According to a study conducted by Lazard Capital Markets, “serious gamers” say they are spending more time playing console and PC games this year than they did last year. In contrast, the casual market is shrinking, with less-dedicated gamers migrating away from consoles to “newer, less expensive” gaming platforms.
This is actually bad news for the industry as a whole, explains Lazurus; “the bad news for the console market is that the number of casual or infrequent gamers outnumber core gamers, resulting in a slight tilt toward less time spent overall playing console games.” Of course it also means less money is being spent, although it could force developers to increase the general quality of their games in a bid to please a more discerning audience.
Instead of going out and buying console or PC games, casual gamers that would previously spend money on music and Wii games, are playing browser and mobile gamers.
This is particularly bad news for Nintendo, who has been riding the Wii tidal wave for the last few years. However, while the Wii may be losing its edge with the casual crowd, the launch of the 3DS next year should spice things up.
Another game changer will be Microsoft’s motion control device; Kinect, which is being aimed squarely at the casual market. However, it still remains to be seen if “casual” gamers at large will be willing to spend R2000 on a peripheral.
The PlayStation Move is Sony’s answer to Kinect. The Move is already available in SA for just under R400
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