What is a “gamer”? A pimple-faced geek with sore thumbs and poor social skills? Or the suit that sits down the hall from you? A study from PopCap and Information Solutions Group found that 35% of senior executives copped to gaming on the job. Funnily, 53% of them did so at least once a day and 14% said they played during business meetings or conference calls.
A recent article in the New York Times points to these casual gamers, or “noobs,” as the key driver of growth in the gaming industry. These players aren’t the typical young male aged 18-34. They are white collar workers and also women—60-70% of casual gamers are women over 30, according to eMarketer.
Analysts are looking at games like Guitar Hero III and Disney’s High School Musical Game to be holiday-time hits. The social nature of these games–what makes online gaming so popular in Asia–is where their appeal
lies. Nintendo’s Wii just became the biggest selling next-gen console in the world (not just the U.S.). It’s a global phenomenon because it is essentially casual gaming in console form.
Still, it is the spending of the hard core gamers that provides the bedrock of the industry. Halo 2 single-handedly revived the Xbox, which is why the launch of Halo 3 is almost as hyped as the iPhone. “I Heart Bees,” the ARG that promoted it, really set the benchmark for what an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) could be as a marketing tool. To follow that act, marketers landed rabbit holes for the Halo 3 “Iris” ARG on the cover of Wired (kudos) and posted a tearjerker video, which is being compared to the haunting trailer for Gears of War (known for the song “Mad World.”) So will the launch give the 360 a much-needed boost over the Wii? Wii shall see…
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1 » NGT BOOT CAMP: ARG’s » Next Great Thing // Sep 19, 2007 at 4:38 pm
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