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Nexon CEO says consoles will F2P or die
Never one to mince words, Nexon America CEO Daniel Kim stated that the traditional game console's days are numbered -- if it doesn't adapt to the market. "Console developers are starting to realize that as well, that unless they make accommodations or think about changing their own business model they're going to quickly go the way of the dinosaurs," he said in a GamesIndustry.biz interview. Kim predicts that there will be no way for the console market to grow without free-to-play. His perspective comes from Nexon's research in Korea, which indicates that market developments have shifted players away from the old way of doing things on consoles. He also said that F2P puts the onus on the developers to "earn the business" of players instead of taking their money up front and running. "It's really hard to beat free-to-play as an offering," Kim said. "I know it's tough for [console developers] to just cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to say 'OK, we're going to go free-to-play and make our bed here,' because that's going to piss off a lot of people who they already have an existing business relationship with."
Casual gaming girl power; overall boys rule console market
Solid information is starting to trickle in about what actually comprises the gamer demographic. Companies are starting to ask who is actually playing their games instead of just assuming it's 16-year-old Timmy Smith living in some square state with his mom and dad, sibling, dog and house with a white picket fence -- and yes, that's who marketing companies still think they're pandering to. According to the ESA 70 percent of gamers are over 18 and 62 percent are male; however, a study commissioned by PopCap Games found that 76 percent of casual gamers are female.The demographics have been shifting dramatically as the Atari generation, who grew up with video games, has children and begins raising a more gaming friendly generation. The console market continues to be 58 percent male, but all things considered, that isn't too large of a gap. Most cross demographic hits like The Sims and World of Warcraft are found on the PC and many people casually game when they're at work anyway. Maybe the answer is as simple as when the husband and wife are at home, wife doesn't want to sit and watch husband play Gears of War so she goes to the PC and games whether that be a casual game or, um, non casual. The demographic information is still nebulous at the moment, but at least we're starting to get a real picture of demographics in the industry.
