Within the last couple years, there's been a few games cited as being brutally hard (DMC 3, Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden).

Next thing you know, there is a re-release of the game with an easier difficulty level (Ninja Gaiden Black, DMC 3, special edition...Let's not forget MDK 2 Armageddon for the PS2).

I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand, we could not be getting challenging games at all--designers could make all games "fun" and "accessible" for everyone, which would suck. So at least we're seeing the games in their pure forms at least for awhile.

On the other hand, it doesn't encourage people to appreciate hard or challenging games, because hey, if you wait awhile you can take a free ride. If you don't experience and appreciate challenge early in your gaming experiences, you're going to be "spoiled."

But I agree with Crawl in that a game needs to be aimed at a cerain audience. Almost all of my favorite games (of the modern ones, at least) ailienate a certain crowd. Most consumer products ailinate somebody--why not viceogames?