Viper1 said:
Erik, I'm quite familiar with the book as it's on my shelf.
I think you've misinterpreted my meaning. Casual gaming is up for interpretation as it is but I'm not referring to Jewel Quest and the like. I'm talking about Nintendogs, Brain Age, Wii Sports, etc... These games have broaden the range of players in the market. From the marketing, to the system design, everything about it is created with the mind set to appeal to a far greater audience than has been before.
Zelda: PH, Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy are all designed to appeal to a greater audience than ever before too. Games like NSMB, WoW and GTAIII have all already succeeded in expanding the market in recent years. But these titles are all aimed at the "small niche market," and Jewel Quest is, like it or not, aimed squarely at the "far larger casual market."
The "far larger casual market" is not the point. You can market at them all you like, but until you surprise them with a new experience and remove the barriers keeping them from playing, they won't play. And the same thing goes for the existing audience, too.
"[Our former customers] are unable to find software which they WANT to play."
"The way to solve this problem lies in how to communicate what kind of games [they CAN play]."
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President. Only slightly paraphrased.
