Gamers, the epitome of nerd-dom. Like milk and honey these two have gone hand in hand. Well, circa 1980’s. Now the tables have turned making a once die hard, fringe recreational tool something ingrained into the daily lives of a majority. Heck, more recently has the term “casual gamer” come into bloom concerning those who play video games yet not enough to be considered hardcore. Dads, moms, and dare said girlfriends and boyfriends are quickly becoming categorized casual.

The Nintendo Wii can be given a great deal of credit for further expanding this market, but they have always existed. Take Tetris for example. Few hardcore types really got scores close to a Rambo kill count. Nonetheless, a great many played the game at their leisure. Since then many a system has been developed to cater to those not wanting the glory of an 8 hour boss battle. Instead, a mere ten minutes fake bowling or racing on a PSP while in line at the post office is all they need.

This group buys less software, but when they do it’s in the masses. Nintendogs goes case in point. We’ve seen teenagers, to girls, to grandparents catch the wave of casual play. Eye opening is another statistic concerning the disabled. About 20% of this “Casual” group are such; disabled in some way. Now, the survey that retrieved this bit of info attributed it mostly to being an escape mechanism. Sadly, they fail to realize everyone plays games to escape. Boredom, drudgery of standing in line, stress, the limits of ones own experience, and finally sometimes….their own lives.

However, this is not the rule. Being a disabled person allows me to relay how the disabled, unfortunate, and non-experienced all get into gaming for its sole purpose; to have fun. We’ve already targeted the non-experienced via systems and games currently available. What about those however who wish to play but are thwarted by simple game design issues. Others too may be in wait due to incapable use of current control mechanisms.

It is understandable that companies can’t extend lines far enough to appeal to everyone. Costs become too high and margins too small. Nonetheless, can’t they do a little bit more. work with a few more people to provide options. Even make available information about third parties that make play available? With a sizable chunk of the population being in some form hindered, it would only make sense to try.

If the studies are as if they say true, then wouldnt these companies jump at an opportunity to hook people waiting for an out? The pain point is there, wheres the aspirin?

I hope soon to provide some.