With E3 now over, it’s customary for people to declare one company a “winner” of the show. However, this year, the winner isn’t Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony, the winner, or winners, are consumers, specifically, “casual” gamers. If one thing was apparent during this year’s E3, it was that casual games have become big business in the video game industry. Every major company courted casual gamers, whether it was Microsoft with titles like Lips and Scene It!, Nintendo with Wii Sports Resort and Wii Music, or Sony with LittleBigPlanet. The common thread that ties all these titles together is that they have mass appeal.
As the Wii and DS have so effectively shown, games don’t have to be limited to an 18-34 male demographic, but rather, can be enjoyed by everyone. The swiftness with which this shift in focus to courting casual gamers has occurred is startling. In less than two years, the video game industry has been reborn, emerging as an industry that is more mature and is broader than ever before. In addition to games, Microsoft also latched onto Nintendo’s idea of Miis, creating their “avatar” system for the Xbox 360, something which undoubtedly will help Microsoft redefine its console as one not just for hardcore players, but for the entire family. While introducing more casual games and concepts to their systems will undoubtedly bring the Big Three more profits (after all, with a larger market comes more paying customers), the shift to a more holistic market hints at something larger.
The gaming industry is still in its infancy when compared to other media, having been around for only a few decades. As with any medium, video games have continued to evolve. However, although the market for video games has continued to grow in terms of numbers, it hasn’t been expanding in terms of demographics until just recently. The expansion in gaming demographics signifies a natural progression of the medium and shows that video games are coming to be accepted as a legitimate medium. Video games are no longer being viewed as just a form of entertainment, but rather, are coming to represent a new form of art.
Looking back on previous media, in virtually every case, any given medium was restricted to a small group of people early on. Books were almost exclusively reserved for the rich and well-educated until the arrival of the Gutenberg press, televisions did not see widespread diversification until the advent of cable and satellite, when consumers had hundreds of channels to choose from instead of just the three major broadcasting networks and the list just goes on and on.
A medium cannot survive catering to just one group of people. Diversification is a necessary step that any medium must take if it hopes to achieve widespread appeal. While some gamers may feel defensive, or uncomfortable about having so many “casual” and “nongames” enter the market, this development should not be viewed as something negative, but rather, should be embraced. The credibility of video games has soared in recent years, thanks to the efforts of companies branching out to new people. There will always be a place for “hardcore” games, it’s just that now more people will be able to experience the excitement and fun that so many of us have been experiencing for years.
The video game industry is growing up. More people are experiencing video games than ever before. The wealth of innovative software continues to grow at a rapid pace. While we still have a long way to go, we are finally entering an era where video “games” are viewed as more than just pure entertainment. Video games can tell stories, they can get you into shape, they can help you train your mind, they can let you express your creativity, they can help you to grow as a person, they can help you connect with and learn from other people, and of course, they can also help you have fun. If this doesn’t sound like a legitimate medium that can stand with the likes of film, music and literature, than I don’t know what is.
Filed under: Microsoft, Nintendo, PS3, Technology, Video Games, Wii, Xbox 360 Tagged: | DS, E3, Lips, LittleBigPlanet, Microsoft, Mii, Nintendo, Scene It!, Sony, Video Games, Wii, Wii Music, Wii Sports Resort, Xbox 360
Good info!
Thanks