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Game Developers Missing Their Target?
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Wed Aug 30, 2006 05:41 PM
from the varying-levels-of-addiction dept.
from the varying-levels-of-addiction dept.
wh0pper writes "Digital Trends is reporting that a recent survey finds that there aren't just 2 gamer markets, but instead a whopping 6. What does this mean? It means that game developers and publishers are ignoring a large portion of the gaming market by focusing on the traditional two segments: casual gamers and hardcore gamers. The 4 other game markets they identified are Social Gamers, Leisure Gamers, Dormant Gamers, Incidental Gamers. If you are wondering what those categories mean, the article gives descriptions of what each segment is. A surprising result from the survey is the importance of social gaming; video games are often considered a solitary activity, but Parks Associates' findings indicate a significant portion of the market views gaming as a social activity."
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Splitting hairs (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Anyways, about 4 or 5 of these "new" categories fall under the "casual" banner.
Re:Splitting hairs (Score:5, Insightful)
I assume you meant "Leisure gamer" and "Dormant gamer." It's difficult to be sure, but my guess is that it has to do with the number of hours per month each spends playing games. Leisure gamers seem to spend a lot more time gaming than Dormant gamers, mostly because they have more free time. This distinction is arguably a bit silly, but it may apply to game design with respect to the length of an average gaming session. For example, a Leisure gamer might have the time for a raid in WoW while a Dormant gamer would not, even though both are interested in the same type of game.
I do think the addition of a few more categories is a step forward however. For example, a lot of gamers would be considered power gamers in terms of how they approach gaming, but casual gamers in terms of available time (represented by "Leisure gamer" and "Dormant gamer" in the list). Blizzard seems to have been catering to power gamers with little end game content for casual gamers, beleiving that casual gamers will rarely make it that far. But this obviously ignores a rather large subset of players in the Dormant and Leisure categories. Social gamers are another category for which MMORPGs tend to have a lot of appeal, but they typically approach content with a more "casual" play style. Often, these players experience very little content for the time they spend online because they're more interested in roleplay or simply chatting.
Parent
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Like someone upthread, I was raised on Sierra games (Christmas in the (mid?) late 80s, I got a Tandy and King
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Not sure, but I started out as a Leisure Suit Gamer. I still get misty-eyed when I see Lefty's.
Re:Splitting hairs (Score:5, Funny)
Dude, aim away from your face. Thats how you go blind... all that 'mist'.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Splitting hairs (Score:5, Funny)
Lots of polyester in the closet?
Parent
The only time I play is social... (Score:2)
Gaming as a Social Activity (Score:5, Interesting)
Incidentally, I see a similar trend in web-surfing. Some guy surfing through interesting/funny/lame sites while a group spectate him or her.
I don't understand it completely. When I game, it's me against the computer...or someone on the other side of the network. No audience. Even in LAN parties, people have a chance to PLAY together, not just to watch someone else play.
When I surf slashdot, there isn't a crowd behind me going "oooh man, you're really gonna say that?"
What's going on here? Is it an after-effect of the prevalence of TV?
Re:Gaming as a Social Activity (Score:5, Informative)
I also know others who were in long distance relationships and would schedule to watch something on TV while on the phone (or IM) as a sort of virtual date. If it worked for TV, why not web-surfing, or even gaming? You could go "shopping" with your IM-buddy, for instance, or meet up in WoW or something.
And back in the days when I MUD'ed, I knew a lot of players who were just there for the social aspect. They weren't there to do quests or kill monsters, and would just hang out in the pubs to chat with other characters as they passed through.
I doubt that's what the article was refering to as a "social gamer" though.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
This isn't new, I mean since arcades have been around people have gathered around the guy pulling off crazy shit, and back in the early 90's me and my friends used to sit around for a couple hours every once in a while playing a one-player CRPG.
One reason is that some gam
Re: (Score:2)
Because it's so much more interesting web-surfing on your own! If people want to see the same lame/funny sites, then doing it in a group seems perfectly logical.
I've also known people who prefer watching others play games, probably because they prefer passive entertainment to active. For some games it even makes sense, when it's the kind of game where you just want to
Ooooh man! I can't believe you said that! (Score:2)
Had to be said.
That said, I am a "hard core" gamer AND a social gamer. There are lots of games that play well as gropu games -- like playing "board" games or other traditional games.
In my childhoot we...in the snow... (Score:2)
We didnt start out on video games, we just had exciting board or card games when attention spans had to last more than 2.5 seconds.
To find how to pass a level or cheat, you would have to talk to other kids to find codes. Our cheat codes did not require some add on device(that came later): up up down down left
Money (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
For instance, Yahoo and other sites offer free games (online & otherwise) which are often sponsored by ads. While no money is being spent by the gamer in this case, you can be sure that the longer he plays on such sites, the more money he's generating for the website in question.
Realistically, I think you would have to consider a graph where "money spent" makes up one axis, and "time spent" is the other. This means you could have a heavy spender, who do
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Consider the ideal MMO player for Blizzard: You're probably thinking of the hardcore dungeon crawler eager to get their hands on the latest loot and run the latest instances. In all reality, this is the absolute WORST player for blizzard. They're forced to constantly release new content for this player, listen to them whine, and fix bugs that don't affect
Re:Money (Score:4, Insightful)
The Wii has very effectively captured my attention, and I really think there are a lot of people out there like me, young professionals with some disposable income and a renewed interest in gaming.
So you are true. We don't contribute nearly as much money, percentagewise, NOW. But the market is there ready to be tapped... Just give us a quality and original product instead of a lot of the same old stuff.
Parent
Ahh, I can see it now... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Ahh, I can see it now... (Score:5, Funny)
Until that time, they pass the time playing SimEarth...
Parent
Re:Ahh, I can see it now... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Fjords (Score:2)
Until that time, they pass the time playing SimEarth...
Pesky little buggers aren't they? My cat caught one this morning and ate it. I suppose Africa won't have any fjords the next time around.
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A hardcore gamer who got married.
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"My definitions mean I know more than you." (Score:5, Insightful)
- Power gamers represent 11 percent of the gamer market but account for 30 cents of every dollar spent on retail and online games.
- Social gamers enjoy gaming as a way to interact with friends.
- Leisure gamers spend 58 hours per month playing games but mainly on casual titles. Nevertheless they prefer challenging titles and show high interest in new gaming services.
- Dormant gamers love gaming but spend little time because of family, work, or school. They like to play with friends and family and prefer complex and challenging games.
- Incidental gamers lack motivation and play games mainly out of boredom. However, they spend more than 20 hours a month playing online games.
- Occasional gamers play puzzle, word, and board games almost exclusively.
I was going to start hacking this to pieces, but it's so obvious I just can't be bothered any more.Bring us another transparent attempt for an outsider to seem authorative about the games industry, this one's broken.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Even FINDING a game worth playign is getting hard. I borrowed a friend's x360 (friends don't let friend play xbox... -sigh-) and he had Ninety Nine Nights. I -love- Dynasty/Samurai warriors. It's one of the few games I play more
Used to play ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Civilization is cool for me because it takes some thinking, is quite entertaining, but doesn't cause issues with hand overuse. It's a hard formula to match. Recently I tried Pirates of Carribean which seemed cool at first, but somehow just didn't capture my attention and hold it. Anyway, I imagine coming up with a game for people like me would be really hard to do successfully
Ebay it (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Used to play ... (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, I played Leisure Suit Larry until my joystick wore out, too.
Parent
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Civilization is probably the only game with both graphics and moderately sophisticated AI and having random maps that actually matter.
In most other graphical games either AI is non-existent, or trained on a small set of maps - often both.
Why there is no fantasy-themed game with sophistication of Civ is beyond me..
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Controller size (Score:3, Interesting)
I hate it when people whine about a controller being too big. My hands, although not monstrous, seem to be larger than average - Gamecube controllers hurt. I loved the Dreamcast and Xbox controllers because they felt comfortable, and have to buy mice large enough so that my index and middle fingers don't drag across the mousepad.
What would be nice is what Microsoft did - release the regular Xbox controller and the "mini" version for people with scrawny, insignificant digits.
Extra dimensions (Score:5, Funny)
What is this, game-string theory?
"Design" & "Marketing" - Meet Capt. Ovious (Score:3, Insightful)
In other words, people who don't spend money on games.
So TFA is about how the publishers "just" need to figure out how to create games which are good enough to sell to non-buyers.
If only the publishers had thought of this themselves . . .
Thats why I bought a game cube (Score:3, Insightful)
When the survey says that these groups aren't being catered to, they're not exactly being truthful. There are games produced for social gamers and the other groups. The problem is they're recognized less when propped up against multi-million dollar time killers like Grand Theft Auto. Plus, just because there are gamers of six categories, it doesn't mean there's money to be made. Anyone who isn't in the 'hard-core' demographics are typically not heavy spenders in gaming. Maybe, the supply is already meeting demand. Is the article flamebait, or just oversimplifying the supply/demand balance?
Just further proof (Score:2)
Casual Gamers, Hardcore Gamers, Social Gamers, Leisure Gamers, Dormant Gamers and Incidental Gamers.
The Wii, with it's groundbreaking controllers, is going to *own* at least 2 of those markets. I consider myself a dormant gamer: Mashing buttons isn't fun for me anymore, I grew up with a Colecovision and never got past the SNES. But I'm excited for the Wii, and my three-year old will be getting one for Christmas. No, not me, it's for the kids, honey. Real
Well... (Score:2)
2 kinds, 6 kinds, 10 kinds, whatever (Score:2)
Who are these people? (Score:2)
Who are these people, and how do they get jobs commenting on such things, when their whole approach to analysis is flawed from the start? What is the benefit to such analysis? Thinking in terms of two markets or six markets can only
Gamer Markets. (Score:2)
Anyway, those aren't gamer markets in any sense of the word market. They are gamer stereotypes or styles. Gamer markets are already well established: Sports, RTS, RPG, MMORPG, FPS, etc etc.
One cannot wisely design a game completely around a style, such as "people who only play games incidentally are really going to like this game". Why spend countless hours
Re: (Score:2)
I completely disagree. A casual game could casually approach the aforementioned task. That it will take them longer (of IRL time, not necessarily play time) to achieve that goal they fully understand.. but that they COULD achieve that goal and not spend an inordinate percentage of their daily life doing so is what makes them casual IMHO.
Regarding your statement that they are genres... I agree. And they're also markets.
Game On (Score:4, Funny)
Parks Associates: When you want sloppy work (Score:2)
Only 6? Please. (Score:2)
4 segments make no money (Score:2)
People like Blizzard are focused on the hardcore and casual gamers because they pay for new mega graphic video games at $50 a pop. That's a higher margin business.
Segments they call the "occasional gamer" and "social gamer" are fulfilled by places like pogo.com, yahoo games, and other places. I also feel the occasional games is mislabelled
Recovered Gamer (Score:2)
What kind of game do they make to lure me back?
There's not 6.. There's (Score:3, Insightful)
The simple fact is there really is two. Casual gamers and "serious" gamers. The casual gamer is a gamer who spends 10 bucks on a game some one who doesn't actually game as a hobby, but more as a "oh that's fun" idea. Then there's the "serious gamer" They are the ones who will buy video game systems, and upgrade computers for games.
Sure there's people who are both or neither but honestly all the subdivisions are dealt with in other areas.
In reality there's 4 type of gamer also. The Explorer, the Socializer, the Competitor, and the achiever. There pretty obvious (explore the whole map, Chat while playing, Beat others, beat goals). But the fact is when you build a game you try to target them all. The base fact though is these 4 have nothing to do with the casual or serious. It's just another way to categorize people.
The 6 idea works but in the end people will realize there's only two main catagories and these are just subdivisions of them.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)