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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<\/strong> 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<\/a> (\u201chardcore gaming\u201d<\/em>). Their reaction is very insightful of fan culture and the identity it creates.<\/p>\n I myself am, of course, a huge Nintendo fan which makes up part of the fascination. You can even slap the commonly abused \u201cfanboy\u201d<\/em> 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<\/a>, people like me can<\/strong> enjoy \u201ccasual\u201d<\/em> games and enjoy them because after all, they are games and I like to play games! 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’<\/a>. This game was first made famous when the developer created an image for their game by expressing concerns about the \u201chardcore\u201d<\/em> gamer content on the Wi<\/a>i, 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<\/a> for the hardcore’s insatiable appetite.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>), ultimately failing to meet inflated expectations.<\/p>\n Trying not to be unpopular but I actually got a lot out of Red Steel, not sure what all the complaining was about?<\/p>\n I’m not here to shoot the game down, by any means. After all I’m hardcore too y’know (*wigga wigga*<\/em>), 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.<\/p>\n
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\nBack on topic, I read a Nintendo blog which I have linked to before called Infendo<\/a>, 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<\/a> articles<\/a>).<\/p>\n