I think the article is oversimplifying the issue, but it's still an important and relevant view that a lot of gamers don't want to believe. Most people don't pl

I think the article is oversimplifying the issue, but it's still an important and relevant view that a lot of gamers don't want to believe. Most people don't play games for the challenge, we play it for the fun. Overcoming obstacles is one way, of several, to achieve this. Ninja Gaiden is fine. It's a good game. It's hard, but it's not hard just for hardness' sake, it's not a jackass about it (usually). Ninja Gaiden was the best example I've seen of a game that makes the player rise to the challenge and become better at the game. There are a lot of games I've seen that are simply cheap and frustrating, losing sight of the 'fun & games' aspect of gaming just to raise the difficulty bar. These games shoot themselves in the foot by severely restricting their appeal. For example, the Medal of Honor series never interested me because too often, it uses the 'challenge' of making the player memorize with millimeter-precision a route through the level, with no way to find the path without getting shot in the face a statistically significant number of times. However, the issue isn't really about how hard or easy the game is. The issue is appealing to different audiences. How do you appeal to the hardcore and casual audiences at the same time? One way is by offering difficulty levels (another is auto-adjusting the difficulty, like Max Payne), although some absurd fraction of people just choose "medium" and be done with it. Another way is having a more continuous range of success available, with different difficulties. This is why achievement systems are such a good idea. They let the user cherry-pick how much challenge they want to deal with, as well as when and which types. This is not to say that hardcore tough-as-nail games shouldn't exist. They have a right to exist. However, they should be made with the awareness that they're niche products, and that the majority of the game-buying public (now that the majority of the public buys games) is looking for some entertainment and not a lifestyle. There's also a lot that can be done to make difficult games more palatable, and even appealing. As as said above, Ninja Gaiden does a good job of making the player better at the game. Giving the appearance of progress is important, even if the player is nominally failing, they'll feel better if they're getting closer to succeeding. The most important quality is simply the appearance of fairness, which varies wildly and is totally subjective. Quite simply, if the player blames the game for being hard he'll quit, but if he thinks do better and beat it he'll most likely continue.