History Main / CasualCompetitiveConflict

The endless debates between TournamentPlay and [[CasualVideoGame Casual Play]], particularly in the UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity (though it can and does spread to other genres), guaranteed to split apart [[BrokenBase every game fandom in existence]]. A large cause of {{Flame War}}s and, unfortunately, [[FanHater death threats]] by a Main/VocalMinority.

Compare the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars, which usually overlaps in the form of "Casual Creator/{{Nintendo}} vs. Competitive Everyone Else"; and TechnicianVersusPerformer, a conflict over similar reasons. For other, sometimes more nuanced divisions, especially those showing up in roleplaying and adventure games, see PlayerArchetypes.

** Speaking of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''; there's also something of a split between ''Smash'' fans and the wider UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity as a whole, mostly because there's not a whole lot of overlap between the two. [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/23/inside-evos-super-smash-bros-divide This can cause problems at major multi-game events like EVO,]] where smaller "traditional" fighting games can get crowded out by ''Smash'' fans who don't particularly care about them.

** The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars since the third generation can be summed up as such; Nintendo has, since the 16-bit era, been consistently laughed at by the larger community and dismissed as "casual" due to their [[AnimationAgeGhetto kiddie-looking games]] as opposed to the [[UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000 gritty, deep realism]] of the opposing consoles (first the Sega Genesis, then the Platform/PlayStation line, then on the Xbox line).

** This has been a big issue with ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' with the game's initial release containing mostly only features for the [[UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity competitive scene]], with features such as challenges and Story Mode delayed to a month or more after launch. The consensus seems to be that the game was probably rushed up a month so that the Creator/{{Capcom}} Pro Tour could start in February. Additionally, most of the game's marketing is focused on tournaments and competition.

** The UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity is going through this issue, as in TheNewTens, the companies that own the most prominent fighting game franchises (Creator/{{Capcom}}, Creator/NetherrealmStudios, Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment, and others) have began sponsoring their events, as well as starting tournament circuits and leagues. While this has been embraced by the community thus far, largely due to higher payouts and better promoting, a few pro players and personalities are worried that this could result in smaller, community-focused events being supplanted by corporatized ones.

!!!'''{{Skill Gate Character}}s'''

** In ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale'', [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]], who was intended to be an easy-to-use SkillGateCharacter, instead turned out to be ''too'' easy to use. Rapidly mashing the Square button would build up his [[ManaMeter AP Meter]] at obscene speeds, leading to a quick FinishingMove. Even though most other {{Game Breaker}}s were patched in later balance updates, Kratos remained completely untouched, even when official support of the game had ended. Even casual players had gotten sick of seeing this abused in every online match.

** ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' has the Spirit Ash system, where you can summon notable enemies (and a few minor bosses, like Black Knife Tiche, the Mimic Tear, and Bloodhound Knight Floh) to help you fight. They're so useful in killing tough foes (or at least distracting them so you can wail on them unimpeded) that the old guard carried over from the Souls series still complains about them even though ''you can't use them in PvP'' (with the current exception of one colosseum).

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has content that pleases the casual crowd (more dungeons, side quests, etc.) and the hardcore crowd (PVP, hardcore raids, etc.). Casuals feel that the hardcore stuff is too hard and should be toned down for easier access. Hardcore players will say that the game is too casual friendly and needs to have harder content.

** ''[[Franchise/StarCraft Star Craft II]]'' had the well-known "Archon Toilet" tactic where they used the Protoss Mothership's Vortex ability to trap enemies and then sent in Archons after the enemies. Since Archons dealt SplashDamage, all the units emerge at the same time and are overlapping each other, this allowed the Archons to [[CurbStompBattle utterly]] destroy an army in mere seconds. Players soon started to complain that the ability to destroy an army nigh instantly was a GameBreaker. On the other hand, the tactic's proponents counter that the tactic is resource intensive, difficult to pull off and that it's a valid tactic to counter a ZergRush (indeed, it's often used against the Zerg). Opponents countered that the tactic turned Protoss-vs-Zerg matchups into a boring coin toss where victory more or less [[DeathOrGloryAttack depended]] on if the Protoss player successfully pulled off the "Archon Toilet". Things further heated up when it was reported players went [[RageQuit "gg"]] once they were on the receiving end of a successfully executed Archon Toilet, even if they had the resources and capability to rebuild their army. In the end, Blizzard took the negative side by giving all units that emerge from the vortex MercyInvincibility and when that failed to properly {{nerf}} the tactic, they replaced the Vortex ability with the Time Warp ability in ''Heart of the Swarm''.

** ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'': Perhaps the very first example of this issue, ''[=MVC2=]'' brought back ''every single character'' that had ever appeared in a ''VideoGame/CapcomVs'' game, and added several new characters from both sides, and even ''completely original'' characters to boot. This resulted in a chaotic mess where only a dozen or so out of fifty-six characters were considered tournament viable, excepting teams with amazing synergy, with ''four'' being considered required for almost any competitive team. Its sequel, ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', trimmed the roster considerably, resulting in a more comparatively balanced game, but one fans detracted for being far more "boring" as a result and constantly demanded that old favorites be added as DLC. ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'' trimmed the roster ''even further'', but this was more due to ExecutiveMeddling by Creator/{{Disney}}, who wanted to exclude characters like the ''Franchise/XMen'' and ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' because of the movie rights to those characters being owned by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox.

*** In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', the [[CreatorBacklash crackdown on]] and [[ObviousRulePatch removal of]] all forms of advanced play, including {{Combo}}s, was met harshly. Although the {{metagame}} did evolve, it didn't happen quickly enough for most players to care, and ''Melee'' remained popular among the competitive crowd, to the point that {{UsefulNotes/GameCube}}s and their accessories have lost very little value over time due to the masses of ''Melee'' players willing to shell out a lot of money for a [=GameCube=] controller in good condition. The ones who couldn't afford to maintain a [=GameCube=] fixed the problems themselves with...

** The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars since the third generation can be summed up as such; Nintendo has, since the 16-bit era, been consistently laughed at by the larger community and dismissed as "casual" due to their [[AnimationAgeGhetto kiddie-looking games]] as opposed to the [[UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000 gritty, deep realism]] of the opposing consoles (first the Sega Genesis, then the UsefulNotes/PlayStation line, then on the Xbox line).

** Has become something of an issue in newer ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' releases, many of which give much more focus on the multiplayer side of things. Eventually, the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360 versions of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII'' did not come with any sort of campaign mode at all.

Compare TheGreatPlayerVersusPlayerDebate, which is this spread into MMORPG paradigms; the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars, which usually overlaps in the form of "Casual Creator/{{Nintendo}} vs. Competitive Everyone Else"; and TechnicianVersusPerformer, a conflict over similar reasons. For other, sometimes more nuanced divisions, especially those showing up in roleplaying and adventure games, see PlayerArchetypes.

* In ''{{VideoGame/Dota2}}'', it is actually the ''competitive'' scene that is largely in favour of the RNG because it can be exploited to some degree (pseudorandom number distribution means a string of fails is followed by a near guaranteed success).
* ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' is infamous for having RNG based mechanics that can swing an entire match on one bad roll. Oddly enough, there are different groups in the hardcore and casual groups that both support and hate this for various reasons.
* While ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' games do have [=RNGs=] that determine the player's next pieces, it's largely never seen as a problem in competitive circles as a lucky permutation of tetrominoes will far from make up for poor stacking abilities. It helps that more modern games have tailored randomizers that bias towards more even piece distributions[[note]]In fact, the current ''Tetris'' Guideline calls for a randomizer that strings together permutations of the seven tetrominoes, ensuring that every wave of 7 pieces will have perfectly even piece distribution.[[/note]] so that a player is unlikely to go more than 10 pieces without an I-piece or end up with the dreaded flood of S- and Z-pieces.

** ''Videogame/{{Tekken}}'' began having this problem starting with ''VideoGame/Tekken5'', which tried to recapture the glory of ''VideoGame/TekkenTagTournament'' by including almost every character that appeared in that game. Later, ''VideoGame/TekkenTagTournament2'' (by virtue of being a DreamMatchGame like its predecessor) included every single character ever added to the roster (including bosses and excepting {{Guest Fighter}}s) adding up ''sixty-two'', and this was criticized by the competitive community for making the game too complicated due to the ridiculous number of possible team compositions and matchups. ''VideoGame/Tekken7'' originally launched with fewer characters in arcades, but added more and more with the console release, as well as DLC, with more than a handful being {{Guest Fighter}}s who were completely new to ''Tekken'' (or even fighting games in general). Yet again, complaints began that the roster was becoming too bloated, with a roster of over 40 by 2019.

** ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' has gone through this pretty much from the moment it was created, thanks to the series' emphasis on [[BoobsOfSteel well-endowed]] female fighters kicking butt in a variety of showy costumes. On the one hand, the game's reputation as a "[[JigglePhysics jiggle fighter]]" has scared off some potential players who assume it's nothing more than virtual mud-wrestling[[note]]An impression not helped by the ''DOA Xtreme'' sub-series, which does away with the fighting in favor of LesYay-laden DatingSim antics[[/note]], but on the other hand some fans focus on its counter-heavy gameplay (which some consider a SpiritualSuccessor to the ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' series) and either don't care about the {{Fanservice}} or appreciate the developers' honesty about indulging in it. When Tecmo Koei announced they were going to tone down the fanservice in ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive5'', pressure from the player base caused them to relent; and ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive6'' suffered a FlipFlopOfGod on the subject that led to the game having an UncertainAudience and becoming OvershadowedByControversy. Similarly, a push among the competitive ''DOA'' scene to ban skimpier costumes led to fights between the two sides: hardcore players said it was about preventing DistractedByTheSexy and casuals accused the hardcores of trying to whitewash the game's image just to fish for the wider FGC's respect.

*** A Pokémon’s viability is also largely based on the current metagame. A given Pokémon might become [=OverUsed=] because it counters a very popular choice or strategy or might plummet into [=RarelyUsed=]or [=NeverUsed=] because a very common Pokémon counters it, despite being otherwise a great pick. Because of this, the metagame is constantly shifting in response to what is or is not popular.

** ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' players mostly subscribe to the hardcore view, but the multiplayer Commander format has a quirk in that conceding at certain times can screw over an opponent by e.g. denying them lifelink triggers. Various HouseRules exist to address this, most notably "you can only concede at sorcery speed".