| Casual Games Not Taking Away From Core Market, Says Analyst
The rise of casual gaming hasn't had a negative impact on the sales of traditional game consoles, according to industry analyst Doug Creutz, who said that Sony and Microsoft have nobody to blame for the "slow uptake" of the current hardware generation but themselves.
It's safe to say that most of us here are at least on the fringe of the so-called "core gamer" demographic; that is, we put a lot of time, money and effort into our videogames, and we take pride in our knowledge of and skill with the medium. But in recent years we've been told that our kingdom is in danger of being usurped by an insidious and unstoppable force: Your mom.
Or, to be a little more precise, the casual gamer demographic, those great hordes of housewives and grandparents who like to fire up Zuma or Farmville now and then, or the office drones who whip out their iPhones during the morning commute. These are the people, it was predicted, who would push us into irrelevance, as big-budget titles aimed at traditional markets gave way to quick-and-cheap releases with infinitely more mainstream appeal. But that may not be the case at all, according to Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz, who said that the casual gaming market is a unique beast that's had no real impact on the sale of core consoles.
"We reject the notion that competition from non-traditional video gaming formats such as the iPhone and social gaming have significantly impacted the traditional console cycle," Creutz said in a research note. "We believe that these newer gaming media represent a distinct and non-competitive market segment from console gaming, which is dominated by the core gamer."
"We believe that the difficulties of this cycle have primarily been driven by the relatively slow uptake of Microsoft and Sony hardware due to stubbornly high hardware pricing," he added.
Creutz said that while casual gamers drove much of the industry's growth in 2007 and 2008, they "backed away" from their games in 2009. Core game sales, on the other hand, remained strong throughout the year and Creutz predicted that publishers who have remained focused on that market will benefit from it in 2010. "With Xbox 360 and especially PS3 prices now entering the mass market range, we believe that the cycle will reaccelerate to the benefit of the publishers that are positioned to take advantage," he said.
Source: Edge
Permalink |
| Good. About time somebody said something reasonable about this idea. |
| Great! An analyst with his head screwed on right! |
| You should have put a spoiler alert on this accouncement. Some people haven't figured this out yet...
Seriously, what made people think that casual gamers are taking away from hardcore gamers? |
| They are seen that way? I just found them annoying, not depriving. |
| Well duh!
I mean, that's the whole point of the 'blue ocean' thing Nintendo was going on about.
It's a new market, unrelated to the existing games market. |
| Im sure the casual gaming gaming market has an impact on the core gaming market just so dam small no one really sees the diffrence.
Nice to see a waste of money say somthing usfull for once. dos'nt change my view on analysts though. |
| Yeah I'd have to agree.
I'm part of a little indie studio that makes casual games (seeing as we don't have the resources to do bigger right now) and none of us have ever felt like the whole zombie like taking over of the core market by casual games has had any real merit.
It's such a different market you're aiming for. I mean, sure, some gamers that do play big titles play casual too, I mean I do some, but, I don't see it ever making someone give up their monthly MMO sub or stepping away from suckling at the FPS fragging nipple.
Yes I managed to tie in an image of suckling, FPS, fragging, and nipples.
Thanks college education :D |
| buy teh haloz:
Great! An analyst with his head screwed on right!
Does make a change! Coming out with some solid ideas and instead of spurting off mindless drivvel |
| The best-selling game of last year wasn't the latest Wii shovelware. It was MW2. That alone should tell you that core gaming isn't being threatened in the short-term. |
| Let's file this under "D," for "Duh!"
At least one analyst has got it right. When we initiate the Great Analyst Purge of '11, this guy gets to keep his job. |
| No shit.
What people have actually complained about is how the so-called core games have turned into market-focused box-ticking exercises instead of something that isn't another FPS/TPS made using the Unreal Engine. The most recent example being Dark Void.
Although the games that have come out/are coming out this year has made me more hopeful for the future. |
| I'm no market expert, but look at titles like MW2, Borderlands, and Mass Effect 2. These games have been selling left and right. Just looking at those sale numbers should be enough to tell you that core market isn't in any immediate danger. |
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Casual Games Not Taking Away From Core Market, Says Analyst
The rise of casual gaming hasn't had a negative impact on the sales of traditional game consoles, according to industry analyst Doug Creutz, who said that Sony and Microsoft have nobody to blame for the "slow uptake" of the current hardware generation but themselves.
It's safe to say that most of us here are at least on the fringe of the so-called "core gamer" demographic; that is, we put a lot of time, money and effort into our videogames, and we take pride in our knowledge of and skill with the medium. But in recent years we've been told that our kingdom is in danger of being usurped by an insidious and unstoppable force: Your mom.
Or, to be a little more precise, the casual gamer demographic, those great hordes of housewives and grandparents who like to fire up Zuma or Farmville now and then, or the office drones who whip out their iPhones during the morning commute. These are the people, it was predicted, who would push us into irrelevance, as big-budget titles aimed at traditional markets gave way to quick-and-cheap releases with infinitely more mainstream appeal. But that may not be the case at all, according to Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz, who said that the casual gaming market is a unique beast that's had no real impact on the sale of core consoles.
"We reject the notion that competition from non-traditional video gaming formats such as the iPhone and social gaming have significantly impacted the traditional console cycle," Creutz said in a research note. "We believe that these newer gaming media represent a distinct and non-competitive market segment from console gaming, which is dominated by the core gamer."
"We believe that the difficulties of this cycle have primarily been driven by the relatively slow uptake of Microsoft and Sony hardware due to stubbornly high hardware pricing," he added.
Creutz said that while casual gamers drove much of the industry's growth in 2007 and 2008, they "backed away" from their games in 2009. Core game sales, on the other hand, remained strong throughout the year and Creutz predicted that publishers who have remained focused on that market will benefit from it in 2010. "With Xbox 360 and especially PS3 prices now entering the mass market range, we believe that the cycle will reaccelerate to the benefit of the publishers that are positioned to take advantage," he said.
Source: Edge
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