Ubisoft Talks Balance Between Casual And Hardcore
Just Dance 2It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. And if you want to maintain your big business status, you require mainstream appeal.
Hardcore gamers, veteran gamers, and "purist" gamers will bemoan the explosion of the casual market, claiming the new focus on fast, accessible, and oh so painfully stupid has a negative impact on the "real" games they love. However, Ubisoft says that rather than attacking the casual peeps, the hardcore enthusiasts should be thanking the non-gamers for all the extra monies.
Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot spoke to Gamasutra about a specific "balance" between casual and hardcore. While their Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy franchises rake in the critical acclaim and do indeed sell extremely well, it's the casual hits like Just Dance 2 and Raving Rabbids that help pay the bills. Said Guillemot:
"It's a balance. It's not that we changed the way we do things. We integrated the casual on top of the core. This is helping us spend more money on the high definition titles and is helping us come with more high-definition games."
The bottom line is that with casual, simple hits for kids, senior citizens, and those who really don't call themselves "gamers," Ubisoft drags in more money. And with more money comes the opportunity to create bigger-budget hardcore titles. Remember, it's a bigger profit margin; as Guillemot says- "To make Just Dance, it's just 1/10th the cost of Assassin's Creed."
And besides, isn't it nice to see gaming be so widely accepted? If it had remained a hardcore, niche hobby, it would still be mocked by the majority. Well, we may have to put up with a gaggle of shovelware on the Wii but at least we're a mostly accepted group of hobbyists. ...not in the eyes of NBC and The Today Show, of course, but whatever.
Tags: ubisoft, game news, casual games, hardcore gamers
7/19/2011 9:31:50 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (17 posts)
Excelsior1
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:40:50 AM
i have known several casual gamers over the years and have seen no evidence of them wanting to branch out. when i try to talk to them about games it almost feels like we are two different species.
i wonder if there are any industry studies looking into how many casual gamers go on to becoming hardcore gamers becuase i do worry the day will come when we hardcore gamers are significantly outnumbered.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 7/19/2011 10:42:23 AM
3 up, 0 down
Temjin001
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:44:18 AM
1 up, 0 down
Highlander
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:59:19 AM
1 up, 1 down
Excelsior1
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:22:38 AM
Reply
2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 11:01:20 AM
2 up, 3 down
Mornelithe
Thursday, July 21, 2011 @ 7:18:43 AM
+1 Highlander, pretty much spot on.
@ Excelsior: The other thing is, who kept these companies afloat until the current crop of 'followers', yes, followers, decided gaming was cool and decided to jump on the bandwagon?
The only reason why companies have to rely on the casual market so much these days, is because their 'hardcore' games, blow. Probably because they're only focused on dollar signs, rather than actually creating compelling IP.
Last edited by Mornelithe on 7/21/2011 7:26:08 AM
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Temjin001
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:50:04 AM
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I'm not sold on the idea that hardcore games and casual games are clearly split down the middle with a clear divide. As if the co-existence between the two spheres are all rainbows and daisies. We can't ignore the fact that the casuals do also affect just how dedicated our core gamer's games are.
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Excelsior1
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 11:31:14 AM
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 7/19/2011 11:32:45 AM
2 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 2:32:46 PM
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maxpontiac
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:55:52 AM
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Both Blazing Angels 1 and HAWX 1 had more polish then the sequels that came out for those two titles.
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tridon
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 12:30:30 PM
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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 1:24:12 PM
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And seriously, would it kill them to create a casual game that the core gamer would be interested in playing without someone there to mitigate the stupidity that they might otherwise feel? Michael Jackson: The Experience, Imagine: Pets 3D, etc. The list goes on. That being said, I hope that they promote the HELL out of Rayman Origins, because that can appeal to both markets in the same way that LBP does (Well, not exactly, RO doesn't have a level editor to the best of my knowledge).
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WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 2:35:58 PM
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It's like there's casual crap, then there's hardcore games. Without middle of the road games the hardcore ones like Final Fantasy get hurt when trying to grab the casual market. Hardcore gamers are just like "Hey you're forgetting us!" and I think that's fair.
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___________
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 @ 4:23:05 AM
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gone from splinter cell, rainbow six, ghost recon, assassins creed, prince of persia.
to freaking zumba!
never did i think id see the day where my favorite publishers name is on a freaking dancing game!
oh how this generations brought down some greats!
first crapcom and sega, then $E, $ony, M$, ninty, ubisoft, EA, antivision.
whos next?
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Mornelithe
Thursday, July 21, 2011 @ 7:13:55 AM
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I've yet to see this massive profit be turned around in favor of the hardcore or 'core' or wtf ever segment of gamer I happen to fall into. Cookie cutter fps, after cookie cutter FPS. Sad wannabe's attempting to reap the rewards of someone elses vision. Stagnant engines, an endless desire to make identical games on two completely different hardware sets, that in no way cater to the hardware they're on.
No, I don't have to thank anyone, for anything. You think I got all these games for free, Mr. Guillemot? Did the new horde of gamers somehow pay for all the PS3, and PC games I own? No, they didn't. I bought them. I worked for the money for them, and I don't owe anyone a damn thing. If anything, companies like ID, Ubisoft, Rare, THQ, Activision etc.. owe ME, I've been gaming for over 2 decades now. Buying into the industry since the late 80's. Where's my thanks from the current crop of gamers for keeping these developers afloat all this time? Where's my compensation for being the black sheep of society until everyone suddenly figured out...oh yeah, gaming is actually pretty cool.
I find the mere suggestion insulting, and it'll seriously make me think twice before ever buying another Ubisoft game.
Last edited by Mornelithe on 7/21/2011 7:16:38 AM
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Gamer46
Friday, July 22, 2011 @ 5:56:37 AM
Last edited by Gamer46 on 7/22/2011 5:57:36 AM
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Highlander
Reply
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:14:06 AM
Thinking about it, when I started gaming it was essentially 'casual' gaming. Think about games like Space Invaders, PacMan. Compared to what we think of as 'hardcore' games today, such games are almost textbook definitions of casual gaming since they can be picked up and played by anyone and the average play time is short.
Yet today, I would probably easily fall into the classification of 'hardcore' gamer. Thinking about the kinds of games that casual gamers like today, the immediate example is Facebook games like Farmville. Those games are essentially simplified and micro-transaction driven versions of resource management & strategy games like SimCity or Civilization.
As those gamers become more sophisticated and want something more than what those Flash based games offer, what kinds of game will *they* want? I can tell you now that it isn't going to be shooters, it's going to be other genre of game, and actually I could see a lot of the players of games like Farmville wanting games with a slower more considered pace.