#Casual games pc free

When you have Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aimes telling hardcore gamers that Super Mario Galaxy was Nintendo’s “gift” to them, then you’re in trouble - since when has Mario ever been the bastion of purely “hardcore” gaming? I thought he was one of the most recognizable faces in games, even to non-gamers, and his titles were enjoyed by millions. What exactly ARE casual games, though, and what separates them from so-called hardcore ones? It’s almost laughable to watch the games industry clumsily attempt to give form to casual gaming, because it’s quite clear that for all the talk, nobody actually seems to have a clue what a casual game is. Hence came the obnoxious faux-genre we now know as “casual games.” You’d think that was straightforward enough, but not in the eyes of games companies, who seem to treat the casual gamer as if it were some alien species that has no idea about real videogames and just want to play minigames. Now for me, the definition of a casual gamer is pretty simple - it’s somebody who games casually. For a number of reasons this is completely wrong, but the biggest challenge is defining exactly what it takes to be casual.

#Casual games pc free

As is also standard, however, everybody completely got the wrong idea in their attempts to bottle the magic.Ĭompanies want to capture the elusive “casual” demographic because they believe it will lead them to a promised land of millions of dollars and free pony rides. As is standard with such things, everybody saw the huge commercial success of the Wii and wanted a bit of it for themselves. There’s no denying the fact that the Wii has indeed taken off with more than just the core gaming demographic - in fact it’s practically replaced it, especially in the eyes of Nintendo, a company doing all it can to hold onto the huge audience it has secured. Since the birth of the Wii and its shocking mainstream appeal, the term casual gaming has risen to prominence. Hit the jump as I dissect the myth of casual gaming, and explain why it is little more than a deified myth. Like the term next-gen, casual gaming is a trendy buzzterm that has no tangible definition, and is liberally applied by people who don’t know what they’re talking about. The truth of the matter is that the hardcore/casual divide is little more than a myth, and the companies that are so desperate to secure themselves a casual demographic are doing little else than chasing rainbows. If I sound sarcastic, that’s because I intend to. These casual beasts aren’t only potent bearers of fairy dust, they are also wanton creatures of destruction, causing the downfall of “hardcore games” with their powerful spells of minigame compilations. The so-called casual gamer, a fantastical creature that will yield millions of enchanted dollars and magical potions, is one of the games industry’s most sought after entities.Īs seemingly adored by the corporations as they are, these casual gamers are equally reviled by their hardcore opposites. “Casual gaming” is a term that has crept into the games industry and taken root with a rapid speed over the past year or so.