Epic.
Fresh on the heels of the E3 2007 aftermath, I’ve been listening to various gaming podcast and reading reactions from the blogosphere. Seemingly there is a new battle approaching. This battle pits the entrenched gaming “Hardcore” who have enjoyed gaming as we know it for the past 20 plus years against the emerging army of soccer moms, kids, and white collar workers who have united under the banner of “Casual”. My marketing professor would have probably failed me if I didn’t refer to these armies as market segments. But if marketing is a battle for the hearts and minds of the consumer then ….. well armies sounds much more cooler … and epic. There is no doubt the trend is there. Nintendo is creating new games like Wiifit. The Wii install base is growing tremendously fast especially in Japan, and now EA, the worlds largest developer of games, has a division especially for casual games. Whether you believe the trend or not, the development of more and more casual games has a direct effect on me. As I grow older and accept more responsibilities I find myself becoming more casual in regards to gaming.
Look. I’m a 22 year old male with a large library of games and who currently owns all the major console systems. I’m going to go out on a limb and say for the time being I belong to the hardcore camp. I’m also going to assume that I probably belong to the core demographic of gamers that video game companies target. Now with that said, most of the gamers who belong in the demographic that I’m in are most likely in the same situation. Perhaps they have just graduated or attending college. Perhaps they are just starting their career or looking for jobs. Maybe even some of them have families. The point is gamers who are growing up most likely have less time to game as they have to deal with the responsibility of life. So how should someone such as I react to the fact that companies are creating more and more casual games? The hardcore side of me wants to dig in my fox hole and complain of the growing alienation of hardcore gamers. However I should also wonder if the growing trend of casual games is just aligning with my new lifestyle. Who the frak knows!? I guess as I’ll have to see as I continue this recurring quest that is life.
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