Casual Play on 360 Live Arcade

twoallbeefpatties writes "Columnist Chris Suellentrop writes an article for Slate describing how his desire for casual gaming is fulfilled more by the 360 than the Wii due to the presence of simpler games available over Live Arcade. The availability of oldschool Nintendo games on the Wii network fulfills his nostalgic hardcore gaming side, but when he really wants to just relax, he'd rather be trying to top his Live high score on Root Beer Tapper. Says Suellentrop: 'The Nintendo Wii will transform the way we play games at home. But the Xbox 360, through its Xbox Live service, is building something equally compelling: a celestial arcade, where casual and hard-core gamers alike can connect over the Internet and find like-minded souls. For an old-timer like me, the celestial arcade also lets me feel like I still have some of my old gaming mojo.'"

Comments

Playing Catch Up

[AKAImBatman]

In all fairness, the 360 has had a full year head start over the Wii. Which means that the Live! service is well developed to meet the needs of the (rather massive) casual gaming market. However, I do expect that to change in the near future. For one, Nintendo has already stated that they'll be hosting "Wii Ware" downloadable games that can be purchased from the Wii Store. Rumors are already circulating that Super Paper Mario could be the first.

For another, tons of gaming sites have popped up to fill the "casual" needs through the Opera Web Browser. In fact, the most popular of these sites just announced a new API that lets game programmers make use of *all* of the Wiimote's buttons. If they get multiplayer gaming up and going (e.g. poker, battleship, hearts, etc.), they could end up being an impressive force for casual gaming on the Wii.

Re:Playing Catch Up

[Aaron England]

In all fairness, why does one need to be fair to Nintendo? If Microsoft had a year head start, then would that not also imply that Nintendo had an additional year to plan? Both companies made trade offs, and we are now seeing the results of their works. An 80% solution today is often more desirable than a 100% solution tomorrow.

Re:Playing Catch Up

[stubear]

Microsof actually has about 10 years of prior experience in this field, not just the one year head start for the XBOX360. Microsoft purchased a company with a single product, The Internet Game Zone, and turned it into a web-based game site. Initially there were a few card games (hearts, spades, bridge), backgammon, chess and checkers, or something like that. They started adding games like Luxor, Zuma, and Bejewelled not long after that. zone.msn.com now has hundreds of games, some flash based, some java based. A number of these are ripe for inclusion on XBOX Live Arcade and hopefully Zune 2.0.

Re:Xbox Online Becoming A Bit Of A Joke

[Mr2001]

I agree about the dedicated servers. For a paid service, it's outrageous that the games are still hosted on individual players' home connections, which is what makes all the "standby" cheating possible. Matchmaking is cool and all, but Halo is a much better experience on the PC than on the Xbox because of dedicated hosts.

Finally! A causual place for my racist rants

[elrous0]

As an aging racist, I get a little tired of the hectic pace of FPS's like Halo 2 on Live. Sure, it's still rewarding to yell out "The Holocaust never happened!" in Halo 2, but everyone is running around so fast that no one really even notices. I long for a more laid-back gaming experience, one where I'm not judged soley on my twitch-quick reflexes. I want a game that requires strategy and thinking, to complement my diatribes about how Mexicans are filthy thieves. When I interact with others, I want them to be more than just the guy that goes running past me before I can even get the chance to call him a nigger. I want some time to get to KNOW the other players before I blast them with racial epithets.

I really think this casual games movement could be a great thing. Whether you're a racist like me, a teenager who's looking to teabag his opponents in a more relaxed atmosphere, or just a griefer looking to annoy people without having to be constantly moving; casual games are the future.

-Eric