Should non-games receive non-coverage?
by JC Fletcher 
{ Apr 30th 2008 at 1:30PM }
The basic idea is that applications are going to sell highly as part of their nature (he cites things like Microsoft Office as "non-game" competitors to PC games that would top the sales charts if charted), and that people who read enthusiast media about games want to read about games. Sales charts, especially in Japan, will get filled up with non-game material, pushing game coverage out. It's not that training games and non-games are stupid, necessarily (though that does come up!), but just that they aren't games.
It's an interesting idea to separate console non-game coverage from game coverage, and there's possibly a space out there for a site to do it. But right now, there isn't, and the people who care to read about things like Okashi Navi are gamers. For our own part, we're a DS blog, which means that anything on, about, or relating to the DS is fair game, not just games. And we would never dream of depriving you of Duke Saraie's tights.
[Via GameSetWatch]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nigeria - MK: 0430-8491-9123 @ Apr 30th 2008 1:58PM
But then what would you define as a non-game?
The author of the article specified "rubbish Nintendo pet simulators and simplistic IQ test apps" as an example of non gaming. Well I'm sorry, but I am going to have to disagree. Brain Age, Nintendogs, and the like, are just as much games as are the Sonics and Marios of the world.
A video game is an electronic game in which buttons pressed correspond to some sort of screen. There are usually objectives to complete. I think you can apply that definition to the brain and pet simulators. There's no denying it: of course they're games.
Then comes the question of how much coverage you should give to said games, and again I disagree. Blanking out these "non" games is not going to help stem the flood - of which there is It will only isolate the gaming sites/magazines further away from the mainstream and into the murkiness of the hardcore. There needs to be a balance, that's all.
The author of the article seems really bitter at the changing landscape in video game world. Clicking on some of the other articles on his site confirms my suspicions.
Nigeria - MK: 0430-8491-9123 @ Apr 30th 2008 2:02PM
Also, he wrote:
"the DS and the Wii, two of the worst-designed pieces of gaming hardware ever".
Like I said, he seems a little bitter.
Phil @ Apr 30th 2008 1:58PM
I'd totally buy his Office argument if I used Word and Excel for fun. Sadly for Mr. Kierkegaard, I find it a lot more entertaining to do colorful "brain training exercizes" than to populate a spreadsheet.
Perhaps he needs to realize that GAMING magazines follow what's going on in the GAMING industry--in this case, unconventional GAMES. (Just because they're trying to sell copies by marketing them as educational doesn't make them non-games.)
Or perhaps he just needs to get laid?
usagi704 @ Apr 30th 2008 2:13PM
"Or perhaps he just needs to get laid?"
I suppose you don't have any confidence in your argument against his stance if you have to resort to things like this.
Phil @ Apr 30th 2008 2:20PM
Or perhaps I was making a joke after providing two valid arguments against what was said.
Seems like you and Alex have some similar needs.
Jody Anthony (cookingrebels.com) @ Apr 30th 2008 2:04PM
wow, what a freaking tool.
Mike @ Apr 30th 2008 2:12PM
Then don't write anything about controllers and other accessories ever again. Because technically, those aren't games either.
Darklighter @ Apr 30th 2008 2:26PM
I agree that non games should not be covered by gaming sites. I like to log on for information about games but I hate having to scroll past endless posts about non games. The difference between talking about controllers and talking about non games is that controllers enhance gaming non games take away from gaming. I think this site does way too much to cover non games whereas the PS3fanboy site is more reasonable. Yes that site covers blu ray but PS3 is as much a Blu Ray player as it is a gaming machine. DS is primarily a gaming machine so less attention should be payed to all of those "personal organizer" functions you can buy for it.
David @ Apr 30th 2008 2:39PM
so your argument is you want more game coverage except for on the PS3 because it can play Bluray so its hunky dory for that to be covered. Surely by the same logic, if people are buying the self help software and the like on the DS they should get coverage.
I would also like a definition of what people think a game is.
Schlomo Rabinowitz @ Apr 30th 2008 3:17PM
Personally, I come here MORE for the non-game and homebrew news. Articles on typical games are easy to come by.
(btw, I picked up the above face recognition game while in Tokyo a couple months ago and its a pretty fun non-game!)
Aparoid @ Apr 30th 2008 11:45PM
I imported it for Christmas... I got kinda bored with it since it was awkward, but I think I might exercise my face a bit more soon!
Puddles @ Apr 30th 2008 4:08PM
I don't see why any magazine or web site would limit themselves to traditional games and exclude applications and the like. There's room for both, and if you don't care about applications, don't read about them. If not for gaming sites covering applications, I wouldn't know about the Korg DS-10, which I'm very excited about.
Thankfully, DS Fanboy gets it.
nongamer @ Apr 30th 2008 4:20PM
I love the last line of this guy's article: 'Too busy playing Wii Fit I guess.'
The guy just blew his whole (pretty horrible) argument. PLAYING Wii Fit. Here's the answer to your definition: Anything you can PLAY is a game. Last time I checked, I wasn't playing Excel, I was using it. And last time I checked, I was indeed playing Brain Age.
Plain and simple, gaming sites cover these games because they are games, and also because there is a large demand for these games to be covered. Common sense and economics can't be overlooked because of a few idiots like this.
Andrew @ Apr 30th 2008 6:12PM
Other people have mentioned it, but the biggest issue here is that game/non-game is just not cut-and-dry, nor is "video gamer" an easily-defined demographic. My mother, for example, owns a DS Lite (!!!), and though it was Brain Age that tempted her to buy it, she still plays a lot of puzzle games and the occasional platformer. And Brain Age has a lot of PUZZLE elements - it's stimulating in a similarly cerebral way as something like Tetris, albeit in a more obvious way, and most people would argue that Tetris is a video game. So is Kashima a non-game or a game? Is my mother a gamer, a casual gamer, a 'non-gamer' or does she just enjoy puzzles? And do we reading gaming magazines or platform magazines?
This argument is certainly interesting, but I just don't see gaming in such a black-and-white way any more. A huge issue with the current hardware and software is that we're seeing far more synergy between different systems and products, and integrating this stuff into our daily lives in a way that extends beyond what gaming once meant. I love reading about cooking apps, workout apps, etc., because it's interesting to me to see the ways in which all of this technology is evolving and how the market responds. It's the wave of the future! Or a passing trend, one or the other.
PheZ @ Apr 30th 2008 9:57PM
DS Fanboy readers,
This site has brought me much joy over the years, letting me know about all sorts of DS stuff and I love it, I don't want it to ever change, bring on the Non-games, Bring on the stories of stupid boys choosing to show off some game, as opposed to paying much needed attention to his very attractive partner, bring on the Homebrew news.
In closing DS Fanboy, I LOV U! don't ever change!
piyo @ Apr 30th 2008 10:58PM
Alex's blog Insomnia.ac reports and blogs on mainly "hardcore twitch" games. He does report on what he wants to see and that's a good contribution. His commentary is very aggressive however, because his name-calling opinions and vulgarity overshadow his argument-supporting facts.
When he says "Without an adequate definition we are therefore unable to separate games from non-games." I don't see his all-encompassing adequate definition that can bolster his argument. He is offering one definition by way of example, which is begging the question.
He's arguing is reporting in the game industry wastes too much space on "non-games" and they should concentrate on his definition of games. He cites Famitsu as a "hardcore" magazine and "Fathers and mothers, businessmen and professionals... wouldn't be caught dead buying a Famitsu". However, according to Wikipedia, Famitsu has a weekly circulation of 800,000 per week, which means all sorts of people buy it. It's popular because it greases the games industry of course, but it has a popular flavor and it is easy to approach. He wants this mainstream appeal and power to be co-opted to shine light on more game-y "games", because magazines are ultimately limited by their space. I suppose however, he is (aggressively!?) lamenting that traditional media is not joining up in his cause and propagating the network effects.
Luckily, gaming blogs like his have the ability to cater to this opinion, because they aren't hindered by bribes, (ad) space, popular interest (Monster Hunter *2nd G*, Grand Theft Auto *4*). Let the magazines continue to shine their limited scope. This is the Internet-era, where individuals like Alex, in the face of corporate blogs like DSFanboy (owned by AOL), can disseminate their opinion and garner cachet.
ILPC @ May 1st 2008 11:14AM
Hear, Hear!
jgoreham @ May 1st 2008 11:19AM
I really like 'non-game' software, I like that my DS is not only an entertainment device I play games on but also a lifestyle device.
I think the definition of 'gamer' is changing and this software is helping to initiate this change. A girl at my work got a DS with Brain Age after not ever having really seriously played games before. The next thing I know, she's got loads of DS games and is telling me how she heard that game XYZ isn't very good and snaking her way past me in MKDS! Non-games are pulling people into gaming. Non-games also offer a change of pace to hardcore gamers. It can't be level grinding, achievement unlocking all the time. I think a lot of 'real' games can get a little monotonous. Sometimes you just want to pet your Nintendog or yell 'blue' into your DS or calculate your BMI.
Alisha Karabinus @ May 2nd 2008 3:25AM
I like that -- a lifestyle device. I think that's a really excellent term... and I agree that it's a major plus.
Matdredalia @ May 2nd 2008 5:37AM
What I really despise is people telling the world what *I* as a consumer do and do not want. I'm sorry, but when Nintendo Power, DSFanboy, WiiFanboy, GameSpot, 1Up, etc. start recieving commentary from THEIR readers that "We don't want non-game coverage" on a frequent basis, and it comes out that the consumers themselves have a problem with it, then they can worry about it. Until then, this shmuck needs to shut his face.
Personally, I look at it this way: If I'd only wanted a handheld that only plays games, I'd have gone with a GBA. As is, I chose the DS for it's amazing games, non-games, homebrew ability, etc. So, guess what, smeghead? I like non-games. I WANT to see them covered at the sites that are supposed to cater to gaming because these "non-games" are still designed for a gaming console and are therefore relevant.
What a dipweed.