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Casual Play on 360 Live Arcade

Posted by Zonk on from the uno-and-fish-and-geometry-oh-my dept.

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.'"

2 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Playing Catch Up by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    1. Re:Playing Catch Up by Aaron+England · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.