hardcore-gamer
Latest
Sid Meier on mobile and the value of hardcore gamers
You know you're getting old when legendary PC developer Sid Meier gives interviews about his foray into mobile gaming. It's not as bad as it sounds, though, because the man behind the Civilization series tells GamesIndustry.biz that the core gaming audience is still driving the industry regardless of platform. "I think we've seen historically that the more casual gaming platforms and markets do have a kind of rise and fall pattern to them, whereas the hardcore gaming market, the serious gamers are much more stable, and they're going to be around for a long time and will keep playing games," Meier said. Meier also ruminates on his approach to mobile free-to-play, which is basically the same try-the-demo-buy-the-full-game-if-you-like-it model that PC gaming has employed for decades. "It's not something like a constant stream of purchases every day, but it's more just unlocking the rest of the game and then you are done," he explained.
EVE Interview: the 'necessary evil' of a steep learning curve
Worlds in Motion has published an interesting interview with CCP Games' senior producer Torfi Olafsson. The piece focuses on the deliberate decision by the Icelandic development studio to produce EVE Online exclusively for a hardcore audience, as well as a few brief comments about the ongoing fight against RMT. "Well, we always knew that the game would be hardcore. The majority of the players are players that immigrate from other MMOs then say, "Okay. I've reached the level cap. That was great. Now, I want something that's really challenging," Olafsson says. "We took strides in trying to improve it [the learning curve], but I think that as well is a necessary evil. The challenge and learning curve is a necessary evil if you want to provide the game that delivers such a broad range of experience." The article paints a portrait of a stubborn studio that refuses to bow to industry pressures of increasing accessibility. "There are a lot of gamers out there that are hardcore players but just don't know it yet. So, we're trying to attract those," Olafsson comments. Check out the full piece over at Worlds in Motion.
EVE Evolved: Playing casually or just killing time
MMOs are a popular hobby for hardcore and casual players alike. While some people love getting firmly embedded in their favourite MMO every night, a growing number of players prefer to log in occasionally and just kill a few hours at a time. EVE Online is no exception, with a mix of both casual and hardcore players. Taking part in things like alliance warfare, starbase industry or corporate management may require that a player log in every night but most other avenues of gameplay don't. A lot of EVE's gameplay can be picked up for a few hours and set back down with no added responsibility. In fact, player demographic data shows that most players prefer to live in the more casual environment of high security space. So what kind of things can you do if you just fancy playing internet spaceships for a few hours? In this opinion piece, I look at five of my favourite ways to kill a few hours in the name of EVE. What's your favourite way to spend a few hours?
Rumor: Gamecock founder in talks to purchase Hardcore Gamer mag
We always secretly enjoyed the low-brow hijinx the fellas over at Gamecock Media Group frequently found themselves carrying out -- particularly the monkeyshines of the indie dev's CEO, Mike Wilson. We were appropriately bummed when Gamecock was bought out by publisher Southpeak, but we had an inkling that we hadn't seen the last of Wilson. If recent rumors are true, he'll be making a reappearance soon enough, bringing his inimitable brand of tomfoolery to the esteemed realm of gaming journalism.Of course, Wilson couldn't enter said realm under unremarkable circumstances -- New York Times recently ran an article about Hardcore Gamer, the mag that was on the eBay auction block earlier in the month, in which they revealed that "an entrepreneur who had recently sold his video game business" purchased the mag minutes before the auction closed. Wilson, who fits this mold, confirmed to Kotaku that he has been in talks with the mag's owner, but denied that he was dropping the 42 G's required to purchase it.Whatever dealings that did go down are expected to be finalized by the end of this week -- hopefully, we'll be finding out more about the fate of Hardcore Gamer (and Wilson's presumptive involvement) soon.
'Hardcore Gamer' magazine being sold to ... highest eBay bidder
Well, at least 1UP didn't have to endure this sort of treatment. The owner of enthusiast magazine "Hardcore Gamer" has seemingly decided to bid his hobby-turned-business adieu and ... sell it to the highest bidder on eBay. "We're very well established within the video game industry and are currently enjoying all the respect and recognition that a print magazine gets, that the thousands of gaming web sites may never get," reads the seller's description. "If you want instant establishment in the game industry, you won't find another opportunity as quick and easy to get into as this."Interested? Well, the magazine -- distributed nationally by DoubleJump Books -- and all its associated copyrights, back issues, internet domains etc. can be yours for the starting bid of $42,000. We've contacted the magazine to confirm the listing [Update: Confirmed!] and possibly suss out a "buy it now" price. After all, what better time to invest in a gaming magazine than ...Oh.[Thanks, Adam]
NoE: 'There is no casual gaming'
Over in Europe, the senior marketing director, Laurent Fischer, says that the casual gamer is none other than a myth? Really, Laurent? For him, apparently, it's all black and white, with a very clear distinction between gamer and non-gamer and no gray area between."For me, you are a gamer or non-gamer," he says. "I think most of you know that you can spend ten or twenty hours on an internet flash game and have not realised. The guy who plays these games regularly - he's a core gamer." Laurent went on further to explain his point, stating "I don't like this word casual so much. Because people consider that casual needs to be something easy. If you're good at any game you can play at a high difficulty level. Take Tetris. There is incredible gameplay, it's very simple, very easy to understand, but it's also very different. I think a game can be a light enough to enjoy and for all gamers to become a core gamer on it."When looking over his comments, it's kind of an "in the eye of the beholder" thing. For us, yes, we think there is casual gaming and it's fairly defined what is and isn't a casual title. He doesn't agree with us, though, because, to him, there "is no casual gaming. There is just a different way to play."
