MsRobophile

As a married woman in her forties, couch co-op is my strong preference. You cannot beat physical proximity for intimacy of any sort, even gaming. Even when my husband and I play MMO's at our desks, we're a few feet from one another.

Plus, public space type games tend to favor the young. It's very awkward and off-putting being at least twice as old as the average player.

I'm sure younger generations won't mind. They were raised with mingling with everyone, but I was not, so I feel people should mostly hang out with folks their own age. It's just not comfortable with me trying to socialize with someone young enough to be my child. I didn't have kids for a -reason-.

So I do hope couch co-op doesn't vanish any time soon, although it appears to be. Nintendo is one of the last, real holdouts.

@Deviant-Dork I know one single man in his thirties who plays Minecraft. My teen nephew and nieces play it, but that's about it.

I don't think it ever largely caught on with childless people who were 30+ when it came out, as I was.

We must always be cognizant of the fact Square-Enix is a Japanese company which will always prioritize and look to its resident gamers for cues. Not that they ignore the rest of the world, but I don't think our opinions matter as much to them.

As I understand it, mobile gaming is more enthusiastically accepted over there than it is here. Just look at the comment section any time SE announces -another- mobile game from a beloved franchise. There's a lot of disappointment and sometimes outright vitriol from a Western audience.

So I'm not surprised they made this move, although I am unhappy over it. These were Nintendo games originally and they deserve a place on the Switch, at least. Of course, the more, the merrier, so the other consoles are a given.

EDIT: Although, given how much we crowed over not getting male Viera and Square eventually capitulated to demand, I think our chances are good they'll listen again.

Always thrilled to see a game about a romantic couple. Haven was absolutely wonderful. Played it through with my husband and we really enjoyed it.

Wish there were more games like this. Not dating sims, but games about established couples working together in some capacity. There are just so few (that I know of). Doubly so if you are looking for a positive take on love and relationships.

@UmbreonsPapa I guess that's how we differ. I feel like a relic sometimes, which is probably not helped by the fact I never had children and therefore, had no proper gateway into youth culture.

I woke up a few months ago and realized RPGs now star people young enough to be your nearly-grown children. That was surreal.

Then I realize this has been a long process in the making. Pokemon was the first huge see-change in gaming that I missed the boat on, having been entering college right around the time it rose to prominence.

Minecraft definitely failed to register on my radar. I knew grown people who tinkered with it a little, but the real enthusiasts all seemed to be Gen Z kids.

I'm not even saying it's bad they added the Minecraft guy. Kids love him. But it does make me feel old and irrelevant.

@somebread The announcement just made me feel old. I can't imagine anyone over 30 requesting the Minecraft guy.

It's just weird when you realize an entire generation idolizes a character who came into popularity three decades into your life. Minecraft still seems like a newfangled thing to me and it's eleven years old.

The signs have been cropping up for awhile now, but today cemented it: I truly am no longer the target demographic of anything related to gaming.

Minecraft came out when I was thirty, and as I never had kids, I never got into it. I watched my Gen Z nephew and nieces act like it was the second coming of Christ and all I could do was shrug with a disinterested meh at its ascension.

We're not going to get Jason from Blaster Master or Crono from Chrono Trigger or hell, even Miria from Guardian Legend.

Those days are long gone.

Really glad I didn't buy either Season Passes, though. The Dragon Quest Hero was fine, but the others have been misses for me.

This heartened me so much. My husband and I enjoy gaming together, but it's ridiculous that we'd each own a Switch, being as neither of us enjoy handheld gaming all too much.

I still am holding out reservations this is inaccurate, but it'd be great if true. We really loved Crystal Chronicles, but never finished it for some reason.

My favorites are the GBA titles, period. I played them on the Wii U.

Awakening was fine, but I honestly don't remember much about it. Tried to play the Fates games a few times and those failed to interest me.

Finally broke down and got Three Houses and lost interest when I discovered there was no character customization and female Byleth looks awful in every way. I may play it one day with a male Byleth, but as I usually prefer to play my gender when I have a choice, I found this disappointing and it immediately turned me off.

But really, I think I just will prefer the simplicity and charm of the sprite games.