This episode of IndieGameBusiness™ podcast featured a very special guest, Ariella Lehrer, to discuss how the casual game market has evolved over time. With years of experience under her belt Ariella goes over how the casual market really began in gaming and where it is now in terms of modern day marketing for the casual market.
Ariella explains how the casual market was sort of born from the idea of taking popular licenses and making games out of the IP. When disk drives were in their prime it was not uncommon for these sorts of games to do exceptionally well in the market at realtors such as Wal-Mart. The idea of licensed games is mostly met with the assumption that they are a cheap cash grab or that no one actually buys them, but this talk disproves that as they were very profitable at one point and time.
However, much like other aspects of the industry the casual market has changed over the last few years. Many businesses that were focused on these licensed titles have changed their outlook on the market. First, there was a change in getting consumers to shift from physical to digital purchases to increase profits with varying degrees of success. For another example, Legacy Games is realizing a lot of the casual market can be tapped into through indie games and have launched a new program to promote promising indie titles. Their website now has an Indie Game Spotlight that will feature some promising indie games that still fill the same sort of niche that the previous casual market was fond of with genres spanning matching games, hidden object games, etc. As the industry continues to evolve and adapt indie games continue to be a driving force that appeal to both hardcore and casual players.
As always this is just a quick overview of the discussion and can be listened to at its fullest wherever you listen to podcasts by searching for IndieGameBusiness™.
