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Best Videogames For Enthralling Non-Gamers?
Thanks to GameSpy for its article discussing the best videogame titles that appeal to those unfamiliar with gaming. The list of these 'gateway' titles, games which "...are usually quite easy to pick up and play and remain addictive", includes EyeToy: Play ("It's immensely entertaining to watch your co-workers move around ridiculously while trying to wash a virtual window or fight a virtual boxer"), Dance Dance Revolution ("sits in a strange purgatory between social awkwardness and coolness"), and The Sims ("...breaking boundaries that many thought impenetrable.")
The best answer to this question depends on the demographic you are shooting for. Adult males, who it might be argued may have some sort of genetic predisposition to like videogames with titles such as Soul Caliber or a Tony Hawk game, no challenge on that one. But what about getting our girl-friends and wives into gaming? I have found almost any 2 player co-op game works as long as it is relatively easy, and easy to play. This isn't to say that women can't play Halo, what it says is that learning how to play games takes time, and introducing a new gamer to a difficult complex game is bad idea, no matter how cute or fun it is. Group settings are great too, Mario Party Springs to mind. As social games you can't really go wrong, and most of the mini games are simple enough that even people not familiar with the finer points of game control can get a pretty good grasp on it. Racing games like Mario Kart, or Crash Nitrocart are generally easy to pick up and run with as well.
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
Seriously, even my mother will play mario party. As for Monkey ball if i don't want to entertain guests i will just pop in monkey ball and within 10 minutes i have 4 people enthralled.
convenient!
Rhythm games--you love them, hate them, or have never actually played one. For anyone who wants a fun play that actually helps improve short-term memory and coordination, I'd definitely recommend Space Channel 5. It recently came out in a bundle for the PS2 which includes the original and a sequel; this bundle retails for $15. I promise anyone who takes up the challenge will spend their first few days after playing it seeing everything in Ulala-vision (Hey Bob, you get those TPS cover sheets sent off? Up, Up, Left, Left, Down, Shoot!, Shoot!)
If you like those, try Um Jammer Lammy (a little harder for me since it's more abstract in control), Samba de Amigo (it requires the maracas and a Dreamcast, but those combined will run you less than a copy of GTA) - which I have to say is a great party game - or Taiko no Tatsujin if you can handle everything being in Japanese.
I found that once I got FFXI, most of my console gaming has become social...I haven't watched television in a long time, and movies aren't something terribly social (not everyone enjoys MST3king films), and it's easier to keep a large group of people interested with console games since they're quickly and easily changable. Silly games with no real point to them (Meaning, you don't have a mob boss asking you to kill the interstellar aliens) have been scoring really high with me of late--they usually have a little more innovation to them, which can slip them through the shields of a non-gamer who might even have reservations against videogames.
Also, at the risk of being flamed to death--Brittany's Dance Beat is a good play too. It can take advantage of the dance pad, which makes it a far more entertaining and interesting watch (and conversation piece) than just DDR (which I still have a blast with).
Social gaming has been getting a lot of my non-gamer friends to consider purchasing consoles, simply because I have such oddball games they've never expected to see that don't require insane coordination (Ikaruga, Halo) or a taste for the gameplay (FFX, GTA, Gran Turismo).
Crazy Taxi! It's easy to learn, visually impressive, and you can have short, timed rounds - pretty much the only game my wife ever showed interest in.
Show them the game first by using some just-better-than-beginnner players as demonstrators. I'm thinking 3 and 4 foot songs. These types of players are more likely to screw up a bit at random times, and to collapse in laughter, so it takes the intimidation factor away while making it look extra fun.
Explain the general point of the game. It's two sentences, really. "Well, the arrows go up the screen, and they reach the top in time with the music. If you step on them on the beat, your power goes up, otherwise, it goes down." Period. The only other things you'll have to explain as they come up while the demo is going on are the jumps ("you jump to hit BOTH arrows at once!") and freeze arrows ("ya gotta hold down the button"). Stuff like offbeat steps are unlikely to show up on 3 foot songs anyway.
Get 'em drunk. Well, just a little bit. The first time you play, you'll look uncoordinated anyway, so you might as well have a couple drinks to take the edge off.
Insist "you try!" once the beginners are done a few songs. The rest of the room will engage in "Come on!" "Oh yeah!" "You can't suck worse than *I* did my first time!" etc. You won't have to tell your other friends to goad them on, because everyone had to get practically pushed up there the first time.
Start the game for 'em and turn on Beginner difficulty. Then get the hell off the pad, but help them select a song -- a really fast song even on Beginner might be too disorienting especially for folks who -- GASP -- aren't used to playing video games.
Don't constantly tell them what to do through the song. I have a friend that does this, and we need to stick a sock in her mouth. "Left! Left! Up!" for 2 minutes straight, and your newbies are going to be heading towards Mario Party. A little help is OK, but it's not rocket science. They've just gotta figure how to move their feet for themselves.
Ditto with not explaining technique the first few times they play. The only thing I ever say, because EVERY new DDR player does this, is "you don't have to go back in the middle after each step, you can just stay stood on the arrow, and it won't mind". Say this after the first song. If they keep doing it, don't worry about it.
Great game, and people get right into it, but the videos have absolutely zero to do with that. It's a combination of fun music, getting endorphins going, and cracking it up with friends.
... what they are talking about sometimes ...
madden 2004 a 'gateway' to getting non gamers to play a game? thats gotta be the joke entry, right? the game is pretty damn complicated, and i cant see how people that arent used to games that just want something 'simple' are going to be able to get into it at all. maybe the gamespy guys really liked it, but that obviously doesnt mean that non-games will, in fact, its probably the complete opposite.
the GTA games also require a lot more skill than people think. sure, its fun to bash around and stuff, but actually try and do a mission. it would be much better to do what i do with my brother, who rarely plays games, just let him load up my save after ive finished it and unlocked everything 100% (so he has immediate access to all the weapons etc), and then just let him run riot.
wario ware? a game where you have 3 seconds to complete you objectives on the fly without a pause? if i gave that to my girlfriend her game would be over in 9 seconds and she would be handing my GBA back with a WTF? look on her face.
counter strike? hahahahahaha whatever. these guys smoke some wicked crack sometimes. try quake3 on the easiest bot level or something. maybe once they can beat the bots on hard after 5 years they might then be ready to play online. you may want to repeatedly abuse them in the background while they practise as well. you know, just to get them ready for the experience online.
and with no animal crossing the list might as well not exist. its almost like they didnt put it in there so they would get attention.
Great game, easy interface, no fear of dying.
There's really only one puzzle that is sort of tough to solve, but even then, it's hardly frustrating.
Adventure games should be like that, I think... just a fun storyline and a few puzzles along the way.