While I personally don't believe in the concept of a hardcore gamer I do believe in hardcore games and if that sounds strange to you then don't worry, I confuse myself with it as well. The reason why I'm bringing up hardcore games is due in large part to this year's E3 conferences.

Bias aside it was a pretty lackluster show so far with the "winner" being Microsoft or Sony but that's not what this is about. This is about the games that were shown at the conferences. While it is very rare that I get disappointed in one of the companies for showing off new 1st or 3rd party exclusive titles this event became that rare exception because this year we saw more casual games than anything.

I'm glad the industry is growing, I really am, but casual games really have no place at an event like E3. Stockholders aside, most of the audience and viewers of the press conferences are avid gamers who want to see a game that will take them to the next level of immersion. Showing off games like Wii Music and Lips aren't exactly going to make me impressed. Showing off more shooters (looking at you Sony) isn't going to make me impressed either although I will admit I'm now hyped for Resistance 2 and MAG.

If an industry event like E3 is turning into a place to show off your casual games for the expanding market then what does that say about the industry? Does this mean gamers like me who enjoy games like The Witcher, Persona 3, UT2k4 etc. are a dying breed? Or does it simply mean we have to evolve and change our tastes to fit this new market.

I for one do not like the new market. Console gaming is really starting to go down the tubes. I don't want to see my JRPGs casualized to try to lure in the shooter crowd. I don't want my WRPGs to have mainly shooter elements. I don't want my shooters to be short with crap storylines to lure in casual gamers who like the multiplayer.

I know I'm not the only one who feels like this because looking at the comments made about Nintendo's conference around the forums here on Gamespot I can tell a lot of users are pissed. Even Microsoft's conference was very meh. They showed they could by timed exclusivity and steal exclusives, Gears of War 2 is not hardcore, I don't care how you slice it. This is where I have to give credit to Sony. Even though they are making the PS3 very shooter heavy they showed off a lot of games that may not draw in the casual crowd such as inFamous, Siren: Blood Curse, and Patapon 2. Not to mention the plethora of other PSN titles that look fun.

The funny thing is that Sony used to be the company that catered to everyone and Microsoft was the hardcore console. Things seem to be turning around and I don't mind, if this means more games like Disgaea 3 and Valkyria Chronicles on my PS3 then I'm fine with it however, I don't want to see hardcore games backed into a corner, it's already such a small market now. In the coming years I doubt we're going to see more projects like Okami and The World Ends With You because of the ever expanding market.

I can honestly see myself being solely a PC gamer if that's what it comes to.

In a closing note I'd like you to try and support small or low budget game projects where you can. The industry is turning into Hollywood as game budgets get bigger and the companies shove new and complicated tech down developer's throats. Pick up that AA game from that studio you never heard of it, it's probably 100% worth it despite what your cool shooter friends say. Try out that new SRPG that looks like its from the PS1 days. try out that quirky platformers. It's the only way we can stop games like Wi Music from taking over our industry.

You can call me an elitist but I'm more of an idealist on this one.