hen I wrote last month about my office's Wii Sports tournament, the rise of a new casual gaming demographic was immediately visible (literally). The potential effects on the industry's software and hardware offerings, however, were less so. Within a framework of economic thought, my take was that there is a net growth in a new type of demand that will not detract from gaming's traditional supply to its core audience.
This week's E3 Media and Business Summit was host to presentations and press conferences from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo that in my view makes for very encouraging news for all gamers. All three corporations have acknowledged and are uniquely reacting to Nintendo's Technological Reminder — that human interface rules — while remaining mindful of core gamers' economic clout.
Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are all uniquely reacting to Nintendo's technological reminder.The New York Times on Tuesday reported that Microsoft's new initiative, "to help the company's Xbox 360 console appeal to the mainstream" is buttressed by a new Xbox 360 interface "that incorporates humanlike avatars representing each player." That reminds Mii of something, but I can't quite place my finger on it. Microsoft's Marc Whitten, Gizmodo noted, argued that humans are "actually good at discerning things visually" and thus, Xbox's new dashboard is a "better way of exploring." Gizmodo reviewed the new experience favorably and noted that this new dashboard will be easier for Microsoft's development team to update with new content.
While the company also debuted new titles aimed at the casual demographic, the New York Times's Schiesel wrote: "But a video game business cannot survive on family-friendly fare alone. . . .Microsoft offered a well-received look at the post-apocalyptic role-playing Fallout 3 and Gears of War 2." Microsoft appears to be updating its form while remaining true to its function.
At Sony's keynote, Jack Tretton touted the PlayStation 3's hardware prowess as Engadget reported: "If we stopped to ask consumers if they needed all this horsepower, they may have said no." He recalls Henry Ford's quote, "If I asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse. Games like [Metal Gear Solid 4] aren't just exclusive to the PlayStation 3, they're only possible on the PlayStation 3." Tretton played up Sony's powerful function as a platform for unique titles and an overhauled, simpler user experience on the PlayStation Network.
Separately, in a sit-down with Kotaku, Engadget, and Gizmodo, Tretton acknowledged that the PS3 was originally developed with disconnected form and function; the hardware developers created the functioning console without collaborating with software developers. The traditionally hardware-focused Sony has seen the error of its ways and is looking to reconnect software and hardware.
Nintendo's event began with, as Gizmodo bloggers recorded, "another montage with 'regular people' playing Nintendo games" and then debuted a snowboarding game alongside Shaun White that "looks very easy for casual players, as you'd expect." Nintendo's Satoru Iwata then came on stage and emphasized a new gaming paradigm: compelling software (that is to say, form) that sells for a long time even in the absence of richer graphics or new content. Nintendo recognizes that some gamers look for new technology and experiences but that a new, casual set of gamers may not. Iwata stated that "the marketplace had expanded," highlighted by the proportion of female Nintendo DS gamers, which has risen from 30 to 48% from 2005 through 2007.
Still, developers cannot abandon the "traditional" consumers who spend the most dollars per capita on new offerings.Iwata's point notwithstanding, the balance of Nintendo's presentation consisted of unveiling new games and hardware, notably among them Wii Sports Resort and a Wiimote add-on, the Wii MotionPlus. Wii Sports Resort was pitched as a "worthy successor" to Wii Sports, and the MotionPlus added functionality to the Wiimote with an extra gyroscope and accelerometer. Translation: the Wiimote with the MotionPlus module can now more accurately place the Wiimote in space and track movement closer to a 1:1 basis. No longer can you just snap your wrist for a killer tennis forehand, fellow gamers; Nintendo is adding function to its attractive form.
These three corporations' presentations and press conferences are encouraging to gamers, I believe, because they indicate a few economic realities that have been recognized. First, there has been a paradigm shift in the gaming industry's demand complex with the advent a more widespread casual gaming demographic. Second, these developers cannot abandon their core, "traditional" consumers. Which set of gamers will be spending the most dollars per capita on new offerings? Finally, in an effort to strike a balance between intuitive form that attracts the casual set and technological function that ensnares the hardcore set, there will be a large amount of mutually beneficial cross-pollination for future titles and consoles. This is good news for a gamer who would relish the opportunity to get immersed in an epic first-person-shooter title while literally pointing and pulling a trigger. I think there are a lot of us.
