Homebrew: Is It For The Hardcore or Casual Gamer?

Or, Is Homebrew The Glue That Keeps Both Sides Together?

By its very nature it seems that only hardcore gamers would actually think to “hack” (or unlock) a game system. The great paradox of Wii Homebrew is that despite this “hardcore” image a large portion of homebrew content is really geared towards the more causal gamer.

So is Homebrew just one more way that the Wii favours the casual gamer over the hardcore fans or does it truly have something for everyone?

Let’s see what homebrew offers both types of gamers:

Casual Gamers

- Out of the 70+ homebrew games already available all but a small handful would be classified as “casual”. Most homebrew games that we have played and/or officially reviewed definitely have casual appeal. They tend to be great games that’s for sure, games for gamers by gamers, and games that bring you back for more. But many of them and many of the best homebrew games to date would not necessarily lend themselves to the kind of marathon game playing that we think about when we think “hardcore”. Think about Redsquare where the average game is only a 20-40 seconds long, or Wiicross where there are tons of puzzles to solve but most people are not likely to complete them all in one sitting.
- DVD Playback: Personally I think that deep down inside we all really want to be able to play DVDs on our Wiis. Even if we never use it for that purpose we all hate being told that we can’t do something. Casual gamers tend to favour more functions over great graphics while true hardcore gamers can hardly find time to watch movies anyhow.

Hardcore Gamers

- Playing games region free appeals to hardcore gamers who simply cannot and will not wait for the next amazing game to finally make it across the pond.
- Being able to play “back-up” copies of games is something hardcore gamers want to be able to do more than casual gamers. Lets face facts, how often do you hear of someone playing a “back-up” copy of a casual game like ‘Boom Blox’ compared to hardcore games like ‘No More Heroes’.

Stuff for Both – The Gluey Part

- Emulation: Being able to play games from previous generation consoles appeals to both gamer types since those that play from emulators play the games that appeal to their taste in games.
- Homebrew as a hobby also tends to appeal to everyone. Being a part of the homebrew community and keeping up on what’s new and exciting in homebrew becomes a sort of a hobby for many users whether they prefer hardcore or casual games.

The bottom line is clear; No matter if you consider yourself hardcore, casual, or some hybrid of the two, homebrew has something for you. Homebrew may truly be the great equalizer that connects all Wii gamers together and shows us that we can agree on this one thing even if it’s the only place where we see eye-to-eye. Homebrew ends the debates and brings peace to the world of gamers (then again maybe not…)

– Thanks for reading. We truly hope you enjoy your time on Wii Homebrew Review and come back to and visit us often. WHR Staff