Square Enix establishes casual gaming brand in Japan

You honestly believe that Nintendo is the cause of the change in the market and not just reacting to this change tmacairjordan87?

uhhh unless you can tell me someone who was doing what nintendo's doing before them, then...yes? Honestly I don't see what's so hard to get about this. It's not even a trolling statement because it's 100% true.

"blame" is probably a bad word, since this is a good thing

Ubisoft made the strategy deliberately blatant: casual focus nets profits for the AAA projects, whose profits in turn feed more casual expansion. Only Majesco truly flipped from publishing games like Psychonauts to publishing Cooking Mama, and that was because they were on the financial ropes. The healthy companies will soon all be doing both

I'm being just as annoying as you guys were the last few weeks, fucking deal with it.

Oh, shut your mouth, you've been more annoying than any of us save for the really annoying Anti-Nintendo guys like Curmeo and such. All you've been doing as of late is posting the same sarcastic post over and over again. Yeah, we get it, you don't like the fact that a lot of us didn't like Nintendo's E3 conference. You then proceeded to say stupid shit, though, such as the idea that we shouldn't be pissed over what went down because Casual games are as worthy of being called games as core games are (maybe they are, but the fact of the matter is that we were promised core games, and that ain't what we got). After hearing Nintendo themselves hype up the conference (maximizing key franchises, the core should be happy), then actually hearing them say that the core should be happy with GTA and Animal Crossing... it's hard to argue that Ninty isn't at the very least disconnected from the core and doesn't really know what we want. Or at least Reggie isn't.

If he doesn't believe Square can't craft a deep narrative, he's obviously never played Vagrant Story... Valkyrie Profile... FFVI... Chrono Trigger/Cross... the list is pretty big. I haven't liked the recent FF games (well, except for IX and XII), but for the most part, Square knows how to deliver on the story front.

Yeah, I often think Final Fantasy titles get a lot of crap just because they have the same header, "Final Fantasy," even though each game has a new combat system and completely new storyline and characters unrelated to the previous installment. I don't see people whining about GTA, though. "It's the same old thing...what next, GTA MCMLVIII?!"

exactly. thank Nintendonald's for setting the "casual cash-in" example for all publishers to follow.

instead of new innovative games like The World Ends With You, pretty soon we'll be seeing My Little Pony from Squeenix.

I'll say it once again, Curmeo - if there's anything the DS, or the PS2, or the PS1 has shown us, it's that you can have a system with a near-equal amount of casual/core games and not lose the core audience.

Funniest part of your argument is that TWEWY is a recent, successful, original game for the very system that started the 'trend' you're claiming actually exists.

God, it's like you don't even think out what you're gonna say before you say it.

Stop saying Nintendonald it sounds retarted.

Ninten DO

Mc DO nals, yes you put the D-O parts together, but saying it aloud makes you look like an idiot.

Yes yes, big cooperation that is taking over, and some other generic hippy crap you get from playing final fantasy games, but mcdonals has 465,000 employees while nintendo bearly near 4,000. It just doesn't make alot of sense.

Nintendoom The nintendo Armageddon?

Nintenpo An ninja Technique?

Nintendew A refreshing soft drink?

Nintendude The new mascot of nintendo?

Fatass,

first of all, the casual success of the PS1/PS2 variety is very different from the casual success of the DS/Wii variety. this is because of Nintendonald's blue ocean strategy of attracting non-gamers. it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure that out, just look at the type of top selling Wii/DS games and compare them to the type of top selling PS1/PS2 games.

the DS/Wii phenomenon is something totally different. did publishers in any previous gen even contemplate setting up entire sub-brands devoted to casual gaming? hell no. did we ever see Ubisoft, EA, and now SE set up these casual divisions in previous gens for consoles/handhelds? i can only think of EA's sim games for the PC and btw these are the type of casual games that are done correctly, ie. they dont insult the intelligence of casual/non-gamers. what does that tell you? this DS/Wii casual wave has taken mediocre crap to a whole new freakin level.

as for your 2nd para, first off Nintendonald's started the new type of casual trend with their 1st party/published games on DS. this is only the beginning buddy. three of the top publishers are already starting their casual cash-in engines due to Nintendonald's example, and pretty soon you'll be seeing less and less risky core games such as EWTWY and more and more casual cash-ins of the DS/Wii variety. it took publishers a while to get sold on the idea and now they've set up shop.

keep defending your beloved Nintendonald's though. just know that instead of Wii Music, you could have been looking forward to the next Kid Icarus on Wii Music's release date.

#1, look through my post history real quick. I've been bashing Nintendo just as much as you lately. Don't give me this 'defending my beloved Nintendonald's' bullshit, because you're not in any position to be acting condescending towards me or anyone else around here.

#2 - I see what you're saying in that game creators are starting casual lines, but here's the thing - THEY HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE! It's just now being widely publicized because now it's being seen as more of a strategy than it used to be. Here's the thing, though, the thing that you constantly miss - the fact of the matter is that most of these companies have already made the purpose of these casual lines clear.

To make money to fund their AAA products.

You keep missing that part right there. I don't see the AAA products dissapearing simply because of the fact that #1 - they still make fucktons of money and #2 the casual games are simply there to make money for the AAA titles. The only developers that make shovelware and casual games just to get by are doing JUST that, barely getting by.

The fact of the matter is that video games at their core are somewhat of an artistic medium and as long as we have people with ideas, we're going to see those ideas come into fruition, often in the form of these AAA titles you claim are going to be replaced by casual titles (a ridiculous slippery-slope argument that so many people, articles, websites have debunked before...).

Oh, and, for the record, your line of thinking is starting to make a bit more sense to me now. You clearly explained it here (I can't recall another instance where you've actually done that instead of posting copypasta), and while I still don't agree with it, I do have a lot more respect for ya than I did before.

Fatass is right. This same bullshit argument came up last year after that one Leipzig article that proclaimed the slippery slope down to casual-dom

Our money is not going to disappear. Just because there is a newer audience that also has money does not mean that we, with our money, are going to be shunted to the wayside. There will always, always, be games to cater to our tastes until we die, because we have money and are willing to spend it

And your "Instead of Wii Music: Kid Icarus" argument is bogus too. The new Mario team, EAD Tokyo, only finished a game about 9 months ago, and the Zelda team finished their last game about a year ago. Intelligent Systems is busy with a Fire Emblem 1 & 3 remake (with online battles, no less), and other EAD studios have either just come off of Mario Kart, or are still ironing out Animal Crossing. HAL Labs is doing a new Kirby game. The only studio's whose activities are a mystery are NST and Retro Studios, and they sure as hell aren't being diverted for casual anything

Cast Closed!

ok i may have mistaken you for a Nintendonald's worshipper, but my point still stands: instead of Kid Icarus, Nintendonald's releases Wii Music.

your 2nd para...no doubt they have done that before but never to the EXTENT of what you're seeing now. since Nintendonald's attracted a whole new non-gamer audience with DS/Wii, now third parties are going NUTS over this casual thing. why not create cheap games (both cheap to develop and lacking in quality) that sell shitloads to clueless soccermoms and other non-gamers instead of spending millions on a core franchise that may very well sell less. do u really think publishers would want a Final Fantasy over a Nintendogs? they only think in money, and thats the sad reality.

who the hell told you casual games are made to finance AAA games? thats the biggest balony ive ever read. if Squeenix today had a choice to either sell 14 million Nintendogs copies or 2 million Crisis Core copies, which do u think they would choose?

as publishers will get more comfortable marketing casual games, you'll see a shift which can be witnessed even right now with third party devs, and especially Nintendonald's. thus Wii Music instead of Kid Icarus...Wii Sports Resort instead of a new core franchise...My Little Pony instead of TWEWU part 2? like i said before, either a delay or an outright cancellation. its only a matter of time.

ok i may have mistaken you for a Nintendonald's worshipper, but my point still stands: instead of Kid Icarus, Nintendonald's releases Wii Music.

your 2nd para...no doubt they have done that before but never to the EXTENT of what you're seeing now. since Nintendonald's attracted a whole new non-gamer audience with DS/Wii, now third parties are going NUTS over this casual thing. why not create cheap games (both cheap to develop and lacking in quality) that sell shitloads to clueless soccermoms and other non-gamers instead of spending millions on a core franchise that may very well sell less. do u really think publishers would want a Final Fantasy over a Nintendogs? they only think in money, and thats the sad reality.

who the hell told you casual games are made to finance AAA games? thats the biggest balony ive ever read. if Squeenix today had a choice to either sell 14 million Nintendogs copies or 2 million Crisis Core copies, which do u think they would choose?

as publishers will get more comfortable marketing casual games, you'll see a shift which can be witnessed even right now with third party devs, and especially Nintendonald's. thus Wii Music instead of Kid Icarus...Wii Sports Resort instead of a new core franchise...My Little Pony instead of TWEWU part 2? like i said before, either a delay or an outright cancellation. its only a matter of time.

I AM A MASSIVE TROLL,PLEASE ASK ME TO LEAVE JOYSTIQ!

Well I bet you that's not gonna happen. And that's all I have to say on the matter. I think of it like the way music's been lately. A lot of artists have taken a quantum shift, gone from actually contributing quality product to making shit that everyone will listen to for mo' money. And yet, there are still plenty of artists who have or have had a choice to go for the money and simply decided to make good music instead.

And I still don't understand why you don't think quality products can't make money. Nintendogs is actually a decent example of what I'm trying to say here. Nintendogs is a casual game, sure, but had you ever, you know, tried it, you'd know that it's a quality casual product, and therefore deserved the sales it got. Money was spent in making it, just like plenty of successful epic titles out there.

Oh, by the way, what did Nintendo do after the success of Nintendogs?

They came out with MKDS, and NSMB, and LoZ:PH, and the Mystery Dungeon games, and YIDS, and Tetris DS, and plenty of other quality games that not only sold well and probably made a shit-ton of money, but stuff that is decidedly core rather than casual.

Curmeo 2.0

No mater how stupid it sounds, your just going to keep on saying Nintendonald aren't you.In hopes that it might be come the next catch phrase. Even if your the only one saying it.

Anyway, so you just repeated the same thing you said earlier, but just added more words to it. It wasn't right before, and its not correct now. It doesn't really matter what anyone says at this point, you've just shut yourself off from all other opinion, because only yours matters, good job fanboy, good job.

damn teenagers wanting to always be right.

Hmm, it didn't how up, o well, if there is a double post of this, o well.

Curmeo 2.0

No mater how stupid it sounds, your just going to keep on saying Nintendonald aren't you.In hopes that it might be come the next catch phrase. Even if your the only one saying it.

Anyway, so you just repeated the same thing you said earlier, but just added more words to it. It wasn't right before, and its not correct now. It doesn't really matter what anyone says at this point, you've just shut yourself off from all other opinion, because only yours matters, good job fanboy, good job.

damn teenagers wanting to always be right.

"Wait wait, you don't like "casual" games because they insult your intelligence. That is by far one of the most idiotic/smug things I have ever heard."

I can't say I disagree with him there, though. A lot of casual games as of late have been hand-holding experiences... seriously, shit's pathetic. Whereas certain casual games have a lot of depth behind 'em (The Sims, for example) a LOT of what's come out lately is missing that kind of depth.

O I agree, some casual games or just horrible games, but that's the reason, they are horrible games IN GENERAL. People who are the target market for the game would hate that game. That is true with any game type. For every one good rpg, theres about 20 sh!tty ones. For every one for shooter, there about 10 sh!tty ones, and so on.

If a game is bad, there should be no boarder on it because of race, err genera.

Look at race sensitive, famous sony-fanboy N-gai "he said it himself he was." Most people would consider him to be a hardcore gamer, but he loves that tower defense java game. Which would go under casual game. Why, because its fun?