I've seen it time and time again. Gamers complaining when a specific game doesn't use voice overs. I don't know about you, but voice overs aren't always neccessary for a game to be fun. There are the few exceptions in games like MGS or Resident Evil where it is there to put emphasis on realism and to further the experience of that particular game, but for the most part, many games can be enjoyed without it. I can't stand having a story TOLD to me. I prefer being able to experience it myself and at my own pace, where the game becomes more of an inventive, interactive novel as opposed to an constant-attention, edge-of-your-seat wannabe movie.

Back in the 8-16 bit days, games weren't expected to have actual recorded dialog and narration. As a child, playing games like the original Dragon Warrior, Shadowgate, Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, Zelda, and Goonies 2 all helped me develop reading skills as well as offer me a good time in the process. But nowadays, kids don't have to sit through the "bothersome chore" of reading text. They will never get to experience the same challenge and learning curve many of us had to overcome to understand games and how they worked.  In a way, voiceless gaming helped us to use our brains at an earlier age.

My little brother for example, doesn't like to play games that have a lot of reading. He prefers to stick to the likes of games like Viewtiful Joe, Metal Gear solid, or Sports games with commentary. To him, text is nothing more than a bunch of mumbo jumbo that prohibits him from actually playing the game. To be perfectly honest, I've seen many, many other modern children like that, who'll skip through all the dialog and instructions as fast as they can push the confirm button. As a result, these kids find themselves lost or frustrated in said game, and will move on to something more "player friendly". Of course, since many great games require reading (All Zeldas, Pre-PS2 Final Fantasy, Metroid Prime, Morrowind). These gamers will never get to fully experience these games and will move on to the more flashy stuff generally made for casuals. Personally, I'd take my RPGs and other text dialog games without VO any day, as it ultimately leads to a more imaginative and personalized world, where I am free to think of the character's voices as I imagine them, combined with the game designers' open ended and creative inflection (for example, Barret's dialog in FFVII).

To make a long story short, nary will you ever find a text-heavy game in a casual's library. I hate to say it, but once gamers start to get accustomed to the comfort zone of Voice overs, the less they will respect titles that do have text. Gamers are frequently becoming accustomed to the ways of the convenient casual life, and it's starting at an early age (they want to draw in the kiddies while they can't read). Sure, Recorded dialog and is a big step forward in the industry, and can certainly help a game out, but it should only be used if it is completely neccessary. Sadly, Game developers are relying more and more on Voice overs, and will eventually abandon text altogether. A dark day it will be when people start penalizing classics like Zelda or Fire Emblem for "making you have to read" (I'm talking to you Tommy Tallirico).

You know, now that I think of it, it's kind of funny that some people will call Nintendo "kiddy", yet it is Nintendo who usually gets the slack for not using voice over in most of their games. Last time I checked, it was young children who have the most displeasure when it comes to reading. Perhaps it's the ADD-prone Nintendo hating fanboys who are the kiddies...

P.S.: If you are too lazy to read all this, you're probably a casual gamer. ;)