Casual games, those five-minute diversions you play for a quick break but somehow end up clicking away on for two hours, have become one of the fastest-growing categories of computer gaming.
While sales of boxed PC games at retail are on a steep decline -- 38 million games sold in the United States for 2005 compared with 47 million games sold in 2004, according to retail marking consultant the NPD Group -- casual games are now enjoyed by an estimated 100 million PC users, according to comScore Media Metrix.
And this doesn't include the tens of millions of consumers who play casual games on cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Rise of Casual Games
- Opportunity for game developers to focus on simple, engaging, and easy-to-play games to attract a broader audience.
- Growth of Mobile Gaming
- Disruptive innovation opportunity for developers to create mobile games tailored to the on-the-go gamer.
- Shift in Gaming Consumption
- Opportunity for companies to offer cloud-based subscription models, providing access to a wide range of games without the need for high-powered hardware.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Gaming Industry
- The gaming industry needs to focus on the casual gaming market, including mobile gaming, to capitalize on the increasing demand for casual games.
- Telecommunications Industry
- Telecommunications companies should create mobile gaming options, such as bundled game subscriptions, to capitalize on the increasing number of consumers playing games on their mobile devices.
- Cloud Computing Industry
- Opportunity for cloud providers to offer gaming-as-a-service, allowing consumers access to a range of games across various devices without the need for high-powered hardware.
