HOLLYWOOD, Calif.-Casual gaming will become a first tier of entertainment thanks to innovative thinking by entrepreneurs and barriers lowered by technology, John Welch, president and CEO of Playfirst, said in his opening keynote address at the Games and Mobile Forum, part of the LA Games Conference 2007.
“We actually think that we’re driving gaming to its true possibilities,” he boasted.
Casual gaming represents “way more than half of what people are doing online,” he said. “Most people in the universe don’t want that big, fully rendered gaming universe.”
Welch predicted 2007 will be the year games become more social and interactive for the end user.
Cellphones represent one of the most prevalent platforms available to the interactive gaming system he envisions, but Welch didn’t provide many details on what role the mobile environment might play in the industry’s progression. Much of the market will be centered on a fully connected living room experience, Welch offered.
Inviting friends to the basement
One impediment to social gaming is many players’ inability to communicate with other users-something that everyone enjoys on their mobile phones. “The platform matters,” Welch said.
Among the reasons social media hasn’t taken off on mobile yet is the closed system of wireless carriers, William Wohnoutka, VP at Level 3 Communications, said in a panel on social media’s role in gaming.
“Games are no longer a closed system,” said Karl Long, Web/social media integration manager at Nokia Corp.’s N-Gage Group.
“I think games have always been a mechanism to sort of connect with other people,” he said. “I think social media has basically empowered people to create, to be creative . on a global scale.”
User-generated communities
User-generated content is a perfect example of building community and endorsing creative expression, according to the panel.
“I think user-generated content builds community,” said Howard Marks, CEO of Acclaim. “We’re very early in the cycle.”
The power of user-generated content is that it’s “authentic and easy to participate in,” Long said. “You’re actually helping people be creative and express themselves.”
While there is much interest in the monetization of social media and gaming, marketing and advertising initiatives inevitably will come second to innovative community development, Marks added.
“These young players are so adamant and active about playing a virtual life, and they’re willing to pay,” he said. “In our world, it’s the community that rules.” Whoever builds the best community will prevail, he added.
“It’s not just about game play, it’s about self expression,” said Matt Palmer, EVP and GM of Stardoll.com.
“Social media sites derive value from users,” Long said.
Welch echoed that sentiment in his keynote. “When you have innovation, the best solutions rise to the top,” he said.
Gaming for the masses
“Casual games outnumber core games, casual gamers outnumber core gamers,” Welch said. “Casual is a terrible word, it really means mass -market gaming.”
Gaming is the earliest form of interactive entertainment, he said. “Through the ages, the only thing you could do with your television set was play games,” which led to the rise of a “console-only approach,” he said.
The gaming industry, which has ridden a wave of success on the console ecosystem for the past 30 years, won’t face its greatest challenge from the personal computer, Welch said.
He believes the major entertainment and communications companies are already eyeing a future where a wholly interactive system becomes available to the end user on readily available platforms like cable boxes.
Companies who put entertainment systems in living rooms for free will drive “99.99% of the gaming market,” he said.
“It’s not about the games, it’s about bringing movies to your living room, it’s about bringing music to your living room,” Welch said. “For the mass market to enjoy gaming it’s got to be cheap, it’s got to be simple.”
