!

Banhammer Monday can't come soon enough...

*says the man who has most definitely posted tl;dr comments before...*

DaveKap

tk.

(heheheh... want to see what happens if Disgaea turns into a one-unit action RPG like Diablo/Dungeon Siege/Shining Soul/etc? "Oh, we removed item levelling because it was too confusing.")

Certainly you can't blame the companies for making a profit; for all the "love" they show their fans, it's about money. But casual games lowering the bar for entry may (or may not in the long run?) poison good franchises more than it leads casual gamers to turn serious, and all for an audience who may lose interest and abandon the games anyway.

I'm still waiting to see what the extent of the fallout will be when the casuals who snatch up Wiis just so they have one stop buying games to the same or greater extent as hardcore gamers disillusioned with the flood of casual titles.

...but regardless, none of this has to apply to all of gaming, and if an audience wants a game, they will MAKE it. There will always be casual titles and hardcore ones, and maybe the new and hazy line between them will fade out again.

fuchikoma

Gospel X

Polywhirl

Gamerscore?, gamerscore?, we don't need no steenking gamerscores, we got Kotaku stars, how's that for an e penis?

Cruithne

Okay, now that I've pointed out his grammatical mistake, good work Bzr! It's like a refreshing breeze, or an ice cream cone in your pants on a hot summer day.

And following that, it's hard for me to say this, but:
Sixtail is a whining idiot.
1. Casual gamers usually buy 2 games a year, not 5-10. I say this from my dealing with real human beings. Out of a group of hundreds, the only people I've ever known to buy 5+ games a year are the ultra-hardcore.
2. Half his comment consists of insults. Sixtails is a retard. Most of it doesn't actually consist of substance. Sixtails needs to shut up. He has maybe two facts, and spends the rest of his time splicing in his insults to bulk up his comment. Sixtails is scum. It's really rather insulting that anybody would try something like that.
3.He claims that it's our fault for not being able to adapt to the new controller. It couldn't possibly be that the Wiimote is inferior for games in some aspects, could it? I mean, what if they made an anal dildo for a controller? I imagine Sixtails wouldn't want to shove it up his ass, no matter how much Nitendo told him it was the "wave of the future." Actually, come to think of it, he'd probably lap it up. Now go retreat back to your cave, Sixtails.*
*Note: The extreme harshness in this segment is not me trolling, but an intentional parody of Sixtail's general asshattery** disguised as a real message. Essentially, Sixtails is everything Bzr_Wzr hates.
**Some of my insults were taken directly from his comment.

Cruithine- Hilarious, brilliant. I bow before you. And give you a coupon for $1 off a TCBY large. Okay, so I couldn't find one, but if I could, I would totally give it to you.

Neoakira and Obo might have been good, but I got bored of the Wii debate back in 2006.

ElTigro's comment got me to follow him.

Polywhirl

Ah well, congrats to everyone.

NeoAkira

Seriously though, I support the commentators that post what I assume to be epic-length tales of warrior poets and their grand battles against the Deep Crows of the Underlands.

They're views are more mature and serious, whereas mine are lighthearted because I don't care to spend my free-time on "serious business". I'd rather look at things through my own stupid sense of humor and have fun with these discussions. That said, if your going to take yourself as seriously as most of these long comments do, you should prepare yourself for a ribbing, good natured or otherwise. It takes all kinds, people. That's why I like it here.

Destrudo

RonJeremy4Pres

No-one was saying shorter points are less valid, but what on earth is wrong with having some longer, more thought out replies?

I'd argue that for someone to criticize all long comments is no better or worse than someone who criticize all short comments. Either way, I would think them ignorant.

Krondonian

NPlace

I was momentarily shocked into a higher state of consciousness after reading it. But I'm back now.

rawg

In other news today, the world of charitable foundations was struck with amazement when it was revealed that Nintendo is, in fact, a for-profit organization that seeks a return in revenue for investment. Quoted lead designer Shigeru Miyamoto, "I wish to apologize, but we have not maintained our mission statement of 'Bring peace and joy to the people of the world that beat Super Mario 64 seventeen times,' since the rise of the yen on the world scene. We were further enticed back into the private sector when we discovered that our portable DS system PRINTS MONEY."

dreamshade

Destrudo

Fair enough, you want the funnies, but I think Cruithne's comment was far better than a few lines of comedy. A developed, witty, yet ultimately sad anecdote, that would never have had the same impact in a few lines.

A developed response to the effect of the Wii, both praising and decrying Nintendo. They don't really put forward points you'll not have heard before, but NeoAkira and Obo put forward their points of view in a way that stimulates response, and true debate on interesting matters.

bzr_wzr kept people in check, pointing out the disrespect and defensively condescending nature of commenters here. It wasn't an essay, but something that I felt needed to be said.

And finally the genius of spontaneous responses. Go go Eltigro! If you want to slaver over games with blinkered indifference, sure, but I come to Kotaku not just for games, but for the atmosphere that comes with it. It's not a site that takes itself too seriously, and while people come here because of games, I like to think there's something more that keeps people coming back.

So if all you're going to do is decry the shocking lack of amusing zingers, take a bit longer to read through original comment threads, and then perhaps you'll appreciate the truly great people at Kotaku.

Krondonian

aelfin

excel_excel

Majorasblaze

Sunjammer

People who hate on Nintendo better have better reasons than "i think they should do what Sony or MS did", because Nintendo are soaring. As far as the business end goes, N got it nailed. There's this idea out there that Nintendo lost a ton of money on the cube; they didn't, if at all. They merely didnt sell as much as their competition.

People don't give Nintendo's ability to infuse the knife's edge of shit with awesome anywhere near enough credit.

Sunjammer

Strange Bedfellows

0ldb0y

Read through most of the comments, and got bored with them (NeoAkira's being the exception). They are all worthy of being comments of the week, but in terms of best of the best, we've had better weeks.

huginn

I also found the selection of comments from the Slate SSBB article fascinating, I had sent in a nom but it was generalized to the comment page (I think #2) for a particular poster, and then the conversation developed much further (and became more acrimonious) after I sent in the nomination, to the point where I considered withdrawing it entirely.

I still disagree with Obo in general, and as I did in that post I'd point to the hit Nintendo has taken on the declining U.S. dollar as pretty solid proof that they sell more to us than Japan. I also continue to think SSBB online's problems have more to do with the game being primarily a GC/offline Title for more than 3/4 of the time it was in development, than with the Wii simply being incapable of delivering a relatively lag-free online experience. That has nothing to do with the features of that service or lack thereof; I consider the lack of voice chat a separate and (in my opinion) MUCH LESS IMPORTANT problem than the ridiculous levels of lag many have had to deal with.

So yeah, if you haven't yet, follow the link back to the article and read through some of the back and forth, interesting stuff.

Also Sixtail's comment was excellent ;)

DaiMacculate

Dyson

The hardcore gamers comment and the daily mail comment were both excellent too.

The two Nintendo comments (pro and anti), I get they had to include both or none, kind of think none would've been better (no offence).

quen

Pezdispenser

Agies

ceilingFANBOY

Where are the zingers? The One Liners. The funny stuff.

Woodwater

Krackatoa

Tei

Now that my mission is done, I can finally return to my home planet...

(seriously, I'm more excited about this than any 43 year old ought to be, frankly, it's embarrasing )

Cruithne

kennyd1

[Dextr]

Flawless101

Cchrist