I dont know if youre a troll or just a fanboy, but I shouldnt have to email you if you’re not influencing too many people with your fallacy and your misleading opinions.
One fallacy was the myth of casual games and gamers:
“Just know this: there is no such thing as ‘Casual Market”
Have you even type in google about casual games Malstrom? Theres a casual market, I think you should know what casual games is:
“A casual game is a video game or online game targeted at or used by a mass audience of casual gamers. Casual games can have any type of gameplay, and fit in any genre. They are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games.[1] They require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, and there are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer. Casual games typically are played on a personal computer online in web browsers, although they now are starting to become popular on game consoles and mobile phones, too. Casual gaming demographics also vary greatly from those of traditional computer games, as the typical casual gamer is older [2] and more predominantly female,[3] with over 74% of those purchasing casual games being women.[4]”
Even wikipedia knows more than you. Is there anything in that definition about the Wii? That the term popularized because of the Wii?
Wikipedia is not a reliable source for much of anything let alone the business elements of the historically difficult-to-understand video game market.
The people who best understand Nintendo’s business would be the business people inside Nintendo. They have publicly said things. Why don’t you quote them? Why doesn’t anyone quote them? Why quote fictional nonsense from sites like Wikipedia where anyone can upload anything?
“It is a BS term made up by people who could not explain the spectacular Wii sales growth.”
Im laughing inside right now is the definition already proof to you? Or better yet search on the internet like google type casual games if you’re still lazy to research it I will link it to you:
have you seen a link that mentions about the Wii? No. Most of these games are either web based, flash games or mobile phone games. Nothing or few mentioned about the Wii.
If you expect a ‘google search’ to prove a point, you are extremely deluded. Anything can pop up in a ‘google search’. If you google search ‘Malstrom is god’, does that mean the hits show that Malstrom is, in fact, god?
“Note that Nintendo never refers to ‘Casual Market’ or use that lingo. They use ‘Expanded Market’ which is likely from disruption vocabulary.”
I think you should do your research more Malstrom, what Nintendo did was expand the audience to all age demographics thats whats expanded market came from. Or you dont know whats the histroy of Playstation? Since you’re too lazy to research I’ll give a link to you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9TbVyNAWQI
The ‘video’ you showed was put together by ‘journalists’ and is full of myths. Sony did do some things very correct in the console market such as bringing on third party companies early (Nintendo did not do this) as well as flooding tons of software onto their console (Nintendo also did not do this because of the memory of too much software crashing the Atari 2600). Sony did these things because they were in entertainment in other mediums. Nintendo has already implemented these things which is why you saw so much third party software for the 3DS for example or why Wii outpaced the PS3, even in the early days, in the number of software titles available on it.
Sony used to be the poster-boy for disruptive innovation. Sony used the computer chip to disrupt music with the walkman, with their small radios, and in other areas as well. The rise of Japan also came from disruptive innovation as Japanese car makers disrupted American car industry in the 1980s.
The term ‘expanded audience’ comes from the business strategy of disruption as does the other term called ‘core audience’. It is also referred to in the ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’. Nintendo is not talking ‘expanded audience’ in the stereotypical way most people do.
What I do not understand is why no one cites what Nintendo says when it comes to discussing Nintendo’s business strategy. Take a look at what Nintendo has said is their strategy, and you will not hear ‘casual marketplace’ at all.
Listen to Reggie explain the way how it is:
you should watch all of it even a executive of SONY says that theyre catering for 15-25 year old male demographic.
Exactly my point. This is why Sony was unable to expand the market. If you remove multiple console ownership and population growth, it is clear that the market has not expanded in terms of gaming popularity. Now that there are markets that have population decline, including recession, (such as Japan) Sony is unable to deal with it.
Why do you think Sony has seen only decline with the PS3? Why did the PSP fail outside Japan?
Everyone agrees that the Wii got many new gamers who did not previously own a last generation console. So the question becomes, “Where did all the PS2 gamers go?” They didn’t all go to the Xbox 360 or to the PS3. Perhaps gaming is in decline?
“Was the entire Atari generation a ‘casual market’? Did only ‘casuals’ buy the NES?”
No, not all of it but majority were. Did you research the best selling games on the NES? Most of them are casual games. Not most of them are not castlevania, double dragon, smash tv, contra, batman, etc… that you want to preach. Unless you mean that those best selling games on the NES was arcade gameplay? No. Theyre casual games. Nintendo at that time was catering for children at that time after all.
Did YOU research the best selling games on the NES? It is difficult to come to publicly known sales figures, so let us take this list with a grain of salt. http://www.listal.com/list/bestselling-nes-games
Are Zelda I and Zelda II ‘casual games’? Is Metroid a ‘casual game’? How about ‘Punch Out’? Is Dragon Quest a ‘casual game’? Is Kid Icarus a ‘casual game’? What about Final Fantasy?
What other types of games were the best sellers of the NES? According to this list, we have the usual Mario and other Nintendo games. We have Tetris and the Tetris clone games. But then look at all the NES sports games that were selling strongly on the system. If you notice, a couple of sports games are big sellers for the Wii (Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort) who the developers said they even took inspiration from the NES titles.
You say that the best selling games were not ‘arcade’ games. Let us look at the list. I see Hogan’s Alley which was an arcade game. I see literal arcade ports such as Ghosts and Goblins, Xevious, Donkey Kong, and Mario Brothers.
While Nintendo’s biggest group of players then were children, there were many adults who played. Who bought the Lolo game so that sequels were made? It wasn’t children. Who bought all the sports games? It wasn’t children.
The NES is very interesting in its history. I divide it into three phases. At the beginning, many adults were playing the NES who really liked the sports games. I know adults today in their fifties who played through Legend of Zelda on the NES. But NES games got longer and harder. The middle phase mostly had only kids and teenagers play. By the later phase, young girls began adopting the system. There is a reason why some of the last games being released for the NES were games based on Cinderella and other ‘girl’ properties.
When Nintendo moved to the Super Nintendo, they lost those older adults who bought the NES for the sports games and other titles. And to the N64 to Gamecube, Nintendo would keep losing prior customers. It was only with the Wii, with a nod to the NES Era type games, did many former Nintendo consumers come back with titles like Wii Sports to Mario 5.
About the atari yeah, most of the people buying ataris arent casuals theyre gamers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryQZ9ZBD4rE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om84Zc4-KcQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvec8Jvxq34
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqJwWmzX7NU&feature=related
… but most of them were casuals. In fact, most of these commercials are catering to parents and kids, which composed of casual market today.
Most of Atari’s big hit games, like Space Invaders, were direct arcade ports. Unless you argue that ‘casual gaming’ is ‘arcade gaming’, then that would mean the ‘casual gamer’ plays games in dimly lit bars drinking adult beverages. Donkey Kong first appeared in a bar not in a children’s festival after all.
Unless farmville like you say was a arcade game and not a casual game which really the proper term for it then I cant help but feel sorry for you.
The alternative to arcade games at the time were computer games. Computer games had very different values than arcade games. Computer games had a larger input due to the keyboard and ‘save’ games due to the disk drive. Computer games could also be more time intensive because they were not competing in an arcade arena.
There is a difference between customers and users. Farmville has very, very few customers. It is not a game that is put on the shelf where people buy. It is a free online game where money is made from a very small group of people.
It is impossible to ‘buy’ Farmville. You can buy things inside the game, but not the game itself as it is free. I have to laugh when someone tries to compare a ‘free’ product to ones that you have to pay for.
“Mark how New Super Mario Brothers Wii sells insanely well today on the Wii. While it may be tempting to shove everything into a box that says ‘casual market’ on it, the truth of what is occurring is far more interesting.”
Because its a casual game?
Mario 5 is definitely about arcade values. Even the four player simultaneous multiplayer harkens back to the day where four people would surround a single arcade cabinet like Gauntlet or X-Men to play.
If Mario 5 was a ‘casual game’, then why does it have such a high degree of difficulty? Even Super Mario World and the original Super Mario Brothers were way easier than Mario 5.
And in conclusion, theres a reason why Nintendo lost the console war during the early 90s till 2006. Because Nintendo was too catered to parents and children demographic, which composed of casual gamers today. SEGA and SONY just seize the opportunity thats why the Genesis and Playstation was popular during those times. But in time, that demographic was dwindling so Nintendo have the opportunity to take back the gaming demographic again, whether casual or core. Unless your mind was half asleep when theyre announcing core games during their E3 conferences. And theyre at least announcing one FPS in each conferences.
E3 2006: COD 3, Red Steel
E3 2007: Medal of Honor Heroes 2
E3 2008: COD: WAW
E3 2009: The Conduit
E3 2010: Goldeneye 007
What you are saying makes no sense. If Nintendo lost the console wars because it was too busy catering to ‘casual gamers’, then how did Nintendo win today by catering to ‘casual gamers’?
The so-called ‘hardcore’ demographic you speak of is not dwindling at all in North America. Yet, the Wii was sold out for three years in North America. How did this happen?
You don’t have any answers. All you offer is stereotypes and broad generalities. You offer no business language to point to that says, “This is how it happened.”
One of the finer joys for me this generation is to point out that our hardcore gamers know very little about video games.