Arcade Game Central

Matt Slagle of The Associated Press (Poll: 4 in 10 Play Electronic Games and A Closer Look at Gaming Trends) reports on the results of a recent AP-AOL Games poll, “40 percent of American adults play games on a computer or a console. Casual games like board or card games were the most popular, followed by strategy games, action sports, adventure, first-person shooters and simulations, the poll found. Casual, strategy and role-playing games were most popular among online gamers.”

The poll also found that 41% of all gamers play at least 3-4 hours a week, including 10% who play at least 10 hours a week. Another interesting finding was that more men than women (45% vs. 35%) play computer or video games, and that males are more likely to play computer or video games with other people, while women are more likely to prefer to play games by themselves.

FUN Technologies, one of the world’s leading online casual gaming providers, has announced that it is partnering with GSN, “the Network for Games,” the entertainment industry’s leading producer of interactive television, to televise the first annual million dollar Worldwide Web Games™ championship, formerly known as the Skill Games World Championship™.

The GSN/FUN Technologies collaboration brings millions of casual games players worldwide an unprecedented platform for interactive entertainment. Hosted by SkillJam and WorldWinner, both subsidiaries of FUN Technologies, the Worldwide Web Games will bring some of the world’s top casual gamers to the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood for the finals on Saturday, September 9.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring our TV audience the first-ever Worldwide Web Games,” said Rich Cronin, president and CEO, GSN. “We are always looking for ground-floor programming opportunities and are excited to be able to present this new realm of competition to our viewers who love playing casual games online at GSN.com.”

The qualifying competitions are already underway at GSN, SkillJam, WorldWinner, and other top online games sites. Players from around the world qualify for the championship by competing in any of three of the most popular skill-based games: Bejeweled 2, Solitaire or Zuma. The high-scorer in each online competition will be flown to Los Angeles to compete in the live semifinal and final round tournaments. The best all-around player will be crowned “World’s Best Casual Gamer” and be awarded the $1 million grand prize.

Of the estimated 70 to 100 million people worldwide who play casual games, two-thirds are women, more than half between the ages of 25 and 54. “The million-dollar grand prize brings a new level of awareness to the millions of people playing casual games,” said Lorne Abony, CEO of FUN Technologies. “Through our partnership with GSN and AOL, we’re giving our players the opportunity to transcend their current game play experience and enter a whole new level of entertainment.”

Learn more about the Worldwide Web Games
Compete at SkillJam
Compete at WorldWinner

A company called TVHead has announced a premier games-on-demand TV network, bringing high-quality casual games to broad television audiences.

The TVHead Games-On-Demand Network (TVHead) seamlessly integrates into existing VOD (Video-on-Demand) infrastructure providing a uniform high-quality game experience to 100% of VOD-enabled households.

“TVHead was created to enable cable and IPTV operators to become a major force in the games industry. By offering a rich gaming experience to all of their subscribers today — not just the small percentage with high-end set-top boxes — TVHead allows operators to monetize gamers directly, and keep them in front of their televisions,” said Sangita Verma, the company’s CEO and Founder.

With new and updated games added daily, TVHead will showcase a multitude of genres, including puzzle, arcade, card games, word, trivia, sports, and kids games that appeal to everyone in the family. The unrivalled programming lineup features blockbuster brands and classic favorites, including Space Invaders®, Bejeweled®, Diner Dash®, Zuma®, Texas Hold’Em, Solitaire, Backgammon, and many more.

TVHead will create a rich casual gamer community, including high-score leader boards and system-wide multiplayer that allows players to compete with others throughout the country from the comfort of their living rooms. In addition, players may use internet and wireless devices to check their stats, taunt their opponents and compete for high-score bragging rights.

No specifics on exactly when and where TVHead will be available …

Mystery Case Files: Huntsville has sold over $1 million worth of digitally distributed copies in under three months, according to Big Fish Studios, developers of the game, and is poised to double its current sales in the next three to six months, as it is still the number one best seller on most of the top casual game portals.

Mystery Case Files: Huntsville is a unique episodic detective puzzle game with noir themed setting, stunning artwork, and unique game play progression. The game is addictive, but not stressful, simple to understand, but deep enough to keep playing for months. “The game was conceived to be episodic with an over-arching mystery that transcends a single episode in the same manner as the hit TV series ‘24,’ ‘Lost,’ or the 90s classic ‘X-Files,’” said Patrick Wylie, Vice President of Big Fish Studios. “Things should really heat up when customers realize this is more than a one-episode game when we release Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects next month.”

“The success of Mystery Case Files really took me by surprise,” said Adrian Woods, Lead Developer for the Mystery Case Files games. “I was hoping it would have legs so I could continue the adventure. With its runaway success, we now have an incredible opportunity to focus on making the next episode, Prime Suspects, even more exciting with greater depth and some great new features and plot twists.”

Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects is due for release in mid-April.

An article at GameDaily (Are Big Budget Console Games Sustainable?) discusses the economics of developing new games for next-generation (PS3, Xbox360) consoles, predicting that total costs will rise to $25 million per title, compared to current costs of about $14 million. At that level, a title will need to sell more than 1 million units in order to break even (at the typical $50 consumer price point).

Third party publishers, led by EA and Activision, have signaled their intention to charge $10 more for next-generation software, believing that many gamers are not price sensitive. However, there is also a fear that this new price point will cause many less-hardcore gamers to simply keep their old consoles and not upgrade to the new boxes.

The rise of the video game industry has lead to frequent comparisions to the movie industry, and the rising production costs will only accellerate this trend. The article predicts that larger game budgets will lead publishers to play it safe by not risking their development time and money on new gaming concepts, causing the video game industry to become even more like the movie industry, where sequels, and high-concept, generic star vehicles featuring famous names are the rule.

The advent of clones is hardly news in the casual game market, of course, but the cause may be different. In films and video games, high production costs yield copycats. In casual games, copycats exist for just the opposite reason - development costs are so low, and clone games can be produced so quickly. It’s not about risk mitigation so much as about cashing in on a popular idea.

Of course, as production values rise, budgets for casual games will likely rise as well, and eventually these costs may be passed along to consumers. There has been some discussion of changing the common $19.95 price point for casual games (Casual Game Price Elasticity, Casual Game Price Points and Conversion), but this does not appear likely to change in the near future.