Matt Casamassina Leaves IGN Wii Team, Teases Dark Wii Game

The end of an era.

As some of you know all too well, I've been handling the bulk of IGN's Nintendo coverage, along with Craig Harris, for 12 years now. That's a long time. A really long time, in fact. I still love the company, its consoles and its games, but it's time for me to try something new. Something that allows me to stretch a little editorially. So starting September 21, I will be taking a completely unique role at IGN, one developed specifically for me. I'll be the company's first and only Editor-at-Large.

While I haven't really respected him since the Gamecube days, what with his now trademark teasing of "OMG mature!" Wii games, Matt has always been the lead traditional news resource to Nintendo news. Hopefully we'll still get to hear from him on a limited basis.

In other news. Holy **** it's been 12 years.

Yeah, this'll be good for him. The guy's been a member of the team for 12 years, so it's about time he took on a position that allows him to report on a larger variety of games across more platforms.

Matt Casamassina... only memory that name stirs is that rumor he spread about the DS. Can't remember what it was, except that it was a total shot in the dark.

Ah well, here's to hoping that his replacement will be even better than he was.

Some guy got promoted to "head geek at ign?"

good for him. his parents must be so proud.

Originally Posted by Sailboat

Some guy got promoted to "head geek at ign?"

good for him. his parents must be so proud.

Actually, he's as successful in his life as somebody could be who works for IGN.

There's nothing wrong with writing about what you love.

Good for him, I hope it does well for him to explore new topics.

But all that said...

"Dark Wii game" - Ugh, enough of this ****.

I love Matt, and I'm glad for him. How would you describe Wii exclusive titles that are aimed for older audiences, Wonderful? Just curious.

I actually always thought this guy was a moron.

Originally Posted by Tigerboi

I actually always thought this guy was a moron.

He was a moron.

Still kinda is from time to time.

why do people need to see a dark wii game?

Originally Posted by Young Old Man

why do people need to see a dark wii game?

They don't. Matt's biggest problem is that, even after almost three years of the Wii being on the market, he still thinks of it as a system that needs these "dark" games. Not only that, but he echoes the sentiments of certain Wii owners when he does this.

The thing is, a lot of the happiest Wii gamers out there (like myself) don't enjoy the system because of these "dark" games. We enjoy the system because it's a fun system to play already. It doesn't need "dark" or "mature" games. All that matters is that it keeps getting compelling content.

And for those who only accept "mature" and "dark" games as compelling, well, they just aren't any part of the Wii's main audience(s).

Regardless of all this, however, it must be noted that, no matter how many dark, mature, or edgy games come out for the system, there will always seem to be a lack of them, and guys like Matt will just keep promoting this. You'll see games like Mad World, House of the Dead: Overkill, and Cursed Mountain which are all supposedly decent games and are all out right now. You'll then hear plenty about future releases, like Dead Space: Extraction, Resident Evil: TDC, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and The Grinder, all of which could be considered as "dark" games, and also games that appear to be on the higher end of quality. But, of course, they don't matter.

Matt has been unintentionally propagating the idea that the only thing that matters, when it comes to Wii owners, is a game that "might" exist and "might" be worth getting excited over, regardless of what's already out or what's already announced. You'll hear plenty of people talking about how owning a Wii involved playing a "waiting game" for future titles, when in fact the system gets a good amount of content as it is and has plenty of confirmed future titles as well. The "waiting game" is self-inflicted. This goes for games in general, of course, but also goes for "dark" games.

Honestly, the Wii isn't a "dark" console, so no one should expect "dark" games for it. That said, we have already gotten "dark" games, and will continue to do so. If anything, people should be surprised at what we've already seen for the system. They should be surprised when they see a game like Silent Hill: SM and also hear that it's pretty darn good. I don't see why they, on top of this, need to be teased about future "dark" games that we don't even know exist.

I don't know, with games like this in the pipeline and Dead Space and Silent Hill coming too, I'm starting to think the Wii is good for one thing, Survival Horror. Saying the Wii needs more dark games is like saying the Wii needs more half assed games.

Originally Posted by Rash

They don't. Matt's biggest problem is that, even after almost three years of the Wii being on the market, he still thinks of it as a system that needs these "dark" games. Not only that, but he echoes the sentiments of certain Wii owners when he does this.

The thing is, a lot of the happiest Wii gamers out there (like myself) don't enjoy the system because of these "dark" games. We enjoy the system because it's a fun system to play already. It doesn't need "dark" or "mature" games. All that matters is that it keeps getting compelling content.

And for those who only accept "mature" and "dark" games as compelling, well, they just aren't any part of the Wii's main audience(s).

Regardless of all this, however, it must be noted that, no matter how many dark, mature, or edgy games come out for the system, there will always seem to be a lack of them, and guys like Matt will just keep promoting this. You'll see games like Mad World, House of the Dead: Overkill, and Cursed Mountain which are all supposedly decent games and are all out right now. You'll then hear plenty about future releases, like Dead Space: Extraction, Resident Evil: TDC, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and The Grinder, all of which could be considered as "dark" games, and also games that appear to be on the higher end of quality. But, of course, they don't matter.

Matt has been unintentionally propagating the idea that the only thing that matters, when it comes to Wii owners, is a game that "might" exist and "might" be worth getting excited over, regardless of what's already out or what's already announced. You'll hear plenty of people talking about how owning a Wii involved playing a "waiting game" for future titles, when in fact the system gets a good amount of content as it is and has plenty of confirmed future titles as well. The "waiting game" is self-inflicted. This goes for games in general, of course, but also goes for "dark" games.

Honestly, the Wii isn't a "dark" console, so no one should expect "dark" games for it. That said, we have already gotten "dark" games, and will continue to do so. If anything, people should be surprised at what we've already seen for the system. They should be surprised when they see a game like Silent Hill: SM and also hear that it's pretty darn good. I don't see why they, on top of this, need to be teased about future "dark" games that we don't even know exist.

Just out of curiosity, what are your favorite Wii games? What games would you highly recommend, in case I've passed some of these up?

Just for curiosity's sake, sure. Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, WarioWare, Wario Land: Shake It, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Brawl, Kart, Boom Blox, No More Heroes, Sonic & the Secret Rings, Resident Evil: UC, LostWinds, Toki Tori, World of Goo, Art Style: Orbient, Mega Man 9, among others.

In terms of genre, that's two Wii Sports games, one party game, one 2D platformer, one platformer/RPG hybrid, one 3D platformer, one 2.5D platformer, one first-person adventure, one brawler, one kart racer, four radically different puzzle games, one action game, one time-trial game, one rail-shooter, and one sidescrolling action/platformer.

Originally Posted by Rash

Just for curiosity's sake, sure. Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, WarioWare, Wario Land: Shake It, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Brawl, Kart, Boom Blox, No More Heroes, Sonic & the Secret Rings, Resident Evil: UC, LostWinds, Toki Tori, World of Goo, Art Style: Orbient, Mega Man 9, among others.

In terms of genre, that's two Wii Sports games, one party game, one 2D platformer, one platformer/RPG hybrid, one 3D platformer, one 2.5D platformer, one first-person adventure, one brawler, one kart racer, four radically different puzzle games, one action game, one time-trial game, one rail-shooter, and one sidescrolling action/platformer.

Hm. I should look for Wario Land: Shake It for cheap somewhere. I passed up on Boom Blox, too.

Yeah, if you can find it for cheap, it's worth it. Not a game I would've originally paid $50 for, but for maybe $30 it's darn good if you like platformers that are designed around replay value.

I stopped listening to Matt when I was 13, because his constant teasing about things he knew but just couldn't tell you started to seriously get on my nerves. It's good to see depite his promotion he's going by the same old habits.

I saw Super Paper Mario and Wario Land Shake It for the same price on a used game shelf the other day. I chose the former; did I make a mistake?

I really liked Matt. Him and Mark Bozon were an awesome video review pair. Kinda sad to see him go, but good luck for him as an editor at large.