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  • Subject: What's So Wrong With Casuals?
Subject: What's So Wrong With Casuals?

Doc: "i'm a pacifist"
Caboose: "your a thing that babies suck on?"
Tucker: "no dude, that's a pedephile"
Church: "tucker, i think he means a pacifier"

Depends on how you're using the term. The industry typically uses the term casuals to refer to people that do their gaming on their mobile device or tablet. They are called "casual" gamers because they typically game to pass the time. Gamers often use the term as an insult directed towards people who aren't as "hardcore" as they feel they should be.

To a gamer, a "casual" seems to be quite a few different things. It could be someone who doesn't feel that K/D is everything in an FPS multiplayer. It could be someone that feels that RPGs should be a little more forgiving in their gameplay or spoon-fed in their story telling. The hilarity behind all the insults leveled at casuals is that the market would have gone nowhere fast if devs/production houses didn't cater to new gamers. Catering to new gamers means that a certain amount of accessibility needs to be allowed.

Granted, there have been franchises where the goal of accessibility is taken to the point of completely hurting a games core design, the Dragon Age or ME series are good examples of this. But FPS games (one of the biggest battlegrounds of the casual vs hardcore discussions) are regarded as "catering to casuals" with nearly every little change. These arguements have been made with nearly every console FPS game to come to market since Halo 2, and many of the arguements are garbage centering around preference and personal POV.

My advice, un-solicited though it may be, is that people just need to get a -blam!- grip and realize where the market would be without those branded as "casuals". Without the hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into the machine by gamers that don't care about their K/D or their online rank, the industry would be struggling more than it is now. As Hylebos has already said, the key is that there need to be games balanced for everyone out there, "casual" and self-proclaimed competitive alike. But gamers do need to get a collective grip and realize that them not liking something doesn't make it geared towards casuals.

[Edited on 12.17.2012 9:17 AM PST]

  • 12.17.2012 9:13 AM PDT

Not a thing. Pros are the problem because they curb-stomp the normal people. We should kill pros. I mean in the game not in real life obviously.

  • 12.17.2012 9:21 AM PDT

Currently studying Computer Science & Software engineering. Hope to work on mobile devices of the future! When a certain game's credits roll, look out for my name! ;)

You will -blam!- bricks when you see what game it is! =)

I like all types of gamers, even little kids are fine by me. I hate those who brag and brag and brag "Oh, i got this and that and i didnt even find it difficult!"

Cool story bra.

  • 12.17.2012 9:29 AM PDT

I only hate 'Casuals' when it comes to RPG's, as alot of the lore and RPG elements are dumbed down so they have an easier time in the 5 minutes that they play the game.

  • 12.17.2012 9:47 AM PDT

Casuals buy whatever is flavor of the month, which this past generation has been any form of Third person, or first person shooters, and games such as Skyrim. Since casuals outnumber game enthusiasts by a large margin, they are considered the demand. So game devs who only care about the money and not satisfying their current fans abandon them for the casuals. In turn, games hold your hand through out the whole game, and you are restricted to walking in a straight line, since casuals have no sense of intellect and can't think for themselves. Their inability to think also leads tham to buy whatever is considered to be "hot" by game journalist websites such as IGN and Gamespot. Thus is the never ending downward spiral of the gaming industry.

There are some companies who truly care about their fans and game more than the money, but they are small and few.

  • 12.17.2012 10:05 AM PDT
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It's really hardcore console gamers that even though there the minority they still think they should be the ones that the game is made for.

  • 12.17.2012 10:07 AM PDT

I'm a "casual" and I destroy 90% of the people I play against. People use ignorantly use the term as a bad thing because it's easier for them to make excuses then accept it may be them. Sure there are bad players who can cost your team a win but there are also a ton more players who play everyday and are just bad.

  • 12.17.2012 10:09 AM PDT