Casual Gamers

What is a casual gamer? Nintendo's Wii has garnered much criticism from the so-called "core gamers" for the fact that it is "too casual". In my opinion, casual is one of the most ambiguous terms out there.

I went to dictionary.com and looked up the word "casual".

Definition of casual- without definite or serious attention; careless or offhand; SYNONYMS offered were: apathetic, nonchalant, lazy, easygoing, etc.

This is interesting, because the Wii is often considered the casual console because it is played by the majority of casual gamers. What does the term "casual" mean to gamers? A casual gamer is someone who wants to find easier ways to play, having to be lazy. In retrospect, Wii is probably the least casual major console on the market today. Here are some things that could be considered "casual":

• Game consoles with DVD players or non-gaming features, so have one machine do everything easily!
• Handheld consoles, to carry the console anywhere you can go!
• Online play- yes, online play is casual. Instead of dragging your butt to your friend's house to play a game, you can play over the Internet!

All in all, I would consider Wii the least casual console. I am not saying casual in this sense is bad, because online play and DVD players are good, right? However, it is wrong for Microsoft and Sony fans to criticize the Wii for its casual aura when they are boasting online play and extra features. The most casual thing about the Wii is its easily navigated Wii Menu.

Activision confirms "DJ Hero" in '09

And Activision is at it again. Now that the world is saturated with their Guitar Hero 3's and their Rock Band 2's, Activision has now announced DJ Hero! You will actually get to play with a turntable much like the concept of Guitar Hero.

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I thought Guitar Hero would be just a fad, considering one comes out like, every half year. I think this idea is genius, and this will boost Activision quite a bit. I don't think this will have as big of an impact as Guitar Hero, however, because I would think more people would be interested in playing guitar instead of spinning discs. However, there are a lot of Guitar Hero fans out there, and they will likely not miss this.

Job Cuts for Microsoft and Sony

I may have mentioned previously that, of the three major gaming consoles, Nintendo's Wii is the only video game console that is resulting in a substantial profit. Microsoft is breaking even pretty much, though I am not sure if they are in the red or black in regards to their Xbox 360. Sony is definitely in the red. Anyway, both Microsoft and Sony have made announcements about jobs in their respective gaming departments today, January 23rd.

First, Microsoft is expected to make over five thousand job cuts. They believe that the majority of these cuts will come from the Entertainment and Devices division, which is the division that brings the world Xbox stuff and Zune stuff.

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Sony states that most of their cuts will not come from their gaming department. Sony has predicted a greater number of PS3 sales, but that PS2 and PSP will get less sales than what they originally thought. To reduce costs, Sony will be doing many things to save even the smallest amount of money like what their employees eat and such.

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There's really not that much to say about Microsoft; they are doing a good job. These job cuts kind of go along with the wave of job cuts that hits every corporation. I was surprised by what Sony had to say. I may be wrong, but I think Sony is in a denial stage, they are still investing more time and money into the PS3.