I think it' s funny how the perception of ' casual games' have changed dramatically since the introduction of the Wii. A lot of people seem to ignore the fact that the PlayStation 2 is an extremely casual gamer' s console. It' s perhaps the best example of one. If people brushed that console off like the Wii or DS these days, everyone would miss games such as Ico, Katamari and God of War.

The casual market' s kinda blown up and a lot of hardcore gamers feel the need to defend themselves because they feel their lifestyle is under threat. It' s true that the Wii and DS are full of shovelware, but I don' t believe casual and shovelware are quite the same thing. I' ve been playing the hell out of No More Heroes the last few days, then jumped onto a game of Dead Rising on the 360.

Casual games are, as people have said, games that anyone - gamers and non-gamers alike - can pick up and play. Tetris is a good example, Katamari is another. Hell even games like Uridium and Sonic the Hedgehog I would consider casual games. They can provide a fulfilling and awesome gaming experience without being too overcomplicated or restrictive.

People who usually play casual games are... well, everyone. A lot of people these days want to tar non-gamers and grannies with the casual brush, but the simple fact is that games like Super Mario Galaxy and Banjo Kazooie are casual. Just because someone finds Halo 3 too macho and greyscale doesn' t make them any less of a gamer really. It' s just in recent years, the demographic for casual games have expanded to non-gamers and grannies as well as gamers.

Of course, you can get good casual games and crap casual games. Carnival Games boils my blood like nobody' s business. >_> And even as a Sonic fan I would rather Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games would just go away. And what the heck is Dr. Who Top Trumps?

ORIGINAL: Dreadknux

I think it' s funny how the perception of ' casual games' have changed dramatically since the introduction of the Wii. A lot of people seem to ignore the fact that the PlayStation 2 is an extremely casual gamer' s console. It' s perhaps the best example of one. If people brushed that console off like the Wii or DS these days, everyone would miss games such as Ico, Katamari and God of War.

Hello. I liked that. Well said.

I think it' s funny how the perception of ' casual games' have changed dramatically since the introduction of the Wii. A lot of people seem to ignore the fact that the PlayStation 2 is an extremely casual gamer' s console. It' s perhaps the best example of one. If people brushed that console off like the Wii or DS these days, everyone would miss games such as Ico, Katamari and God of War.

...With the difference between the two being that the PS2 was the more traditional console gamer' s system of choice last generation.

While the PS2 retained a casual userbase with titles like Guitar Hero, Madden and Katamari, it snared the rest of the market with games and franchises like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, SOCOM, Tony Hawk' s Pro Skater, Okami, Devil May Cry, SSX, Kingdom Hearts, God of War, Gran Turismo, Burnout, Grand Theft Auto, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, Final FantasySly Cooper, Shadow of the Colossus and Ico.

As of right now, the Wii has but a smattering of the kind of titles that caused gamers to flock to the PS2. The few that come to mind are Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime:Corruption and Smash Bros Brawl (All not-so-coincidentally published by Nintendo).

Comparing the two makes sense superficially, but when it comes right down to it, Sony had more third-party support last generation than Nintendo had last, and this generation put together.

I dont feel threaten,look at what hardcore games sells in comparsion to casual games,casual games doesnt sell,look at the wii,none of its games sells,just the console.