Publishers have yet to take full advantage of financial potential of online casual games, say report
Two thirds of women with access to the internet play casual games, according to a new survey – however, despite the financial potential this emerging sector remains largely untapped.
While 70 per cent of women who are aged between 16 and 45 and live in households connected to the internet have played some form of free online game in the last year, the survey revealed that only 18 per cent paid to play, demonstrating the yet to be exploited financial potential of online casual gaming.
The report, put together by GameVision and Arknford, suggests that there will be “a 24 per cent growth in online play amongst women in the next six months... a massive expansion of activity.
“The potential for growth in this area is also substantial and this is more related to a widening of the market than a growth amongst those already committed to the paid-for online sector. Whether this growth can be translated into cash will depend on the ability to deliver content that new women gamers are prepared to pay for.”
59 per cent of all women who go online between the ages of 16 and 45 play free internet flash games at least once every month and it is the younger women who are the ones most likely to be found playing away online.
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The rise in online casual gaming has been made possible with Broadband penetration rates reaching over 66 per cent in the UK. The surge has seen the number of female gamers almost double in three years.
* The survey was taken from interviews with 1,700 women in UK, France and Germany.
Contact Sean Dromgoole at GameVision 0208 400 6248 for more information.
Comments
The REAL problem with the industry
All I read in that article was "the financial potential". "Untapped area of money making potential".
This is why the industry is slowly dying from the inside out. From the lowest rung of the ladder to the corporate money taps (i.e. EA, Microsoft), all anyone seems to be bothered about is making money. ESPECIALLY EA. "WE WANT GTA NOTHING MORE, we don't have the money to back it up, but we'll borrow a BILLION to make sure we get what we want. That being the biggest selling franchise of all time....COS IT CAN MAKE US MONEY!"
F*&k off and start thinking about the reason you are dripping in cash. The games > the consumers. It's pathetic. I've played games for 28 years. I'm thinking of hanging up all controllers because the consumers are getting ripped off 70% off the time with cheap and lazy sequels. No imagination. No incentive. No hope. Remove EA from the industry and other companies might have a chance of survival. Microsoft throw their chequebook around with reckless abandon BUT...they seem to actually pour a large amount into their games rather than focusing on buying out all competition just because their games are less than s*$t. Bring back the old days. Before the new days don't exist anymore.
Re: The REAL problem with the industry
@1
Bravo!! Well done!! I totally agree, maybe not as a post on this thread directly but definitely as a classic example of why the female market is still untapped.
Locoroco is a great example of a game that scored well with female players and sold loads of units but I'm sure it had a pretty hard time convincing the big cheeses that it would work financially?!
I too am sick to death of state of modern games offerings and if it wasnt for the fact that there still are the odd games here and there that satisfy my tastes, I would have hung up my controllers a long time ago too.
Why do people have to 'tap into markets' ? Why cant they just make good games and let the markets tap into them?
I know at the end of the day its about money as without it you cant stay in business but why does it have to be about making as much money as possible at the expense of giving people a quality product?
Too much focus on money in the short term will rape this industry of everything it has to offer much faster than piracy has done for music and film.
What I'm trying to say is, its all good trying to make more of the female market but make sure you go the right way about it.
A pink PSP and online Sudoku isnt good enough..........
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