Casual Games Defining New Genres

There is a growing rift in the gaming world between the self proclaimed "hardcore" and the rapidly expanding "casual" gamer. We could argue forever about whether casual games are just a fad, or even just the terms hardcore and casual, but I'm prepared to take a very different stance. Casual games are creating our gaming future.

For far too long we've been stuck in the same old genres, RTS, FPS, Puzzle, Platformer, Fighting, RPG, etc. From the Atari era that created many of the core gamers of today, to the Playstation 2 era that began the new rise of gamers, the industry has been slow to experiment and create new genres. But with the PS2's mainstream success, and now the Wii's even greater casual gamer appeal we have seen dramatic shifts in gaming genres.

Newly created genres like fitness, tower defense, time management, and brain training have come along and will only grow from here. Some of these might seem a little thin when it comes to expandability but I envision them evolving into entirely new beasts. Perhaps one day we'll have our casual, as well as our hardcore minigame collections. A little far fetched, but it could happen.

But casual games aren't just creating new genres, they are reviving the forgotten and reinvigorating the dying. If it wasn't for the DS and Wii would we have ever seen the return of the adventure game in such a way as we are now?

Genres that were old and stale are being spruced up in new and interesting ways. Just take a look at what games like Henry Hatsworth or Scribblenauts are doing with the puzzle genre. Or how free to play MMO's like Free Realms have created a structure with which developers can thrive without being the fabled WoW killer. Even the tried and true Sports game is being reinvented with motion controls in mind.

So, does this mean that casual games are overtaking our hardcore games? In short, no. There is no way that games like Gears of War, Metal Gear Solid, or Final Fantasy will ever cease to exist. What it does mean is that casual games are helping the gaming community to evolve. In the future we will probably have a whole slew of hardcore games that were inspired by the genres that casual games are creating today. So stop looking at casual games in a disapproving manner, they may help mold the games you'll be playing 20 years from now.