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An analysis of recent gameplay trends, with some specific ideas around better ways to segment then the "casual vs. hardcore" false-dichotomy.
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Broadening Demographics of Online GamersJon Radoff, CEO, GamerDNASeattle, LOGIN 2009 – May 14, 2009
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Agenda
What is changingabout players?
What is anonline game?
Are there betterways to
Segment audiences?
Casual vs.Hardcore?
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historyquizzes
stories
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Gamer Stereotypes of the past…
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Games are not a media category.
Games are played by everyone!
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OF TEENAGERSPLAY GAMES97%
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Couplesplay
games
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Familiesplay
games
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People of all ages
play games
MenHalo 3
Gears of War
Call of Duty 4
Hexic HD
GTA IV
UNO
Gears of War 2
Oblivion
Crackdown
Assassin's Creed
Geometry Wars Evolved
Guitar Hero III
Rainbow Six Vegas
Texas Hold'em
BioShock
WomenHalo 3
Hexic HD
UNO
Gears of War
Call of Duty 4
Viva Pinata
Guitar Hero III
Rock Band
GTA IV
Oblivion
Fable II
Gears of War 2
Guitar Hero II
Texas Hold'em
Geometry Wars Evolved
Top 15 Xbox Live Games Played by Gender
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Casual gamesvs.
(Hard)core games
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Casual gamesvs.
(Hard)core games(AKA, The Most Stupid Dichotomy Ever Created in the Game Industry)
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A core game from 1978
A “casual” Flash game from 2009
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What are better ways of categorizing the market?
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What is an online game?
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World of Warcraft
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Madden NFL 09World of Warcraft
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Guitar Hero IIIMadden NFL 09
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Web-based, easy-to-play, collectibleDuels, Warstorm, Planet Storm
Browser based Strategy GameIn May 2009, the Travian website is more popular than the World of Warcraft website (276 vs. 743 on Alexa)
Web-based and iPhone9 million daily active players in 2009
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Social gamers vs. Experience Gamers
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But it isn’t just guilds – games with any social components are more
successful
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Daily Players of Rock Band vs. GH3
Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero 3
Why did Rock Band command high daily attention levels?
Q:
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Grand Theft Auto IVDaily attention from launch day
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Call of Duty IVDaily attention from launch day
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Segmentation based on thematic (rather than
gameplay-type) genres
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Bioshock – What are they also playing?
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Every game has its own distinct segmentation
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“Heroic” Map Pack - 42% Increase
GTA IV Released - 59% Drop
“Legendary” Map Pack – 46% Increase
“Bungie Day” Free Map - 65% Increase Title Update – 95%
Increase
“Mythic” Map Pack – 62% Increase
Concurrent Halo 3 Players
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Halo 3 Audience Segmentation
Initial Market
Genre Loyal
Brand Loyal
Initial Market
Genre Loyal
Brand Loyal
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Competitive Set Analysis
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Top 10 other games played by World of Warcraft Players
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Top 8 Games played by MMO Players
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Conclusions
Larger, more diverse audience than ever
The definition of “online game” has evolved
Don’t get caught in “casual vs. hardcore”
More helpful segmentations: social vs. less social players, thematic tastes, brand-loyal vs. genre-loyal, competitive sets
