Analyst: Wii Is 'Fool's Gold' For Game Investors

[mike_intellivision]

From the same roundtable -- a completely counterview:

Billy Pidgeon, IDC

Investing in developing casual games or Triple-A games...

I would not invest in AAA console games unless it was a genre breaker or game changer, and it's hard to identify one of those. It's definitely a bigger risk. The payoff could be major, but I think the risk is too high.
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Opinion of investing in game development for each platform...

I would invest in Wii-packaged goods, but also in downloadable -- indie, not casual -- games for all three consoles and for the DSi, if not the PSP.

I'd invest heavier in PC games, delivered to PC and online wherever possible, and at emerging models such as free-to-play and other micro-transaction-based business models in all regions including North America.

I also see big potential for game developers to make virtual worlds a success by transforming them into something much more game-like.

Investing in game development for any of the mobile platforms...

I would invest in high-end phone games with alternative distribution -- on the PC, outside the carrier.

But these would be developed not just for iPhone, but for all the iPhone competitors and iTunes app store competitors who have a chance of getting it right before Apple does.

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It should also be noted that the analyst who said the Wii was fool's gold also thought that AAA titles was the best way to make money.

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As I said previously, it depends. Depends on how much money there is to invest, how the game controls, what people want to play, etc.

There is no right or wrong answer -- except that it is wrong to say there is a single right answer.

Mike from Morgantown