INTERVIEW: EA's Russell Arons on the Casual Entertainment revolution

At a recent software showcase in London, UK, EA fleshed out its Casual Enteratinment line-up for the rest of the year, with games like Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox, new kids IP Zubo, the next Harry Potter game, EA Mobile and Pogo.com offerings plus new games based on Hasbro properties all on display.

In the games industry, to have built such a detailed portfolio of new games would usually have required a good year or two of work - but EA's Casual Entertainment label didn't even exist a year ago.

EA's new focus on casual games began in April 2007 when returning CEO John Riccitiello told fellow execs that they needed to do more in the casual space. Of course, with its long history running the Harry Potter game franchise and having ownership of Pogo.com since 2001, EA was already in the casual games business. But the appointment of former Activision boss Kathy Vrabeck in June 2007 and a subsequent restructure, turning Electronic Arts into a company with four distinct labels - EA Sports, EA Games, Casual Entertainment and The Sims - formalised the move. A month later in August 2007. EA had a partnership in place with Hasbro - proving how serious it was taking the move.

"That we're here just months later showing off our first Hasbro games shows how quickly we can move, " says Arons, who says EA's taking a much faster and aggressive attitude towards getting its casual games play right than could be expected of its rivals. And that's right down to a personnel level.

"What we're trying to build up is an expertise in consumer audiences, not necessarily detailed knowledge of game development or the game industry - because really our focus is broader that that. So we're bringing new expertise in."

So a number of EA Casual Entertainment's key execs and producers come from toy industry giants like Hasbro to inform its new strategy towards. Arons herself previously worked for Mattel and ran the Barbie brand.

It's an interesting change in attitude on EA's part. Just a few years ago the games industry was keen to separate itself from the accusation that its products are toys, while the toy industry wasn't really happy with the games industry stealing its audience.

Arons says that EA now has its eye on looking at where the audiences for games and toys overlap, and where new non-gamer audiences may be. She points to Boom Blox, a new Wii title developed by EA's Los Angeles studio in collaboration with Steven Spielberg as a prime example of this.

"Something like Boom Blox operates on multiple levels - it's a kids game, and is bright and fun and easy to play. Then there's the more complex strategy elements that we think older players would enjoy - and there's also the editor and level creator.

"It's not just a toy - it's more complex than that," she says, and then - unknowingly paving the foundation for a new entry in our Casual Games Glossary - says: "It's what I call 'toyetic'."

In building new games for the EA Casual Entertainment label, Aarons adds, the priority is to focus on making sure the appeal is there amongst specific audiences - a stark difference from the broader marketing campaigns you might find implemented by the likes of sister label EA Games when it comes to the likes of FIFA or Need For Speed.

"Previously when EA has done early launches into casual games we've said 'oh, these games are for everyone'," she says. "But for something like Boom Blox we're clear that the primary target market is eight to 12 years old, and we're not even really approaching the gamer press.

"Then there are games like Littlest Pet Shop, which is for girls aged five to eight. That's scary to people in the gaming world who think that if you go too tight you'll miss an opportunity. But that focus is correct - it's so you can really get down to what appeals to the consumers."

She adds: "We have to cast a broader net because these aren't the people reading the specialist press or going online to find out details about games."

And Boom Blox is just one game that ties in with the overall new mood to casual and mass-market titles being produced by Electronic Arts which chase a wider number of consumers - something Arons says is being encouraged by retailers.

"The Argoses and Woolworths of the world recognise that there is a lot of money to be made in casual games - but you can't hide them at the back of a store. Put it up front and make it something that Mum can find quite easily - make it accessible. Grocery stores are becoming more and more a prevalent place for gaming - which would never have happened with core gamers."

The move is also being encouraged within EA by its vast development workforce. Since the company formally established the label last year, Arons says a number of the developers at various EA studios have been asking to move onto casual projects which closer reflect their families' play habits or their interests as they get older. "They're drawn in by the idea of shorter development cycles, as well, which means a developer has the chance to work on more projects in their career."

But the surge in attention on casual games from both the marketing/publishing and development sides of EA's business has meant the company has had to reassess some of it working practices.

Explains Arons: "One other key thing for us has been the importance of research - the developers aren't eight year old girls, they are grown men and women, so when it comes to making a game like the Littlest Pet Shop it's outside of their comfort zone. So on that game we're doing a lot of focus group work with a group of around 100 girls, showing them the games every few months and get their feedback. We're doing this all the way through the process - right through to the marketing, to make sure that consumers really understand it, and that we're not misleading or confusing people."

Ultimately, she says, "consumer insights have a much bigger role in casual" than they do in other games fields.

"One of our approaches is to focus on the 'who' to make the right 'what'. We're not just making the game and then figuring out who might like to play it. We're working out who the market it is, then building a game for them, and asking what they are interested in: do they want competitive games or social games? Or a mix of both?

"The developers in the casual entertainment label are far more receptive to this approach - which is very different to how things have been done before."

"It's a whole new approach," she says, adding: "And you have to invest in it." That includes investing in new intellectual properties. Although the casual games space is dominated by familiar genres and play mechanics, Arons points out that EA wants to create viable new franchises in the space, hence the introduction of both Boom Blox and Zubo this year.

Part of the core games industry's change in attitudes towards casual games comes, of course, from the post-Wii and DS 'Nintendo effect'. Arons argues that EA's change is driven by its internal successes, however.

"Nintendo has done some tremendous work and we of course watch closely what they have done - but I'm actually more interested in watching and following what The Sims has done," she says. The Sims franchise has sold over 100 million units worldwide and has a huge female audience - which in those terms makes it a huge casual success.

Adds Arons: "They figured out how to take an original IP - and not even a game, in many respects, at least in the classic sense - and created something that consumers are really excited by."

One of the key lessons the Casual division will take from sister label The Sims, says Arons, is "finding the right kind of look when it comes to making games that appeal to children and non-traditional audiences.

"Styling is a big deal," she adds, pointing out that the Casual Entertainment designers are fast learning the rule that you don't need to the cutting edge realistic graphics demanded by the core games industry to compete.

There are other contrasts between core and casual that EA is anticipating, explains Arons.

"Very different to core games is that we anticipate a long tail for the sale of these games when they are on the market. Certainly the kids casual games follow more of the seasonality of the toy business, peaking around Easter and then bigger at Christmas. But we'll have games that sell year-round. Littlest Pet Shop I can see girls getting into it and enjoying it over an over again. Games that really resonate with the consumer really have a lifespan.

"Boom Blox is an interesting launch for us like that. It's out on May 8th, and we're planning to support it with plenty of TV ads, but we'll also be supporting it for the rest of the year. It's not your traditional 'fire and forget' game launch - we aren't going to walk away from it after it's out there."

Ultimately, the aim of EA Casual Entertainment is to "ride the wave of new consumers coming into the games market" driven by the hype and excitement of everything from The Sims to the Nintendo Wii, and then keep them playing games – using its expertise and relationships with the likes of Hasbro.

Explains Arons: "The real vision and opportunity for EA casual is that, because we have three very powerful businesses - EA Mobile, Pogo.com and the boxed products, we will be able to link them together with power brands like Monopoly."