10 Gaming Norms We Wouldn’t Have Believed Possible 10 Years Ago

by Shawn Jackson

1. Casual Gaming

In 2004, our gaming was strictly hardcore.

We had our Zeldas, Sly Coopers, F-Zeros, Halos, Mortal Kombats and Tekkens. 'Core gaming' as a term had not yet been invented but plenty of my fellow gamers put labels on fare such as Mario and Rayman as 'kiddy', although many such titles had the same level of difficulty and depth. It all came down to preference in game styles which were largely predicated by graphical styles. The more realistic, the better. The more cartoony, the worse. Or so many gamers believed.

Then something funny happened when the Nintendo Wii dropped into our lives in 2006: a new genre of gaming came about for home consoles that we had never really considered nor seen much of. Casual gaming had, obviously, been around with such fare as Solitaire or Mine Sweeper on PC, but not like this. Wii Sports was just the beginning as Wii Fit also came out targeting those who were into fitness and trying to lose weight. Not one to rest on their laurels, Microsoft leveraged the Kinect motion controller with their own casual games and fitness games such as Zumba. If mobile gaming can have time-wasters like Fruit Ninja, then console gaming can have Zumba and Wii Sports Resort.

2004 was the last year of traditional console gaming and the beginning of a new era that saw so much change and innovation. Did I miss anything? Sound off in the comments below!

 
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Shawn “Loc Da’Borg” Jackson is a native of Mississippi, born in Vicksburg and raised in Philadelphia in Neshoba County. At the age of 15 he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and, later into his early 20s, he became Profoundly Deaf. Writing has been one of the main staples of his life and he has dedicated a good portion of it to educate, entertain and enthrall with the written word.