I am now thoroughly convinced that the era of complex, challenging, and elongated games is now on the way out the back door. We’ve reached the “falling action” part of the “hardcore” game’s life.

It isn’t an easy ordeal to divide video games between the casual and hardcore. Everyone has their own opinion to express on this matter. One game that is easy to me may very well be challenging to you.

If I were to round up the entire Call of Duty community and play the line game, asking the question, “is Call of Duty a hardcore game,” I’d expect the majority of the people to answer no.

It would be a joke now to say that this question could very well escalate to a very harsh, verbal disagreement between the two sides. Gamers outside of the community may very well argue that the automatic heal functionality is not hardcore. Or that perks allowing for a faster draw of the weapon or the ability to stay hidden from enemy radar also crosses the line.

The industry as a whole has adapted and changed over the last generation of consoles to suit the needs of the casual versus the hardcore. Technological innovation and more difficult development formulas have led to an increase in sales costs.

In order to make a profit, companies had to alter their business strategies to meet the needs of a consumer group who just wanted to play video games for fun; those who didn’t have the time or will to play games like they were a second job.

Game developers had to then of course create a game that could both provide a fun form of entertainment, as well as guide them along, step by step. In order to grasp this casual consumer’s mind, they had to get in and out quick, yet still leave some sort of resounding impact.

Infinity Ward, original developer of Call of Duty, made this short and big bang happen. Their strategy is copied and pasted over each year, but still manages to break old sales records. Modern Warfare 3 had the most successful launch in entertainment history!

Their model: create a Michael Bay like experience jam packed with a short, yet gripping experience, and as much explosions and action sequences as possible. Yet that isn’t the only part of the gaming industry they “revolutionized.”

Many players want to feel some sort of achievement for what they’ve done in a game, and on a constant basis. Call of Duty’s multiplayer provides an addictive and streamlined experience that constantly rewards the player for just about everything they do. It also encourages them to do even more; therefore keeping them locked in on their game for a more prolonged amount of time.

The achievement model didn’t stop here however, in just games; it expanded into many different variants across many of the consoles and PC services known as trophies and achievements. Players earned these “trophies” by playing their games. They could then compare and show off their trophies to other members on their friend list.

Yes, I said friend lists, a hot topic in almost every gamer’s conversations nowadays. It’s almost hard to remember a conversation I’ve had with someone either online in a game, or even one with a past or distant friend I just so happened to run into where the question, “what’s your gamer tag” didn’t pop up somewhere.

Video games have become more of a social hub where friends and family can connect and catch up on “things,” the competitive nature of games slipping away at a very fast rate.  

Then we have the Angry Birds epidemic that has spread like a virus to all forms of media. The .99 cent app made millions for developer Rovio. The reason it’s so popular is because players can jump into the game and jump right out of it as quickly as they want too. It’s the perfect time killer while waiting for an appointment to start or while on the bus ride home. Don’t be surprised if our future is filled with games just like it.

One could argue that video games like Skyrim or Mass Effect are hardcore, and yes they were very successful, but look at how long it takes to make them? Notice how long it took to develop Skyrim, almost four years! If Bethesda tried to annually release a new Elder Scrolls game similar to the Call of duty franchise, they'd probably be awful.

To build a good RPG takes time, talent, and lots & lots of money. Its an expensive process. Companies look at it this way, we could either make an amazing game that would cost a fortune and wouldn't create any stream of revenue any time soon. Or they could make an Angry Birds type of game that is simple, fun, and appealing to almost everyone. They'd make a load of cash far more quickly. No one likes to wait around for something, when we want something, we want it now. 

Switching directions, many MMOs and games of other genres are switching over to the free to play model in favor of making money from micro transactions instead of forcing people to pay $60 bucks upfront or pay a traditional monthly fee. Games once thought to be long gone and dead have been resurrected thanks to this strategy and are now buzzing with activity & profit once more.

Though the $60 pricing model will most definitely not be going away for at least another generation of consoles, the complexity of games are inevitably dropping, appealing to the broader, bigger audience for maximum profit.