We Place Faith in The Conduit

July 31st, 2008

the conduit wii high voltage

I like to keep tabs on the Nintendo fanbase and their response to new games and announcements. I do so because it makes for a fascinating case study on how a loyal fanbase (such as Nintendo’s) reacts when their favourite company expands outwards to other audiences. The reality is that these players can enjoy games like Wii Fit and Brain Age (why wouldn’t they? I love them) yet haven’t made the transition into that frame of mind just yet, keeping hold of an arbitrary notion of thought (“hardcore gaming”). Their reaction is very insightful of fan culture and the identity it creates.

I myself am, of course, a huge Nintendo fan which makes up part of the fascination. You can even slap the commonly abused “fanboy” label on me too if you like. I’m not fussed. I think that the difference here is that, I’m very interested in casual games for both play and curious investigation. There’s no shame in it, contrary to popular belief, people like me can enjoy “casual” games and enjoy them because after all, they are games and I like to play games!

Back on topic, I read a Nintendo blog which I have linked to before called Infendo, this blog represents the positives that can come out of a single platform blog. The orientation is still Nintendo and the content matches this yet the banter is often multi-sided with a surprising amount of critical discussion going on within the community. I read this site to gauge how the more intelligent half of the Nintendo group is going (oh and for the articles).

What I have noticed recently is how the Nintendo community (this has been everywhere not just Infendo, representative sample you know) has been clinging onto this game called ‘The Conduit’. This game was first made famous when the developer created an image for their game by expressing concerns about the “hardcore” gamer content on the Wii, suggesting their game as a game for the hardcore. This obviously got a lot of people excited, even more so as the game’s image expanded after Nintendo’s scattered E3 press conference, being the diamond in the rough for the hardcore’s insatiable appetite.

I’m not sure about you but haven’t we seen this before with Red Steel? Game dedicated to the hardcore, being hyped by fans and fueled by media (IGN generated a lot of ‘buzz’ on Red Steel and are doing it again on Conduit), ultimately failing to meet inflated expectations.

Trying not to be unpopular but I actually got a lot out of Red Steel, not sure what all the complaining was about?

I’m not here to shoot the game down, by any means. After all I’m hardcore too y’know (*wigga wigga*), just watch the debut trailer and judge for yourself where you think this game stands. Let me know if you think it will sink or swim in the comments.