Nintendo Isn't All That 'Casual' After All

What do you know, even though Nintendo's strategy has always been quite appealing for a broad gamer population (which actually includes non gamers as well), they are not giving up on the hardcore just yet. According to Slashdot.com, at the company's E3 presentation yesterday the balance board begged the question from the people there, is Nintendo ditching the hardcore? Nintendo says no:

"In the past, I thought it was impossible to make a Zelda game that appeals to core and new users," Eiji Aonuma says, explaining that Phantom Hourglass has found its audience with first-time Zelda players and adult females, namely because of the intuitive stylus control, as NextGeneratio.com reports. "I wanted to get rid of preconceptions," he said."[Casual gamers] are just looking for something to play."

And finally, as the same site reports... "Aonuma believes that control can be pick-up-and-play, but that doesn't necessarily mean a game overall has to be easier. But he still states that his 'goal was always to appeal to...a vast audience.' One attendee pushed the issue further, asking if all Zelda games from now on are going to cater to the more casual crowd--will we ever again need a strategy guide to complete a Zelda game? Aonuma says that judging by Japanese sales so far, accessible 'stream-lined play has been effective,' but he wants to see how Western audiences react to the new Zelda before making a final decision on future games' difficulty levels."

Thank God for that! Having heard that Microsoft too wants to go casual (and I think I've heard the same thing about Sony as well), Nintendo's future looked obvious for me. Guess I was wrong. Good for them. Nintendo's games and platforms practically made up all of my childhood and that of thousands others. I'd hate to see all that go to waste.