The problem with relying on these quick social scene markets is that they aren't long term. It is like Myspace. These digital life styles fade away. People have no long term interest. That has been the Wii's main problem. Sure it was able to get tons of non-gamers and females and older people to start playing games, but how many games have they bought over the four years that the Wii has been around? Outside of Nintendo games (which always do well), most games have had a hard battle in order to win over the scattered Wii demographic. Social gaming is no different. These aren't the kind of consumers you want to pander to. Sure they will splurge on impulse purchases at first, but they won't stay committed. That is why Microsoft has arguably been the most succesful this generation. Even though they are 30 million units behind Nintendo, their platform has more million sellers and more million sellers from third party developers. The reason? Microsoft caters to a crowd that is willing to continually invest in software. They are more enthusiastic. They don't just game because they had an impulse and saw some inexpensive app. They game because it is a culture, a lifestyle if you will. But, these companies are so short sighted that they can't see that fact right in front of them. Have fun chasing profit for the short term. This industry is going to burn itself out.
