High Voltage talks hardcore gaming on the Wii

Yeah, Amen to that, dude... It pisses me off that people complain about the lack of hard core games, yet it's those people that aren't buying the ones that _do_ come out ("No More Heroes" sold relatively well, but not as many as it should of considering how many hard core folks own a Wii).

This game has more likelihood of flopping in the commercial sense, because more costs went in. However, more costs going in probably results in more advertising, so it'll be a moot point in the end

Either way, the only companies that would be discouraged from this flop would be Western companies. The bulk of Wii's better 3rd party support doesn't really have a thing to do with them

It's the current generation of gamers.

While back in the day it was okay to say things like Zelda or Sonic or Secret of Mana was a gamer's game.

Nowadays, that's a joke. Today's generations depend on FPSs to take the lead.

To build on Sushi's comment, the focus on FPS is more the reflection of gamers on the 360 where that genre dominates all others.

"Hardcore" gaming is more than FPS. RTS, strategy RPGs, tactical shooters, epic RPGs, some action/adventure and some hard platformers fall into that category, too.

What's interesting is that I think the Wii is far better suited for strategy games that involve managing and selecting different units than the other consoles. (Unfortunately, I think strategy games might need more buttons than the Wii provides.)

I think the main point really is that the Wii has games that allow a gamer to spend, say, 6-8 hours playing and still have lots of playtime left. The other aspect is difficulty, where the games are not designed to be forgiving (which makes roguelikes among the hardest of hardcore).

That, and you get the biggest d*ckhead gamers in the FPS genres. Added with the main characters constantly being badasses, and you suddenly get the idea that "hardcore" must mean something like "tough and manly" when so many of said d*ckhead gamers claim that you can only be the best in an FPS games.
...so it seems much more "hardcore" than other genres. ._.

I wish the Wii had more strategy games, or at least more innovative and addictive puzzle games.

because 'core' is the popular trend.
Right now - First Person Shooters are the top dogs.

and so you're a core gamer if you play FPSs.

It doesn't make you any less of a gamer if you play super zombie lazer strike force to death.

Just - you're not following the mainstream.

There's a lot of skill needed, actually.

...it's one of the few games you NEED skill in (as opposed to RPG and strategy games, where you need wits or luck, not skill).


It may not be fun for you, but that doesn't make it a genre that doesn't need skill.

If there wasn't a use of skill in the game, you wouldn't see so many b*st*rds claiming they're the best. *sigh*
Egotistical b*st*rds...
...sadly, since they're so good, you can't shut them up unless you're better than them.

Yeah SoshiKitai...you are dead right - I agree that to play an FPS well, you do need skill... but being good and saying you are good are, as you say, two different things. I was really talking about the pain the arse people who 'think' they are God's gift to gaming simply because they do nothing but play FPSs all day and then diss every other game genre in the world because they essentialy can't be bothered to learn how to play anything tht doesn't involve shooting the face off their opponent from 500 yards. Don't get me wrong: There are one or two FPSs even I think are great fun, but I just hate these fools who shout abuse down their mics and put everyone else off by acting retarded. It's also a shame that MS and Sony devote so much of their dev time and money to the FPS genre when there are other fanastic concepts out there. It's saddening to see creativity die in the face of catering to the lowest common denominator / most likley genre to attract a bit of fast cash; sure they need to make money to say in the business, but they should have some self respect and try to innovate like Nintendo seem to do so effortlessly. I have great respect for Ninty - they are the oldest hardware vendors left in the home gaming market after all, and they very nearly lost everything a few years back... I'd hate to see them have to pander to the FPS market just to stay ahead in the race when what the excel at is innovation and quirky ideas that people genuinely like - although they have had some 'dubious' output over the years I still love them more than Sony or MS right now.

Agree wholeheartedly.

@zoltari
I don't think Nintendo needs to pander to the FPS market to do well.

The PS2 crushed the Xbox in sales without winning the FPS battle. In fact, FPS games barely registered in PS2 sales data. 6 RPGs, 5 sports, 4 platformers, 3 racers, 2 music rhythm games, and an Eyetoy game outsold the PS2's top selling FPS game!

"I personally thought that the Trauma Center series was hardcore and intuitive."

HELL YEAH

"The Conduit looks like an average cheapo FPS to me in the same vein as Halo, which appealed to me a whole 10 mins. after playing it." - JRod

Oh no you didn't, The current 'core' market has Has halo to blame but that's not to say the game isn't brilliant. One of the reasons I'm so excited for the conduit is because I believe (or at least hope) the conduit will do for the wii what Halo did for the Xbox.

exactly, if this was a hardcore platformer or rts we shoould still get behind it because we need to provoke developers to start making games we want to play. It's not just about it being a fps it's also about the effort High voltage are putting in to make this game top quality.

I agree that gamers should support good 3rd party titles...my complaint is not that FPS are necessarily bad (They are not my taste....give me a first person sneaker any day), it's that developers seem to think that is all the "core" gamers want.

I've been a hard core gamer for decades now (man I feal old) and I am at a point where a bland FPS doesn't appeal to me at all. I have seen nothing from Conduit to suggest it is "brilliant" in any way. The best FPS I've played in the last 3 years was COD:4 and second being F.E.A.R.....and truth be told, they had great storytelling going for them and conduit appears to be the really overdone "GI kills some aliens" theme.

Overall I want to see The Conduit do well, but to equate it directly to hardcore is a horribly wrong thought process. If I want some serious FPS action, I will use my PC.....there is no better substitute for it at the moment (flame away I suppose....you console wusses :P ), but I purchased the Wii for innovation. It has given me some, and now is straying to the "casual" game market, which I can't stand and hope this is reversed....maybe The Conduit will help that but I doubt it.

2009 - Wii FTW!

I agree. The only other "console" i have is a PC, and it needs a new graphics card to handle any good FPS games. So, im pretty much stuck with whatever comes out on Wii, which right now is everything but FPS and racing, two of my favorite genres.

And to think that the controller is perfect for BOTH of those genres...

I'd rather eat peanuts, but I get what you mean.

I'm sick of you, I'm going to play this game and I'm going to damn right enjoy. Don't just walk in and flip a line like that.

Troll was succesful.

I was just being honest when looking at the screens...

I have a Wii as well, and I'm pretty dissapointed with it... Nothing has left me awestruck accept for maybe Super Mario Galaxy, and that game didn't really do anything creative with the Wiimote.

As a gamer Nintendo has left me feeling... dejected.