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Rockstar: "There is no casual/hardcore divide"

Published on 18th August 2008 by Joe Martin

Rockstar claims that it doesn't see GTA 4 as a hardcore game, but one aimed at a mass market.

Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser has spoken out recently on one what he thinks is one of the most misunderstood things in gaming; casual gamers and the difference between them and the hardcore gaming elite.

In an interview with Develop, Houser outlines why he thinks there isn't actually any divide between hardcore and casual gamers, claiming that Rockstar as a whole doesn't get the divide. Instead, all it comes down to is making good games that are accessible to all.

"The division doesn’t make sense to us," said Houser "good games will usually sell and be popular, bad games will struggle – of any type or genre or style. But we still believe big, high impact games will help the industry evolve and further surpass the movie industry as the next mass-market story telling medium."

"We always tried to make games that anyone could pick up and play. They may, over time, reveal a lot of structural and mechanical complexity, but the first mission of more or less any Rockstar game is very easy and engaging for a reason – because new people playing the game have to be gently led into the world of 3D action games"

Interestingly then, Houser doesn't see Rockstar as a company which is developing hardcore games, but one which is focused on the market as a whole, claiming that "This is the way we try to cater for a mass market".

"The challenge is to make a game in which ‘depth’ does not result in complexity the first minutes you play. This is a challenge we’ve always tried to embrace, and I hope we are getting better at it, just as I hope we are getting better at everything."

All we'll say is that though the Grand Theft Auto 4 is accessible, it sure is long too - there are members of bit-tech who've been playing since release and are still struggling to finish the main quest. Let us know your thoughts on the game in the forums.

10 Comments

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Timmy_the_tortoise 18th August 2008, 12:55

I'm getting a little pissed off with RS.. GTA IV was a real disappointment, but they seem to be getting too cocky about it because it sold well.

UrbanMarine 18th August 2008, 15:11

Ever since videos games went from "geek" hobbies to mainstream, there has been a giant divide between hardcore and casual. It's all about making money these days and there are more casual players than hardcore players so the gaming companies focus on the casual players pocketbook.

pizan 18th August 2008, 15:13

GTA IV was a good game, but it wasn't a real GTA as they have come to be since GTA III. Vice City is still the best of the series.

Sathy 18th August 2008, 15:59

Unfortunately being a Rock Star doesn't make claiming there is no divide between casual and hardcore gamers so.

I find the claim that good games sell and bad games don't rather stupid. Sounds like he is trying to justify something instead of making a valid statement. There are tons of really good games that never had a chance due to various reasons, such as timing in publishing and making the game visible.

The moment games become the main means of story telling over movies, drama is dead. I don't see people preferring interactive games such as we have now over stories told in movies. People like to relax and watch a movie. Maybe we'll see new ways of combining games/movies. Until we do, I find it unreasonable to think games will surpass movies, aside from revenues, which are already starting to tip in favor of games bringing in more.

Noostroi 18th August 2008, 17:15

I didn't think the storyline in GTA IV lived up to its predecessors - there did not seem to be some overall objective, like say building up the garage or casino in GTA:SA, and there did not seem to be much character progression in Niko, he was always a small, 1 man guy working as a "run-around" for someone higher up.

Maybe that was intended, but as a result, the world felt very static, nothing particularly changed.

I haven't picked up the game since I finished the main storyline.

spectre456 18th August 2008, 18:00

it all depends on what you classify as a game being "good". by good i take it he means the high sales and respectable reviews. of course a game like gta or gears of war is gonna be "good" because they are targeted at the general demographic which so happens to be casual gamers, the trick is to make an excellent game which is going to sell well (cod4).
most games (on consoles) nowadays are tailored to be playable by nearly anyone. just compare bioshock to system shock 2 (a classic example of consolification) , i bet it would not have been as well received if it had most of the mechanics and multiple paths that system shock 2 had.
simply because the average person would think its too complex, tedious, hard etc.

supaste 19th August 2008, 00:09

The main reason GTA 4 sold well was due to hype. It wasn't because it was a good game. In fact the reason it was given such rave reviews was mainly due to the hype, not the actual game play. We all know the main reason the previous GTA games were so popular was due to the sandbox game play not the gripping storyline, though it is true that the ability to tell story within the franchise has progressed a lot since the original.

If you haven't watched Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation review I suggest you do. (below)

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/48-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV

It highlights the point that gritty realism was never the direction GTA should have turned and that the annoying side missions are a mere distraction. What was so wacky about the previous games was what made them so popular in the first place though that's not to say that GTA 4 doesn't have anything going for it, it's just that it isn't as fun.

Oh and there clearly is a hardcore/casual divide just look at Wii Fit. We all know that no person would play it competitively or try and 'complete' the game in any way because it was designed as a gimmick for the casual market. The sort of game used a few times by woman who whine about being fat and move onto some other equally useless product every other week rather than just getting some exercise.

We then look at Counter strike on the other hand. It's been going for years, has a dedicated fan base full of clans and modders. People regard this game for its high level of skill need to play and the fact that it takes such a long time to master.

Sublym3 19th August 2008, 00:15

GTA IV sold well because of its name and badly written reviews... which unfortunately is the story for most games.

And yeah I agree with above his definition of good means he made a lot of money from it.

Also these games will sell well because there arenât many console games to pick from, there isnât much competition and so called 'blockbuster' titles are being released few and far apart on consoles.

-pattoe- 19th August 2008, 11:00

I believe GTA 4 on the PC will have a much stronger following than the console equivelant - It will be interesting to see what content will be added for consoles and what the modding community will give to this game when it hits the shelves for pc.

GTA 4 imo had a good story but it seemed to lose alot of the funfactor that SA and VC had.

Xir 19th August 2008, 12:09

"there are members of bit-tech who've been playing since release and are still struggling to finish the main quest."

....ja...barely finisher GTA:SA a few weeks ago *dips head in shame*

Always got to a point were I just couldn't continue anymore, only to resume after a few months...went through a few of those phases.