Jenny Lauck and Stefania Pomponi Butler, both of them "Alpha Moms (influential matriarchs)" and Wii Ambassadors, sat down with Electronic Gaming Monthly's podcast crew to chat about Nintendo's efforts to attract mothers to its consoles. Though they didn't take to the Nintendo DS, both women were eager to talk about how much they enjoyed titles like Cooking Mama, Wii Play, and, yes, Boogie.When asked about the often touted complaint that casual releases like Wii Fit and Wii Sports are pulling resources and funding away from games meant for the hardcore audience, Ms. Lauck reasoned, "I don't think developers are going to start ignoring them. I think there's definite room ... for both markets."
She continued the argument on her blog with an analogy that puts these irrational fears into perspective: "I think studios should stop making lame sitcoms and focus solely on new episodes of Lost, for example. But you know what? There's a market for sitcoms, and even though I'm a hard-core supporter of Lost, there are other genres out there that other people watch."
Read - She Just Wouldn't Shut Up
Read - EGM LIVE 09/03/2007 Podcast
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-04-2007 @ 6:34PM
Nushio said...
There was a huge flamefest at Joystiq because some reviewer said that Metroid Prime wasn't for casuals, and how its "their console".
I thought this was the redux, but I'm glad to see I was wrong. There is an area of opportunity for both markets, but we do feel like we're getting the wrong side of the sword, so to speak, when games like Disaster (which I was really looking forward to) and Project HAMMER get shafted for "casual" games...
That, and the online system, which is currently horrible... They should just make us sign an EULA saying we won't sue...
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9-04-2007 @ 7:19PM
Mr Khan said...
They should just use the parental control system that they have
But I was saying this all along during that flamefest over Nintendo's Liepzig booth. People have money and spend it, and have differing tastes, any FUD saying otherwise is just idiotic
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9-04-2007 @ 10:32PM
Jenny said...
Hey, thanks for the link! And awesome photo...looks just like me.
I actually play with my DS, by the way...when I can steal it away from the kids.
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9-04-2007 @ 11:33PM
Dave said...
Hey you're here.
Anyway I think something that gets confused is "hardcore" sometimes tries to associate itself with quality. Casual and committed players can agree they'd rather have the couple handfuls of really well-produced, great games as opposed to less of those and a bunch of junk floating around.
Furthermore, sometimes developers see that casual players are interested and figure they can shovel out a bunch of junk to try to get that money, because hey, their interest is casual, are they going to read a lot of reviews?
I do think there are enough great developers that we can have great games both for those who might not want to press more than one button and also for others who want the sophistication to rival PS3 and 360. Until we get a few more of those great games, we can all worry about game droughts or what's to come, but in the meantime I'm happy Wiis are selling, because all that means to me is more game-developing attention and ultimately more all-around great games should come out of it.
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9-05-2007 @ 2:10AM
OTAM said...
Just because there's lots of room doesnt mean it's going to
happen.Pick your players Nintendo,the loyal ones who got you to where you are through the thick and thin or the one pump chumps. It's in your court.
I could tell they didnt code name the system "Revolution" because of it's online capabilities.
And before you tell me how much of a fanboy of other systems I am,I own not one,but TWO Wii's. I'm just a very disappointed customer and feel bitter/ripped off.
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9-05-2007 @ 8:24AM
Kree said...
So it really is true, Hardcore Gaming is Lost. :P
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9-05-2007 @ 8:35AM
SDeeperKyo said...
I don't see what you guys are complaining about. Right now we have Nintendo's holy trinity: Zelda, Metroid, and Mario (at the end of the year). What more could you ask for? This is the same thing Nintendo has done for the past two generations. You get all/most of the usual franchises (one mario/zelda game per gen on average) with a bit of spinoff/new stuff thrown in.
I'll say this, Nintendo has been in the business of gaming longer then we have been alive(over 100 years). I say we just sit back and enjoy the ride.
P.S. Gaming with Nintendo since 1991.
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