Casual is key to surviving credit crunch

The piece reads: “Gamers are so cocky. As the rest of the world crumbles around them, they sit on their comfy sofas, controllers in hand, looking smug. After all, it appears that the only market continuing to rise is theirs.

“This year should be different, but it's not. Games sales in the US soared in October and the UK is expected to have its busiest quarter after two flat ones. Analysts in Europe and North America are optimistic about the games industry's performance this holiday season. So why isn't the games industry facing the same problems as everyone else?

“Well, expensive hardware isn't on Santa's list this year; he already delivered. There's a huge increase in the installed console base from last year thanks to the casual gamers' embrace of the Wii and now new and old gamers just need software, not hardware. Much kinder to the pocket.

“And the best piece of advice going around right now is for the major players to diversify into serious and casual gaming. Big money is already flowing in on the casual side: Apple is pimping its devices as superior to other hardware, and console publishers are pouring silly amounts of cash into TV slots for their casual products in an increasingly competitive market.”