Nintendo's latest gameplay innovation?

[Kudistos Megistos]

According to Sankaku Complex (so take it with a pinch of salt   )

Nintendo is said to be planning to accommodate hopeless or merely impatient gamers who get stuck in games by making more of its games feature a “skip” feature, whereby difficult segments may be bypassed entirely.

The measure is to be concentrated on “action” games reliant on speedy reflexes, and will be featuring on both the Wii and DS.

The motivation behind it appears to be a desire to embrace casual gamers whose only experience of a “game” may be Wii Fit; previously some concern at the length of certain games and their ability to be completed by players with careers has prompted similar measures elsewhere.

Via Gigazine.

Proof, as if any were needed, that Nintendo’s consoles cater almost exclusively to “casuals”? Of course, cheats are nothing new, but usually they are not promoted as an integral feature of the title…

I'm not going to comment on this...  

And I shan't link to the site for now; it contains some very NSFW material  

[ChaosControl]

My girlfriend might go gaming then. She holds a gamepad as if it where a spaceshuttle steering device.

[Kudistos Megistos]

At least she doesn't hold it as badly as John Elway does at 9:10 of this video  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDusenm5-ho

Also, I'm interested by how Nintendo is now seen as casual (I haven't had a Nintendo console since the N64, so I won't say anything ). Nintendo wasn't casual in the days of the NES; Ghosts 'n Goblins and Battletoads

[Prince Lex]

I think they are being referred to as casual now because of the nature of the WII and DS. Neither are or were meant to be graphically as powerful as the competition, and the games for both seem to be less and less about stories being told or difficulty and more about... well... fun. I myself don't own either but I have a few friends that have never been into gaming (I have always been unfortunate enough to not have any real-life friends that enjoy Final Fantasy. They know how much I love it, I think they see it as a geeky underside that surfaces whenever I can't contain myself and have to talk about some development in the FF series or my personal FF repertoire. I.E. When Advent Children came out they all refused to watch it and I wouldn't stop talking about it, with the result that I found myself being ignored a lot of the time. *sniff)

Sorry about that tangent, my point was that these people barely know what a Playstation or Xbox is, and all of them own a Wii. That would be my personal evidence to support the "casual" comment. At last count, 3 people I know. Make it 4 now, as I've just been told my friends' 60 year old mother bought the 55 year old father one to "keep him fit".

There's no doubt that it's fun, I've played it a few times. Good for pizza and drinks and stuff - but It's not my thing.

Nintendo did a smart thing. The focus on interactive gameplay rather than graphics has made it the new family entertainment console. How long will that hold out for?

[obesebear]

I think Nintendo has found a market that has been untouched until recently, so they are exploring it.

If you look at the PS3 and XBOX360 they both have basically the exact same games.  Every FPS feels like every other FPS,  every adventure game feels like every other adventure game, every RTS... ad infinitum.  Now there are a few here and there that shake things up a bit and add a hint of originality, but for the most part every "next gen" game that has come out I haven't liked.  
This isn't to say I like the Wii, but I can see how other people would.  At least it's something different from all the BLOOM.  I just can't justify spending 60 dollars on a game that will look, feel, and sound just like 10 others I've already played

In the past year or two the only new game I have actually ENJOYED playing is Cave Story

[Kudistos Megistos]

If you look at the PS3 and XBOX360 they both have basically the exact same games.  Every FPS feels like every other FPS,  every adventure game feels like every other adventure game, every RTS... ad infinitum.  Now there are a few here and there that shake things up a bit and add a hint of originality, but for the most part every "next gen" game that has come out I haven't liked.

Sadly, I've been getting this impression as well; it's one of the reasons I haven't bothered to buy a next-gen console yet.

Another worrying thing is how many of the bestsellers of this generation are sequels to established franchises; Halo 3, MGS 4, GTA 4 et cetera. Most of the more popular games of the previous couple of generations had been either new franchises (such as Halo, Resident Evil and Tomb Raider) or games from what had earlier been cult franchises that benefited from the new technology, and so could still be said to have introduced something new the mainstream market (such as FF7, GTA 3 and MGS 1)