Casual gaming was something that bloomed with the arrival of Nintendo’s Wii and the massive worldwide success of the smartphones. You can divide casual games into two different sections however. Games like Just Dance, that are being developed with a lot of budget and are up for sale in stores, or games like Angry Birds. Where you’ll still have to pay an amount of cash to pay the full version, games like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja are extremely successful. But what’s the reason for that particular success? What is it that made this games icons of the gaming industry nowadays?
First things first it would not make any sense to state that games like Just Dance our Kinect Sports aren’t successful at all. They clearly aim for the market of ‘new gamers’ and succeed in their goal. Those games are being called ‘casual’ because the plot and game mechanics are far less sophisticated than in game like Gears of War or The Legend of Zelda. Casual games are a lot easier to pick up for gamers who haven’t got a lot of experience. And yet you can’t really compare those casual games with the games you’ll find on smartphones.
Casual gaming on consoles still demands quite a lot of effort and time of the gamers playing it. You’ll also receive the feeling you’re really interacting with the virtual world. Thanks to control schemes like Wiimote, Kinect and PS Move you’ll still have to put a bit of effort playing those games. Casual gaming on smartphones however, is a whole other story.
The idea behind gaming on a smartphone is all about time management. Owners of a smartphone didn’t bought that phone to play games 24/7, they originally bought it to stay in contact with the outer world. Therefor they can’t lose too much time playing silly videogames. Mobile gaming however doesn’t take much of your time, and that’s exactly one of the reasons for the success.
Games like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja are most enjoyable when played in short sessions divided over the day. It’s because of those short sessions that smartphone games are so successful. Imagine playing Just Dance or Kinect Sports while you’re sitting on the train waiting to arrive at your work. That just wouldn’t work. Those games are too ‘big’ and you’ll most certainly had to end your session before you could save the game. Smartphone games on the other hand consist out of rather small levels and will give the gamer the satisfaction of completing a level before he/she arrives at work.
But that’s not the only reason for the tremendous success of some smartphone games. Another reason for the success are the small prices. If you want to buy a game on your console you’ll have to pay 30-40 $ but on smartphone you’ll only have to pay 1 – 10 $, which of course is a big difference.
Time management as well as the small price are great reasons to buy games on your smartphone but are definitely not the only reasons. The game has to be fun and challenging, something only a few smartphones games achieve. Let’s face it, the mobile market is flooding with games nowadays. Android Market and iOS system is literally full of games waiting to be played and yet a few find the true success every developer is looking for. The best example of successful games is without a doubt the release of Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds.
Both games feature a non-existing or small storyline but give you the action and fun you’re looking for. To make sure everyone can enjoy those games, developers of the most successful mobile games kept in mind that less is indeed more. You don’t have to expect difficult controls on mobile games. The easier the controls, the more success the games have. Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds are both controlled with only a touch of your finger and don’t need big manuals to explain the controls. Everyone can play those games and nobody will find the controls or games too hard.
The real tricky part for developers however is finding something that will keep gamers motivated to keep you playing. Because the concept of the game often doesn’t change much, the developers added little extras like high scores or new unlockables. Those small thing seem to work very well. I noticed this in my environment as well. Gamers who normally hardly touch a controller are getting hooked on games on smartphones. It’s because the ability to beat your high score or to unlock new birds in Angry Birds that keep them motivated. Combine this with the time management and the small price and you’ll have a recipe for success.
It’s clear developers can earn a lot of money nowadays creating casual games on mobile platforms. I therefor don’t think that we’ll see an end of this soon. Casual gaming always has been a part of gaming, think about Tetris back in the days, and will always remain a part of gaming.
Is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. It’s because of casual gaming that Indie developers can gain fame and grow out to be one of the most innovating game developers out there. Not only new gamers will benefit of the casual gaming market, in the end, everybody wins.
