Pegging the future of casual games
From new business opportunities to new markets and kinds of game play, the future of casual games - and PopCap's future in this industry - is virtually limitless.
More developers
Historically, casual games have been built by small teams on modest budgets (three to four people with $200,000 budgets vs. hundreds of people and millions of dollars for hardcore games). This production-budget bar has risen, though, as more major companies have entered the space.
For instance, Electronic Arts acquired Pogo a few years ago, and recently established a large division dedicated to developing casual games. Microsoft and Nintendo also opened their Xbox video game system and Wii system to casual game downloads, which has invited more developers into the playing field. Such growth increases the potential for greater partnerships, as well as greater competition, in game development and distribution.
More channels and revenue streams
In addition to our online presence, PopCap's retail presence is growing in chains such as Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart. Titles like Bejeweled, Zuma, Bookworm and Chuzzle consistently rank #1 or #2 in the family games category and frequently rank #1 or #2 of all games sold in these stores. Although many thought casual games wouldn't sell in these venues, we're reaching millions of impulse buyers and customers who prefer retail over online shopping.
The return of ad-based revenue, derived from the billions of hours that people play our games for "free" online, has also become a promising new income source. Playing casual games is still the biggest reason why people linger on the Web, and now that the Internet has matured, online advertisers are paying to reach these audiences through a cartload of newer, less intrusive ad mechanisms.
Still other revenue paths the industry is exploring include game subscriptions, skill-based game play (paying to increase the difficulty of play) and micropayment options (such as session-by-session playing).
