How casual gamers could burst the video games bubble
Gaming has been enjoying an unbelievably healthy period of growth for many years now. The original Playstation seemed to bring gaming out of the niche it was hiding and into the mainstream. The PS2 then took that gaming for everyone mentality onto the next level, and now the Wii is even making non-gamers start gaming. But with the economy going down the pan, could that reliance on casual or mainstream gamers be the industry’s downfall?
I remember a time when gaming was the sole reserve of the friendless and nerdy. Yes, I was one of those friendless nerds who would give up the chance to go out on a Saturday in order to spend time with my console of choice. But those days are well over, with gaming now being just as mainstream as television and movies.
Love it or hate it, Sony has a big part to play in bringing gaming out of its shell and into the cold light of day where everyone felt comfortable having a go. Both the original Playstation and the PS2 were seen as cool, innovative, and must-have consumer products by games of all ages around the world.
And then the Nintendo Wii came along and although it wasn’t cool or even very advanced, it had the control method innovation that dragged non-gamers over to our side of the fence. Suddenly, everyone and his mother, literally, wanted to know what the fuss was about. The Wii has sold by the bucket load, with even young kids and old people wanting a piece of video game action.
This is all fine and good, and has meant that the gaming industry has continued to grow over the past couple of years until it now threatens to overtake the movie industry. But all bubbles tend to burst, and although gaming is thought to be relatively recession-proof, if the economy is really in as bad shape as some are predicting then the video games bubble could be about to burst.
If it does, it’ll likely be casual gamers that are to blame. Those same people that have helped Nintendo to record profits in recent months are likely to be the first to stop buying games and hardware if the money in their pockets dwindles considerably. Which would leave just those of us who were present before the bubble started to grow trying to prop up the industry.
As The Telegraph explains, it’s not as though casual gamers can be blamed either. They have other things higher on their list of priorities than video games: children, clothes, food etc. When they had money in their pocket, a new DS or Wii game, or the latest Guitar Hero or Singstar game would have seemed like a sensible purchase. But no longer.
This scenario assumes a few things. One, that the economy really is screwed, which it may not be. Two, that casuals will turn their backs on a hobby they have only recently fallen in love with, which they may not. And three, that even if they do, it’ll leave the industry in trouble, which it may not do.
But at least if things do go badly, us gamers will have a ready-made scapegoat to blame. It was those casual gamers that did it, the b**tards. Which is a worry seeing as I’ve just confessed to becoming one.
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7 Responses to “How casual gamers could burst the video games bubble”
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December 8th, 2008
casual gamers arn’t the only ones to blame, and i do feel as though im about 2 offend alot of people by saying this, but it has also to do with the american market and also the american gaming market.
The Wii was always going to sell well in Japan, it’s nintendo, everything nintendo does. But it was in america that the Wii took off because some fool said “this is easy, im now a gamer”
i live in australia… and no, I don’t hate all things american, but i only know 3 people with a wii, yeah its cheap as hell out here, but it hasn’t been jammed down our eye balls on T.V ads and by media that it is a must have, so quite honestly it hasn’t sold as well as around the world (though, i can’t honestly remember that i physcally saw some figures from AUS gaming sales, though PS3 is in front by a long way then xbox) from what i get from the guys i play with online, media tends to band wagon jump in america, so if lil johnny mummy is watching t.v and they say theres a cheap fun way to entertain him, thats better then going and getting a ps3 or xbox 360 with all the bells and whistle and that doesnt have something that has 2 blow the living crap out of in the first 5 minutes.
Yes, i have a Wii, Yes my parents and even grand parents have played it, but they both have also played my ps3, and both have asked to change from Wii to PS3 when friends are round (we have guitar hero and sing star, i know “casual games” but we see them more as party games, as in you can play with four or more people).
Don’t blame casual gamers, cause I’m yet to fully met one, if you define casual as someone who only plays on occation, then i’d say most people who don’t spend every living minute on world of warcraft are “casual” gamers, i know i’ve gone weeks without playing, then had weeks in a row were i played daily.
casual is something we came up with to blame the people who don’t want to play halo or cod4 ever single living minute. i blame americas market for making it to shooter happy, then wonder why that something that doesnt involve a gun sells like hot cakes?
December 9th, 2008
Grab a brain. Casual Gamers are the bubble!.
December 9th, 2008
only fanboys think the hardcore market is large enough to sustain a 30 billion dollar industry…
it has ALWAYS been about “teh casuals”…. the hardcore is simply the FIRST market to penetrate…not the one to sustain a presence…
first sell the hardcore, then the rest will follow…
as the xbox and 360 has proven….
December 9th, 2008
kev,
snore.
December 9th, 2008
royzy – not suprisingly, that’s the most intelligent post you’ve ever created….
December 9th, 2008
I would say the PS2 proved your point the best, but hey, its a Sony…
December 11th, 2008
Um… casual and hardcore can still rent and share… and if the economy is in a downturn, maybe they both would read reviews and try before they buy, being more selective about how they spend their money, eliminating the plethora of crap games splooged upon the market for a quick buck… maybe the economic downturn is a good thing for the gaming industry?