Recent advances have brought the ‘gamer’ lifestyle out of relative obscurity

Lately, and mostly due to the mainstream acceptability gaming has achieved, the dividing line between casual and hardcore gaming has been drawn in the proverbial sand, and with a pretty big stick.

The casual crowd, statistically, would prefer to relax with a puzzle game like "Bejeweled," or something that doesn't have the capacity to frustrate or disappoint their expectations.

This is why, while hardcore gamers may live for the kill, or die for the next level, everyone else is satisfied with a Wiimote in their hands.

The releases of the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii during the past couple of years has played a tremendous role in creating this line.

The release of these systems has injected gaming in the arm by bringing millions of traditionally non-gamers into the picture and creating great revenue for Nintendo and third-party publishers.

Unfortunately, this trend lowers the chance that developers will take risks with original ideas and products when they know another sequel to "Peggle" will sell better.

The Wii, while being incredibly innovative and providing some truly unique gaming experiences, has become a virtual garbage dump.

Underfunded and under-talented third-party developers have made the Wii a playground of disappointment.

I find this to be a shame, because buried underneath the heap are some truly wonderful titles that will only be found by gamers with the knowledge that they exist.

The sad fact of the matter is these subpar titles sell, and sell well. This has brought the development of original products into a slump.

Developers aren't as willing to take risks on new and innovative products when they can shovel out inexpensive sequels and brand-based games. This brought about the appropriate term "shovelware."

This isn't to say that subpar games don't exist on other major consoles, but certainly not the amount the Wii carries.

This is not to discredit Nintendo – these are just the faults that came from an initially amazing machine. The Wii has done more for the overall culture of gaming than any other recent console.

The most recent milestone in casual gaming, however, has come through Internet phenomenon Facebook. It is a social networking titan, and has made the former reign of MySpace seem insignificant.

Not content with just bringing people together through wall-posts and status updates, it brought gaming to the masses.

It started with titles like "FarmVille" and "Mafia Wars." I can't tell you how many times I've logged on to my page only to see the updates and animal acquisitions of my friends.

I don't think anyone could have predicted the popularity Facebook gaming has garnered. Big industry names like Sid Meier, creator of the game "Civilization," and others are developing specialized versions of their popular games for the site.

There is no denying this casual emergence has brought gaming into the general consciousness. It has allowed grandmothers to bowl and parents to fertilize virtual crops.

But is it a good thing for those of us who grew up playing games?

Yes and no.

Gaming used to be a niche group. So, one benefit is that gamers no longer have to feel like strangers to general society.

On the other hand, the term "gamer" has been muddled. I take pride in keeping up with the latest industry news and tackling the newest releases every month. I know others do, too.

Now, however, "gamer" is applied to anyone holding a controller – which just doesn't have the prestige it used to.

Then again, maybe I'm just jaded.