cleveland124 said:
I also think casuals are highly important. In fact, I think that hardcore gamers are more niche than you give it credit for. If I really want a game and I'm willing to pay $50, I buy it opening week or 2 weeks tops. You indicate correctly that a casual gamer would probably go to Walmart and check the cases resulting in two possible trips in ten weeks. I realize it isn't an exact science, heck this site isn't but I just think they are way more niche. Like take for example Halo 3. This is a game that casuals had to be very aware of due to the advertising. 2.8 million in the first week. I just don't think that even a majority of those are hardcore. It was in the casual market, it's a game that sells well as a frag fest. So by your formula this game is like 90% hardcore. So I think advertising has a huge effect, I would be willing to concede the longer time period for a game like zak and wiki that received no advertising. Additionally, there are several games that take off when a price drop occurs (I thrive off of these) which show a trend towards casual. Lastly, a console like the Wii has been severly supply constrained. As such, a hardcore gamer might say I'm not going to try to get a wii until Brawl comes out. But once they have the Wii, they will then purchase several games to fill up their collection. The wii has sold pretty much as much as produced, and the PS3 is just starting to take off due to the price drops/games. These consoles will naturally trend casual for any games released early in their lives. I also think that a hardcore game on the wii, well advertised, would explode. I think a casual gamer needs to be convinced that a game is going to provide 4 hours of entertainment. I believe this because a trip for two to the movies costs $35 and provides two hours of entertainment. I think people like to say casuals don't buy games but the trends don't support that. They just need to be convinced of their value.
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That was a great response.
