Okay, since I don't feel like pointing out the hypocrisy of the majority of your post, I'll simply stick to your response to me...
Of course it sounds dramatic, but the point is, the series may have a bunch of hardcore fans, but those are likely half to less of the current buying market. And appealing to the same market, basic business logic, they're going to eventually fade and disappear, then what?
This isn't a sponsored sport; it's a video game. It's software. It's gotta be purchased by the same mass public as...well, I'm not gonna get into that topic.
So, the game needs to be as didactic as it is hardcore, up-to-snuff, balanced, etc.
Listen Reggie, I fully agree with what Nintendo is doing, and I applaud them for it. I love my Wii, probably a lot more than my "hardcore PS3 or 360" and Nintendo has been proving themselves right for a few years now with their appeal to the untapped market. However, what your describing is a lot more like Comic Book fandom than it is the VG market. Sadly, Comic Books aren't drawing in any new fans, and people like myself are really the only ones who reads them. Comics will have to evolve in order to stay alive past my generation.
LoL, as for Video Games not being a sponsored sport,
Perhaps you are unaware of this. Video games, to my surprise actually, have indeed become a sponsored sport. Believe me, I can see it when I go online and play Halo every Tues. and Thurs. We sometimes CLEARLY play with people a lot better than we are. I can see it when I go to PAX and watch pro SFIV players just going toe to toe with one another. And what you describe as "didactic" is the same as Flame's discussion as how he finds bad, glitch filled games to be enjoyable. It's all within the eye of the beholder.
Because that's all I could get a lag-ridden Falco to do! You probably also saw me do some really "WTF?" stuff, too; I got rid of Brawl because the online component was constantly serving to be an unknown variable in trying to judge my performance or change in tactics, MUCH LESS trying to deal with a nerfed Dair. That's right, that spike's timing was nerfed. In Melee? If you ran into that thing, you were going down. Brawl? Pfft, nah, you MIGHT get hit with it at just the right time. Other than that, Falco's severely outgunned trying to deal with a Marth; Marth's sword gets ALL SORTS of priority over Falco's Standard, Strong, and Air attacks. Smashes are all you can do! That and projectile spam. Especially in a lag setting, whereas Marth can fairly well do whatever and get a wide, sweeping strike (see: all his Aerials, FFS). If I lost IRL, eh, I might be a little upset that I'm not doing better, but true, I don't spend a lot of time on any game. I'll gladly admit that, because I'm just in it for fun, not to mention I've got work, workout, dating, MBA, and tons of other things to do.
We ALL do WTF stuff in Brawl. Hell, I have a 2GB Memory Card inside my Wii FILLED with all the WTF moments that have taken place in Brawl, with or without lag. Also again, if you're judging Falco by one-on-one play, then according to the SSBB Tier List, he's currently #4, and that's behind abusively cheap Metaknight, Priority Boy Snake, and I'm not quite sure why Diddy Kong. None of us like the lag factor, and it's a valid reason to get rid of the game. And hey, life definitely tends to get in the way of gaming. Lord knows I have so many games I still need to play, beat, or get back into. But judging by this...
That's why I had to pick Pikachu, and you know what? I was doing pretty good. See if Marth or Capitan can get near me when I DSmash!
But! It wasn't who I wanted to be.
...it really seems like your problem was that you simply wanted to play the game, have fun, AND win constantly. If you were just in it for fun, why not continue to play as Falco, despite what happens or how good Marth is? As you said, you dropped Brawl because of the lag, which is fine, but judging by this and other statements saying how you didn't have the time or effort or even the desire to learn how to fully utilize a character in a game, you picked a character you didn't want to pick because his Down Smash is insanely good. All this does is remind me of the same people who pick Cable, Sentinel, and Misc. in MvC2 because they can be played cheaply to win. But hey, that's neither here nor there at this point.
Is it silly to nerf a game? In a competitive setting, obviously. Pro golfers and tennis players don't bloody use handicaps or get to use the lanes. But that's a perfect example of where I'm going with this; especially online, FG's don't offer at least the control fluidity to every player. I think some sort of simplification is in order, then, IF a player learns the inputs, they're rewarded with the competitive edge of extra timing or damage, whatever Capcom (or any dev) decides on.
LoL, so your argument is based on the fact that Video Games aren't a sponsored sport. Well, besides the fact that I've proven that it is, what you've stated here is simply mindboggling. If I am reading this correctly, you're saying that if a novice player utilizes some simple "easy mode" chain of commands, then does indeed learn how to input the correct combo commands in correctly, they should be rewarded by doing EXTRA DAMAGE OR GOING FASTER? What sense does that make? If you learn how to do the combo commands, then you can compete. If you learn how to implement the strategies, then you can compete. What you've stated is not only illogical, it's also unfair to the people who actual have spent time and effort learning how to play said game.
I still love playing video games, always will. But my business mind and empathy for the public is starting to clash with the fanbases. Can't count how many topics and times I've dreaded coming to the Gaming sub-forum to have to argue with Hypershell, HokutoNoBen, or whoever. I want to appreciate games, and make them accessible to more people so that there can be more shared passion for it. But that clashes with the people that are already playing.
Done conflicting. Done arguing. Not what I'm here to do. I'm here to wonder at distant galaxies with head-shaped planets, puzzle my brain with falling blocks, and be the funny, timeless hero when I can't myself. And if I get shell-shocked? Grab some pizza, and get back to making the party cuh-raz-uh.
And here we have much MUCH more over-drama. What you consider "my business mind and empathy for the public clashing with the fanbases" is simply a difference of [tornado fang]ing opinion, one which you've completely overblown to the point of you having left RPM over. You say you want to appreciate games, but yet you get so hyper emotional over a difference in opinion that you clearly take games JUST as seriously as the competitive, "hardcore" gamers that you seem to dislike, cause if you didn't, there wouldn't be all this dramatic false-heroic gamer bullshit you seem to have in your head. But hey, don't let me dissuade you from your beliefs, if that's what keeps you going. If you indeed stay off RPM, then by all means, enjoy gaming for whatever it means to you.
To me though, MvC2's problem wasn't that it utilized the 4 button system, it was that Capcom didn't really transfer the characters from past games to that system very well.
Really? Cause I think MvC2's main problem was Cable, Sentinel, etc.!