Malstrom has 2 new blog entries up, one on the iphone vs DS, and one with some info on his next three articles. The latter addresses Nintendo's E3 showcase and the hardcore's fallout from it. He also discusses the ridiculous notion that successful children's games like Carnival Games, Dogz, etc are part of a new casual market when children's games have always had a market. He writes...
"Third party companies are under enormous pressure from investors to tap into the New Market. This is why they have been so loud in trumpeting their ‘casual’ success. But scratch beneath the surface. All the ‘casual’ games they say are so successful are children’s games. Children are actually part of the Core Market, not the Expanded Market including young girls. Children are, literally, retarded adults (as anyone who deals with children know). This is why the ‘Birdmen’ strategy works with children. But this is nothing new. Children’s games have been working, with often horrible licensing, for every console cycle. Yet, all of a sudden, success in children’s games (male and female) are now declared to be success in the New Market? This is fraud. No third party has yet followed up with a hit similiar to Wii Sports and Wii Fit. The ’semi-hits’ like Carnival Games sell primarily to children.
If the audience existed on the Gamecube or on another console in a prior cycle, by definition, it cannot be part of the Expanded Audience. So how the Hell did children’s games become ‘New Market’ games? And why the Hell are people willing to let companies re-arrange the goal posts so they can declare success?"
I totally agree.... read both entries here:
http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/
Wii Code 3456 7941 4060 2924
