Hardcore gamers dictating the trend of present and future gaming

Just after Nintendo's press release of the Wii, everyone was fascinated about Shigeru Miyamoto's latest legendary contribution to the world of gaming. In between Xbox 360's and Playstation 3's release, this console generated the most interest not just among gamers but non-gamers too. This was when Ken Kutaragi stepped down from the Playstation world and the gaming industry bashed Sony for their overpriced next-gen console.

Two years have passed, here we are after the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots exclusive release on Playstation 3 and what many thought of as the fall of the Playstation proved to reciprocate. With the news about Wii 2 coming up and gamers demanding more of Wii's games, it's conclusive enough to say that hardcore gamers dictate the trend of present and future gaming.

Sure Nintendo has done its part recruiting non-gamers into our world but in reality, these so-called newbie gamers will head towards two different paths.

Case 1: Casual Gaming

Non-gamers who have shown interest in gaming bought Nintendo Wii most likely for non-traditional games. They will buy these games as long as they're non-traditional and will buy an estimated no more than a dozen games. Thus, they'll turn into casual gamers. Word of mouth, commercials, occassional surfing led them to seriously give gaming a try. And that's basically it. They will continue their presence in the gaming industry but will not make a huge splash that will make the game developers turn heads and start concentrating on making tons of games for them.

Case 2: Hardcore Gaming

While other non-gamers turn into games as a relief for stress, others begin to develop an intimate attachment to gaming itself and thus turning themselves into hardcore gamers. Although many dismiss that only a few of the overall population of gamers are of the hardcore type, I prefer not to believe in it and would like to stress that they are really what makes up the gaming industry today and not the casual gamers. These gamers will really spend big money on games, consoles and other gaming-related products. And with the large population as hardcore gamers, their demand is much more likely to be met first rather than that of the casual gamers. Better graphics, more hype, more gore, more sequels for their favorite franchise games. They dictate the tempo on where gaming is currently going and where it is headed in the future.

Better graphics or more sequels to follow... these are definitely some of the things which are constantly being worked on in the gaming industry. However, the gaming industry must also take a look at gaming in the non-gamers perspective and continue to support developing games that are for the masses. Hardcore gamers themselves and gaming review sites should also be wary and be open-minded enough to give casual gaming a chance and not just bash them thru poor ratings and knockdown reviews. After all, everyone started as a newbie gamer in their life as a gamer.