Casual games are growing but have a mixed outlook
Paul Thelen, chairman and chief strategy officer of casual game distributor Big Fish Games, said his company grew faster in the fourth quarter than it did at any time in the past two years. That raises the question: Just how is the recession affecting casual games?
“We do see a little delinquency in credit cards,” he said during a panel at Casual Connect in Hamburg. But he also said those players who do pay are actually… Continue Reading
WorldWinner’s CATCH 21 online game becomes a TV show
The borders between media are porous. WorldWinner, an online skill-based game company, proved that today when it announced that its “CATCH 21″ game will become a TV show on the GSN channel shown in 68 million homes.
GSN airs only game shows and is jointly owned by Sony and Liberty Media, which bought WorldWinner’s parent company last year. The show will be broadcast on weekdays starting Monday July 21 at 7:30pm Eastern time. The series is… Continue Reading
Casual gaming worth $2.25 billion, and growing fast
While the enthusiast gaming market is somewhat stagnant, the casual gaming market is on a spurt, growing 20 percent each year. Casual games are smaller and cheaper to develop than blockbusters like Halo, but also less lucrative. However, while the profits from casual games appear smaller, their low development costs and potentially high profit margins also provide a better opportunity for startups.
“Casual gaming” is loosely defined as anything easy to learn that doesn’t require a… Continue Reading
Online games, your cup of tea? American Idol, ClubPenguin and more
A raft of new online games are emerging, allowing you to play straight from your browser.
The quality generally remains weak — because of limits on interactivity posed by your broadband connection.
King.com, a European company with $43 million in financial backing from Apax and individuals, has just released one of the more expensively developed games so far: American Idol. It cost more than $250,000 to make (not much compared to full-fledged download games like WoW; remember,… Continue Reading