Hardcasual

I see the positives of this wacky iPhone Kool-Aid, but what about the negatives:

• No industry experience.
• No portable gaming hardware experience.
• No games unavailable on superior systems.
• No buttons.

First, you were right to bring up my love for the XNA platform, but you ignored its best feature: synergy. No, I’m not just spouting a word I learned from “In Good Company,” I’m talking about a console and a portable working together like never before. Say I wanted to make a couple virtual dollars to buy a new board in Skate 2. I play my portable Skate 2 mini-game on the subway, which offers that opportunity to make in-game money on the go. I get home, plug in, and buy my board. Suddenly, my portable game play feels put to good use.Zune game play affects 360 game play and likewise. What will the iPhone do? You connect it to your Powerbook and what? Maybe you could make a sweet Marathod mod. Err.Come on, Sam, we have seen Apple’s pony show before. Remember, when Halo was a Mac exclusive? Or what about last year, when EA and id promised same day software releases on PC and Mac? Sure, Spore’s a big name, but don’t tell me you would ever play Spore on the iPhone over a PC. Need I only remind you of The Sims DS.Now, I am going to take a step from reality, and calmly enter La La Land.Sam, the PSPhone is the way of the future. No, seriously, listen. Sure, it’s not out. Sure, I would be embarrassed to use it—at first. Yet, it is so perfect. You have the sleek style of the iPhone, the connectivity of the Zune, and a system that plays rich, deep games. Buttons, Sam, it has buttons!Don’t feed me shit about Playstation’s sudden decay. This year just might end in their favor with Metal Gear Solid 3, Little Big Planet, Home, and Killzone 2 on the way. Imagine a portable phone that allowed full interactivity with all those games on the go, or, even better, remote play.No gamer would play Bubble Bobble when Little Big Planet’s remote play rests at their eager fingertips. And that’s coming from a recovering Bubble Bobble addict.But maybe, just maybe, I missed the point. Maybe the iPhone isn’t aimed at these gamers. Maybe it expects the player to go home and live a life without games, one where they don’t need to plug in on the couch. Then maybe you’re right.Nah. Casual games are a gateway drug, leading players to pick up 360s or PS3s and commit time to a real gaming habit. My dad finally dropped some cash for his first game system since the Commodore 64 last year, a Wii. Now, he’s beat Mario Galaxy and pre-ordered Smash Bros. Brawl. He’s not ‘hardcore,’ but he’s definitely not casual. Game’s are the medium of our generation, and as more people become gamers—parents, co-workers, long hated rivals—they’ll want connectivity. They’ll want their game play to mean something as a whole, or at least, they’ll want it to appear to mean something.Seriously though, in lazy metaphorical terms, Peggle (like most casual games) is a one-night stand. Gamers, nay, people need something to which they can commit, both on the go and at home.And whatever it may be, they won’t be playing it on an iMac. Not yet.NOTE: Maybe we’re both wrong. Word on the street is the Gizmomdo’s heading straight to the top, see.