A Niche Of Mainstream Fun

A couple days or so ago, Syp and Syncaine both locked horns a bit over the idea of the validity of the mainstream vs. niche argument when it comes to MMOs. For Syncaine, there’s a clear-cut difference between a game that is mass-marketed and one that is niche, while Syp counters with the idea the niche is too subjective, and that we have little evidence to provide any comparison in the ever-changing MMO landscape.

The idea of mainstream vs. niche disappeared for me a long time ago when I realized that if I was after any specialized market at all, it was the market of me having fun. Syp touches on this in the first paragraph of his post, and it’s for that reason that I side with him more than I do with Syncaine.

No matter if we play a game that 1000 people play or 1 million people take part in, the all-encompassing factor is the fun factor. Even the most hardcore players who realize that they’re eschewing the silly little things like sleep, relationships, and human contact that is not virtual start out wanting to have fun with a game. In this respect, the subjectivity works in the gamer’s favor, not against it. There are gamers who like to PvP all day and gamers who like to kill AI mobs all day. There are gamers who like FPS’s and then there are gamers who like roleplaying and creating things. There are people like me who have long since left behind the idea of getting a game because it is popular, instead opting for games which almost no one may play, but are great fun (many hours of Command and Conquer: Renegade come to mind).

The only real difference is the itch that MMOs and other games tend to scratch when it comes to fun, and the more general the scratch, the more people will line up to be scratched. But I’ve never believed that numbers are a sole indicator of success, nor should they be the determinant for buying something. I shrug at the pundits who choose to speak for others with regards to what they should think or feel with MMOs and games, mostly because at the end of the day, defining mainstream MMOs that lots of people like and niche MMOs that apply to small markets doesn’t matter. What matters is how much fun you the player choose to have with the games of your choice, and no one should interfere with that, really – not Syp, not Syncaine, not even me. Play what’s fun to you, and trust me, you’ll be a lot less stressed and a bit more happy.