Sega: Don't forget about the hardcore gamers

by David Hinkle { Mar 6th 2008 at 3:00PM }

Thank you.

Look, we here at Wii Fanboy love the Wii and often criticize it because, frankly, we expect nothing but the best. If nobody will step up and address certain concerns, then we will. It's our duty to present you with the news, but it's also our duty to be honest and objective with what we see. Considering that, we're not too happy with the amount of "hardcore" games available on Nintendo's latest console.

They've never been one to present oodles and oodles of more serious titles on their consoles, compared to their competition, but with recent games that have changed our life like No More Heroes and Zack & Wiki, we crave more long-lasting games that we can sit down with for more than a half-hour and enjoy. It's just how we feel.

And it would appear Sega of America president Simon Jeffery feels the same way. He thinks it's a mistake for western developers to ignore the hardcore gamers on the Wii, instead flooding the market with tons of casual titles that appeal to a wider demographic. "There's no reason why [hardcore gamers] should be excluded or excommunicated from the Nintendo world," he commented. We agree.

We're excited for Wii Fit and we're happy the console is getting the third-party support it deserves, but we want more. Maybe we're just too selfish?

Tags: casual, hardcore, sega, sega-of-america, simon-jeffrey

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Dash @ Mar 6th 2008 3:26PM

Totally agree. And Sega bringing that up is somewhat funny. When I stop to think about, their games are dificult to divide between hardcore/casual. I mean, Monkey Ball is accessible, but hard as hell to finish. Ghost Squad and House of the Dead are shooters. NiGHTS is just crazy (and good). The only clear would be Gulty Gear (hell, that's not even hardcore, it's ultracore) and Mario and Sonic (obviously for everyone)

But I liked their comment. Hardcore Wii owner FTW!

Evan Williams @ Mar 6th 2008 3:55PM

I agree.
SEGA has a giant change to redeem themselves with Sonic. Sonic Team needs to come to terms with the fact that THEY SUCK AT MAKING 3D SONIC GAMES. They're terrible games, and that's hard to argue.

Sonic competed with Mario and Zelda's $ale$ for years.

If a 2D/3D Sonic game were to be made for Wii, Sonic has a huge chance to return from the bargain bins. Sonic 2, 3, and Knuckles were all fantastic games but imagine if they looked like New Super Mario DS or PSP Mega Man X remake.

We've heard them talk. Now let's see some action from SEGA.

Joshua @ Mar 6th 2008 4:51PM

Shenmue III for Wii, please.

Ghen @ Mar 6th 2008 3:26PM

I'll play devils advocate here... The only problem hardcore games have on the Wii is speed. The faster a game becomes the less reliable the accelerometers are for input. This sort of hardware limitation can only be compared to the likes of bad keyboards that won't let you push down more than 4 buttons and have them register. Its just not good enough.

Now more RPGs and even action RPGs... I can handle that.

Nigeria @ Mar 6th 2008 3:34PM

I don't think there is such a thing as "hardcore" games. You can play bejewelled for 10 hours a week but to some gamers that would still be viewed as a "casual" game.

What the Wii needs is less party games. We all like to gather our real friends over and bust out a Winter Heat/Saturn Bomberman, but sometimes you want to experience a game with your attention undivided: a good single player adventure/role playing game. The Wii seems to be lacking in these departments. As well as Light Gun games and one on one fighters (the Virtua Fighter/Fighting Vipers mold)

But it's still early days, Sega will deliver: they always deliver, just like the milkman.

SoshiKitai @ Mar 8th 2008 2:15PM

I think what they mean by "hardcore" would be: It's too hard for your grandma to play.

...I know by the standards, I play "hardcore" games... but I play them casually. :P

Jonathan Tran @ Mar 6th 2008 3:35PM

I went through my Saturn and Dreamcast collection yesterday and after that, my Wii games.

Yeah, pretty big friggin difference!

Marvel vs Capcom 2, Panzer Dragoon, and.... Wii Play.

Jonathan Tran @ Mar 6th 2008 3:38PM

I'll argue that speed does not make a game hardcore.

For instance, most casual gamers would NEVER play:

Final Fantasy VII
Monkey Island
Metroid Prime 3

None of these games are played at a frenetic pace.

Max Headroom @ Mar 6th 2008 3:41PM

Hooray for Simon Jeffery! He gets it!

Ghen, hardcore games aren't all about button mashing at the fastest possible rate. Shooters are a perfect fit that use the motion control well. Also, driving/racing games are a good match because the action can be intense and fast, but you have to still be sure to steer carefully. Like you said, action RPGs would be good. And although it is unproven, I like to think that a real time strategy game would work well with the Wii's controls as well.

In short, hardcore games definitely fit on Wii.

Max Headroom @ Mar 6th 2008 3:43PM

Oh man, how cool would Panzer Dragoon be on Wii?

TheOverlord#2 @ Mar 6th 2008 3:45PM

I agree so much.
I mean where would Nintendo(& its major franchises) be if Nintendo had no hardcore fans??
Its a good thing SSBB can tide us over 'til Wii 2 cause I doubt Nintendo is making a new Zelda(etc.) for Wii.

It sucks Nintendo is like "Wii is here and hardcore gamers aren't."

@ Everyone...hardcore games are games with huge followings, that are longer than 5 hours, and aren't overly kiddish/party games.

Mr Khan @ Mar 6th 2008 3:45PM

I always assumed Sega would wind up being one of the best suppliers of 3rd party support to the Wii. Sega understands the tastes of the hardcore Nintendo crowd just as well as Nintendo does. Niche, but awesome, stuff like NiGHTS 2

Mike D @ Mar 7th 2008 1:17PM

So what hardcore games are coming out this year? The future is looking bleak so far unless we get some big surprises at E3. Honestly what else is there after mario kart and SSBB? It seems like we have 0 information about nin's fall releases but xbox and ps3 have their whole year planned out!

:(

Mr Khan @ Mar 6th 2008 5:21PM

Nintendo themselves, yes, we know little about them, and that is slightly distressing

Now, for Wii overall, things are looking bright. Between Monster Hunter 3, Samba Di Amigo, House of the Dead 2 & 3, Fatal Frame IV, Fragile, the numerous WiiWare gems, and whatever Factor 5's cooking up

SoshiKitai @ Mar 8th 2008 2:21PM

... you know, it's a given xbox360 and ps3 have their year planned out.
Can you imagine the PS3 holding more than a handful of casual games per year?

...that itself sounds beyond ridiculous. And rather funny.

Sonic_13 @ Mar 6th 2008 4:13PM

3rd parties need a better balance between hard-core games and casual games.

In my opinion Nintendo has struck this balance perfectly. We get "hard-core" games like Smash Bros., Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Battalion Wars, Fire Emblem and Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Big Brain Academy, Mario Party 8, Endless Ocean.

Third parties, however (with a few exceptions), tend to lean too much towards casual games.

Hopefully we'll see some actions from SEGA to go with their promising words.

Perverted @ Mar 6th 2008 7:23PM

Yes we need more hardcore games....but I hope SEGA realise we need GOOD hardcore games...I can't emphasize the GOOD part enough.

Also C+P @ Mr Khan.

Jeremy @ Mar 7th 2008 10:43AM

I do agree that the Wii needs more games that are lengthy. We need some good RPGs and even an MMO game would do just but we have yet to see this on the Wii. I hate forking out $50 or even $40 for a game that I can beat in just a few short hours. And don't get me started on party games. They were interesting and fun when the Wii was first launched but now the market is flooded with them. I am ready to see a major shift in the types of games in the Wii's library. No more of this spend lots of money play for less than 10 hours and return to Gamestop that evening for a trade and new game. Also how about some really good story driven games. Games that by the end you have a feeling of not knowing what to do with your time because you became emotionally attached.

There are people out their who has the time to invest in a game and many people are willing to invest but the developers are not producing a product that allows us as gamers to utilize that time. Yes giving that SSBB will have most of us investing weeks if not months into our Wiis but what about after that. Mario Kart Wii is the only real time consuming game announced for the Wii in the post Brawl world. I have been a fan of Nintendo and their many works of art since the eighties but as for the other developers they seem to be producing their best time intensive games for every console other than the Wii.