Shigeru Miyamoto Calls Casual Gamers "Kind of Pathetic"

These kinds of stories are the whole reason you try for a job in gaming journalism. No, that title wasn't clickbait. It actually happened. Shigeru Miyamoto called “casual gamers”, the assumed market for his own gaming platform, “pathetic”.

Alright, so here's the story, although it's pretty brief: Shigeru Miyamoto was talking with Edge Magazine, and the topic of casual gaming came up. Now, when you think of Nintendo, “casual gaming” is pretty much what you picture. The Wii was a smash hit around the world primarily because it was a “casual gaming” console, and while the Wii U has taken strides to become more of a “hardcore” gaming console, developers are having a hard time picturing it as one. So imagine the world's surprise when we hear Miyamoto say this:

"[These are] the sort of people who, for example, might want to watch a movie. They might want to go to Disneyland. Their attitude is, 'okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.' It's kind of a passive attitude they're taking, and to me it's kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games]."

It's a lot more tame in context, of course, but the sentiment remains true. This is also the first time—that I can remember—that a Nintendo executive has ever expressly declared their company as focusing on hardcore gaming over casual stuff.

Still, this could just be the expression of a frustrated developer, and Nintendo might not mirror that belief itself. Miyamoto did continue to say that while the Wii and DS were indeed designed to widen the appeal of gaming, Mobile devices like Tablets and Smartphones have taken over that job, so Nintendo can focus more on the development of games for dedicated gamers.

An extremely interesting interview, I have to say. What do you guys think?