Topical Gaming

Games targeted toward adults take on topical, of-the-moment themes

Implications - Increasing engagement and capitalizing off of buzz, games focused around pop culture phenomena like politics or Internet memes are taking off. By playing into topics that consumers are already interested in and talking about, game creators are not only able to increase sales, but generate word-of-mouth around the products themselves as well. This shift toward a more niche version of existing products is reflective of a consumer base that seeks out goods that reflect their specific interests.
Workshop Question - If you were to leverage a pop culture phenomenon to connect with consumers, which one would you choose and how would you leverage it?

Trend Themes

  1. Pop Culture Phenomena — Games focused around pop culture phenomena take advantage of buzz-worthy topics to increase sales and generate word-of-mouth around the products themselves.
  2. Niche Products — A shift towards niche products is reflective of a consumer base that seeks out goods that reflect their specific interests; this presents significant opportunities for creators to capitalize.
  3. Humorous Adaptation — Humorous adaptations of popular games and apps, such as dating apps and internet memes, allow for immense innovation opportunities within traditional board games and card games.

Industry Implications

  1. Gaming — The gaming industry is experiencing growth as games become more niche in response to ever-growing pop culture phenomena trends.
  2. Marketing — Marketing professionals can look to capitalize on pop culture phenomena trends by creating products reflective of current cultures and subcultures to target specific consumers.
  3. Entertainment — Entertainment industry professionals must adapt to the trend of humorous adaptations of popular games to remain competitive in an ever-changing market.
4.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
4 Featured, 33 Examples:
91,234 Total Clicks
Date Range:
Feb 16 — Jul 16

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