We have to start somewhere, but it’d be crazy to throw out successful franchises like Halo or the upcoming Gears of War, and put all our efforts into new markets. However, nobody’s ignoring those new markets either.

John Porcaro
http://gamerscoreblog.com

I think that, as the realism of hardcore games like “Gears of War” gets pushed further and further, we’ll see the genres of gaming distinguish themselves better. Children’s and family games will appear “animated” and in some cases “cartoony.” On the other end of the spectrum, we’ll see Gears of War, Halo 3, Crysis – basically all military shooters, as pushing the envelope of gritty realism.

Kinda makes you wonder what the middle ground is going to look like.

I think what Moore was looking at for the more casual gamer is point #8:
“Treat Windows Like A Gaming Platform. Windows as a platform reaches more people than any console ever will.”

Console gamers are traditionally more hardcore gamers than anywhere else. The 360 attempts to address this, but in reality the only system that will really do so is the Nintendo Wii. My wife wants one more than I do, I think. Playing Super Mario Brothers and all the other classic NES/SNES games sold her on it.

You’re right about Gears of War though. It’s going to be a huge game, but it’s definitely aimed at the hardcore gamer. Most people are looking for it to bridge the gap between this fall and whenever Halo 3 is released.

I think that it’s wise to promote Gears of War, because Microsoft will have nothing to say to non-hardcore gamers until the console is actually sitting in the home. Once it’s there, XBox Live Arcade makes it relatively cheap and easy to get “mainstream audience friendly” games into their hands.

My wife never looked twice at any of my games on my old XBox until I downloaded Bookworm from XBox Live Arcade. All of a sudden my wife is sitting next to me yelling out words and asking me how many buttons the game requires her to use. :-)

Heck, even Brain Age on the DS is addicting and fun.