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Game Developers Conference 2006 - Day 2 Report
Today was definitely a lot more interesting than yesterday as more people were starting to file into the show and the place was starting to "get busy". More people were attending the conference today ... a lot more ... but still the overall attendance was a drop in the bucket compared to the masses who are expected to show up tomorrow when the "real" show begins. Since the last two years was a mad sea of people I can only imagine what will be in store for me. Oh well, onto the show!
I spent most of my time attending the "Casual Games Summit 2006" which has been a mainstay of GDC for the last couple of years and is one of the more exciting tutorials since this market is currently experiencing such explosive growth (one such example, the huge success of Xbox Live Arcade). I particularly enjoy the structure of the summit with each speaker only given around ten minutes to present their information to the audience. The result is a machinegun fire of information from a wide range of presenters.
Although many of the presentations were extremely informative I thought that the presentation given by Greg Canessa, GM of Xbox Live Arcade, was the most revealing. According to Greg, Xbox Live Arcade to date has seen 3 million downloads, a 20% average conversion rate across all titles, and 60% of connected Xbox 360 customers download Arcade titles. These are some really impressive numbers; just to give you some perspective the average conversion rate for PC casual game titles is around 1% or less. On average for every 100-1000 people who download and try a casual game only 1-2 people will actually buy the game. So a 20% conversion rate is quite an eye-opener and a testament to the future of "casual" gaming on future console systems.
Also, in case you were interested, the top performing titles for Xbox Live Arcade have been Geometry Wars, Marble Blast Ultra, Gauntlet, Smash TV, and Zuma. Didn't expect Marble Blast Ultra to be ranked number two, but I don't think Geometry Wars surprised anyone.
The remaining presentations focused on various trends found within the casual gaming market today: Increasingly complex "casual" games, a continuously growing and expanding market, and steady public awareness of the casual game market. But perhaps the most telling line was uttered by Dan Neel from WildTangent when he said "Today's hardcore gamer is tomorrow's casual gamer". Dan went on to explain as the hardcore gamer becomes gets older and takes on more responsibilities they will have to turn to casual gaming as they simply won't have the time to play games 20+ hours per week. Enjoy playing World of Warcraft and Oblivion while you still have the time you hardcore gamer you!
Otherwise today was pretty similar to yesterday; very interesting if you like attending game tutorial sessions (which I do!) but pretty boring in terms of announcements. However, tomorrow the "main" conference begins and the news and information will be fast a furious. I also have my breakfast with Peter Moore, Chris Satchell, and Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb tomorrow morning, as well as several additional meetings. So expect a very tired Steve to present you with a recap of the day's events.
interesting stuff... I was going to ask how MS got the numbers but then i realized that they know who down-loaded the demo off of live, then they can also see who's playing what, when and how often, so they then look at the people who got the demo and see who is playing the full game. But those numbers could be skewed because some of them probally rented it, or even had a buddy bring over their copy of the game. It's still probally more then 1%, maybe like 17%?
MS was smart on how they did live. They can get so much information on peoples playing habits, and they could probably use that info at sell it to developers and publishers or maybe do a subscription thing and provide numbers like the Neilson Ratings. That's Easy money right there.
It screams of big brother, but the thing that gets me the most is that it's all voluntary. Live or GPS, they're all watching us and we want it, like it and we want more of it... Oh well it's late, i'm going to hug my 360 and play oblivion before i go to bed
Posted by ilikesanta at March 22, 2006 3:41 AMI just notice something Steve, 1% of 1000 is 10. I know you're probally tired and need to go to bed for a big day on Wednesday i just got to give you a hard time. sorry I'm a numbers nerd i'll go play with my calculator :p
Posted by ilikesanta at March 22, 2006 3:47 AM"Today's hardcore gamer is tomorrow's casual gamer"
That is the true, when I was a teenager I had hours to devote to gaming. (I even played elite for 36 hours straight without falling down dead ;) when it frist came out) However now I have a children gaming is something I grab in small chunks to relax. An arcade game that I can be playing within 25 seconds of hitting the on button on my 360, and that I can 'save' at any point is a great thing to me, I can get my gaming fix but it doesn't interupt my family life.
GW:RE doesn't have a save I suppose but for me the game is only around 5 mins tops :) perhaps when my children have grown up it will come full circle and I will have time for a MMRPG but at the moment playing some great short arcade games is great, and if my kids walk in on me playing them I am not beating someone to death with a metal pipe (Condemed) so I can actualy share the experiance with them :)
Posted by DM2 at March 22, 2006 4:54 AMSince I'm single I'm still a hardcore gamer. Though I don't enjoy games as much as I used to nowadays -.-
Posted by FoxSpirit at March 22, 2006 11:38 AMTell Will Wright that the Simmars Music Team Leader (Stamp) Said Hi!
If you hadnt noticed, I'm Stamp :P
Posted by Jeff at March 22, 2006 1:41 PMActually, it's more of "Today's hardcore gamer is tomorrow's casual gamer is three days from now's hardcore gamer." Retirees and parents with grownup kids have more time to play video games again.
Posted by RealmRPGer at March 23, 2006 1:36 AMPlease keep your comments relevant to this entry: inappropriate or purely promotional comments may be removed. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.