The return of hardcore gaming in 2005?

Greetings, I just wanted to note that it seems that 2005 seems to be the year where gaming companies try to become hardcore once again.
With the announcement of tons of fighting games, and Xenosaga II coming next year it appears that 2005 may be a renaisonse(sp?).
although there may be some bad views about it, I am refreshed to see that capcom is finally releasing a 2-D fighter. For the last few years, Capcom has been treating its 2-D gaming franshises like a red head step child. But with the relese of Capcom Fighting Jam, it looks like we may see the precursor to Capcom getting busy again. Could this possiblibly be a set up for Street fighter IV? Only time will tell
it also looks like Namco is pulling out all the stops with Tekken 5. The game looks gourges, and it appears they decided to keep the 3-D areanas instead of copping out and going back to the infinites. Tekken 4 had some good innovations in the gameplay department despite some major flaws in balance, lets hope they sorted it out when Tekken 5 drops next year.
And then we got SNK madness. Hopefully SNk will be releasing KOF 2002/2003 in the U.S. Me and alot of fanboys have really been complaining about SECA, lets hope they haven't gone unheeded. Maxium Impact, while it can easily be bad, may be what us U.S fans need to open up the doors for more SNK ports.
On RPG side of things, we have Xenosaga II comming out. Despite how you may feel about the lengthy cut-scenes, XS had a great SF RPG plot that I feel is really hardcore. And Sun seems to be going back ot its roots in FFXII, where they will have a darker themed story than in previous PS1 and PS2 versions.
I think Sony and the gaming corperate world has taken notice that hardcore fans are its true base. And it may not be so easy to alienate us without really dropping in sales. GTA was a great game, but the people who purchase it do it for shock value. You know to make incesstant shallow remarks like "hey dude, you can see Ayame panties if you kick", or "Hey, I can jack a police car, sweeet!". I hope companies have realized that these people will just play the game for one week because of shock value, and leave the game collecting dust.

Aoiscrub, hardcore since Street Figher II Special Chapiom Edition, 1993

 

LMAO /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

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I think Sony and the gaming corperate world has taken notice that hardcore fans are its true base. And it may not be so easy to alienate us without really dropping in sales. GTA was a great game, but the people who purchase it do it for shock value. You know to make incesstant shallow remarks like "hey dude, you can see Ayame panties if you kick", or "Hey, I can jack a police car, sweeet!". I hope companies have realized that these people will just play the game for one week because of shock value, and leave the game collecting dust.

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Developers creating more games for hardcore gamers would be a great thing but I don't think it's going to happen. As the videogame industry has become larger the range of games have become broader and so has the audience for these games, and there doesn't seem to be much sign of that stopping. Karaoke and Eyetoy based games probably won't appeal to a hardcore gamer - they scream out gimmick product but they appeal to alot of casual gamers and people that wouldn't call themselves gamers. It's really a great way to attract a different demographic as a microphone or an eyetoy is a fairly instinctive thing to use and doesn't require the dexterity and practice that hardcore games have. The point you make about casual gamers playing a videogame for a week and then getting bored doesn't matter too much to developers. As long as they pay their $50 for the game it will be a success, and with a broader range of gamers they can keep creating Army Men and Tomb Raider games for years to come.

The other thing to consider is that hardcore gamers probably don't make up the majority of the people that play video games. A game like GTA that can appeal to a variety of game players can be much more successful. On the other hand a there are games like Shinobi (or Nightshade) for the PS2. Shinobi is a good example of a hardcore game - A fairly difficult action/platformer game that requires quick reflexes, but it's not a game that appeals to alot of gamers. I think that the hardcore games like Shinobi will still be around, but not in the same numbers that they used to be. Videogames have moved more towards immersion rather than the hardcore games of the past, but at least the industry hasn't become stale with the changes.

 

lol xenosaga is not hardcore
console rpgs are not hardcore
console rpgs = time investment

theres no number crunching, stat sacrifcing aspect
you spend more time you level up more you get stronger
stats mean so little nowadays. Go play fallout 1 & 2 and then say xenosaga is hardcore -_-;;

 

where is my drug addicted wife...

 

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PhoenixDth said:
lol xenosaga is not hardcore


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Actually, Xenosaga could be effectively marketed as a cure for insomnia. /versus/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

If they wanted to make games more hardcore, they'd wind up selling NES games all over again. -_-