Casual Games

Wii Sports, Mario Party, Rayman Raving Rabids, are these games, and games like them, going to lead the downfall of the hardcore game, or just bring new people into our growing video game market. This is a much debated topic among gamers as many of us fear that with the Wii, and it's onslaught of casual games, the hardcore may be forgotten. Casual games are selling by the absolute truckload. There really in no right or wrong answer, except that only time will tell. However that doesn't mean I can't go into a little more detail and try to figure out what I think is going to happen.

The first big issue here is obviously, money. Developers and publishers are businesses, and they are in the video game business to make money. So, keeping that in mind it is hard for publishers to not get into the casual game market. When you look at the Wii, which is the number one selling console month after month, and you see the type of games coming out for the Wii, it's impossible to deny that casual games are a money maker. The question is, are hardcore games also a money maker? Well the answer is simple, yes, of course they are. Look at exhibit A, a small game you all may have heard of called Halo 3, which sold 3.3 million units in its first week and gave Microsoft games their first profitable quarter since the release of Halo 2. So yes, hardcore games can be very profitable.

However, in my opinion, there is one key factor that will make casual games a little more profitable than hardcore games, and that is the cost to make them versus how many sell. While yes, Halo 3 did sell 3.3 million copies in a week, how many millions did it cost to make to Halo 3? Than look at a game like Wii play, which looks like it could have easily been made in flash by some high school kid for a project. That game has been in the top 10 in sales every month since it came out, and it probably cost about the same to make as you spent on dinner this evening. As a publisher is must be hard to turn down that kind of easy money.

With a lesser investment comes less risk. So let's say you are EA, and you are thinking about the new game you want to publish. You see Halo and the huge success it had, and you see Mario Party 8 and the success it has. You know the market is split with a lot of alpha moms out there and a lot of hardcore gamers out there. What game do you try to mirror, the cheap one that may make a killing, or the expensive one that may make a killing? I can't answer that question, because I don't work for a bug game company, but it makes you think. If that cheap casual game fails, it's not going to be a big deal, but if a multi-million dollar blockbuster hardcore game fails, its going to hurt the bank a lot more.

In spite of this though, I don't think hardcore games will be forgotten. I think developers enjoy making hardcore games. Could you picture Kojima making Metal Gear Bowling or something to that extent? I think not, as long as the hardcore gamers speak with their wallets and keep buying hardcore games, developers and publishers will keep making them.

Casual games, while cheap to make, still don't have the long lasting appeal of hardcore games. Publishers can not put all of there eggs into one basket with because right now we do not know if this whole Wii Soccer mom thing is going to be a fad or if it is for real. We know from years and years of experience that the hardcore gamers aren't going anywhere. If there is a good games to play the hardcore kids will be at the stores on release day buying them up, and publishers know this, they like it, and they will continue to make games for these people. So never fear, I am confident that we will be playing our Halos and Metal Gears for years to come!

And I'm going to leave with a game that blurs the line between casual and hardcore, Guitar Hero 3, and a ridiculous video of it at that!