Will "dem casuals" ever buy a console again?

A prevailing attitude in this day and age is that the casual ship has sailed. The Wii was a blip. Smartphones will rule the day. Why would they buy a console when they have a smartphone? Etcetera.

But I don't think that's exactly true. I think dem casuals are still a huge, untapped market that is eager to jump back into console gaming. The problem is that the console manufacturers have either ignored them or simply pandered to them with the same ol' games (treating dem casuals as if they're second-rate customers).

As gamers, we have a very complicated framework in our minds that we use to classify games. Such-and-such game is a FPS/RPG hybrid made by such-and-such developer, coming out for such-and-such console, with such-and-such multiplayer capabilities. We obsess over numbers and graphics and comparisons.

Dem casuals? Not so much. Dem casuals think in terms of "features".

Now, when you hear that word - features - maybe you think "Oh! Okay. So you mean like Xbox Kinect and Snap, right? You mean Playstation Now, right? You mean the Wii-U tablet, right?"

WRONG! You're thinking like a gamer, not like dem casuals. Casual gamers think in far broader terms. For instance, some highly-desirable "features" of videogames that casuals seem to like are as follows:

- easy to pick up, with little/no b.s. getting in the way
- convenient to play whenever you want
- easy to socialize while playing this game

It's easy to see how games like Flappy Bird and Angry Birds and Words With Friends and Candy Crush become so popular with dem casuals, even though these games - mechanically - have almost nothing in common. They're not by the same developer, either. That's because dem casuals aren't looking for certain brands or certain mechanics. They're looking for features. They want their games to perform a "job". Words With Friends performs the exact same job as Candy Crush: they're both social, they're both quick to pick up and play, they're both portable and convenient to play when you want. On the same note, notice how many of last-gen's highest-selling games also had those same features listed above.

Wii Sports was very easy to pick up, with very quick load screens, no b.s. cutscenes or introductions, no installation times, no need to "Connect to the Server", no need to log in with your online profile, etc. Wii Sports was certainly a social game as well.

That's the thing. It's not so much that dem casuals have moved on and they'll never buy consoles again. They simply want a console that provides the "Features" (and again, I'm using "features" from their perspective, not the perspective of a hardcore gamer) that they want. The problem is, console manufacturers are not giving them these features.

Under this assumption, it's pretty clear why - for example - the Wii flourished but the Wii-U bombed with dem casuals. They didn't care about the brand name. They cared about the features. To them, Wii-U had way more b.s. than they were willing to deal with, not to mention that the tablet was a crappier version of the iPad they already owned. What "feature" does the Wii-U offer that a tablet does not? None? Exactly. So that's why they continue to crush their candies and flap their birds (or I guess now it's "Swimmy Fish" or something like that) on their tablets instead.

While it is hard to quantify, I think that if a console can recapture that same mindset of the Wii, then we'll have another casual boom in the console market. For instance, now that the Wii has faded away, there's a huge gap in the arena of "local multiplayer". That's another huge feature that dem casuals enjoy but most games do not offer a compelling local experience. And no, I'm not strictly talking about a game that just so happens to include couch co-op. I'm talking about a game that generates the same sort of buzz and excitement as Wii Sports or Rock Band, the sort of game you're not embarrassed to play with a group of your friends.

You can't have a true Rock Band experience on your smartphone, can you? You don't get the full effect of Wii Sports bowling on your tablet, playing with a room packed full of family and friends, all glued to the TV, do you? Of course not! And that's my point. Consoles need to re-think about how they can offer these sort of features to the casual audience in order to entice them back into the market.

Nintendo has recently talked about returning to their "Quality of Life" line of games, and I think that is brilliant, not just for Nintendo's sake but for the game industry as a whole. Let's get dem casuals back on consoles instead of letting the smartphone market swallow them whole. The way to get casuals into gaming isn't to add a controller attachment to their iPad or to put Call of Duty clones on their smartphones. NO! The way to get them into gaming is to offer the sort of games they like on consoles.

And see, that's the thing. Casuals are labelled as these really fickle, annoying, picky gamers who run from one thing to another, but that really isn't the case. Heck, casuals bought Wii Sports for $250. Let that sink in. Us gamers? We might buy a console at launch but we often buy a few games with our console, too. Casuals spent $250 to get one game: Wii Sports. Right now, a lot of casuals are shelling out simply to get Minecraft on their TV, so they're buying 360s and only playing Minecraft. Dem casuals will obviously shell out the cash if they see something they like. The issue is providing it to them.

I'm not saying I want the game industry to "go casual". I like my beefier games. However, variety is good and a big gaming market is good, too. Instead of writing off "dem casuals" as a lost cause that will never buy consoles again, perhaps console manufacturers could take a look at what got that audience to buy consoles in the first place.

[maniacmayhem]

I think the majority of casuals are more than likely not going to buy a console. They're just not gamers, they are casual gamers and more than likely will only game to pass the time. Hence why they are mainly on mobile/tablet type of games.

This is why mobile gaming is so popular. The mobile device is such an integral part of their lives. It's pretty much their whole life.

The Wii, imo, was a fluke. A passing fad that had a great gimmick. Nintendo bombarded ads of twenty yo hipsters of all races playing together in a inner city loft having a great platonic good time. Casuals ate that up, but once that wore out they dropped it and went back to tablets.

Games like Rockband, Guitar Hero or even Lips might be able to bring back some casuals but I doubt we will ever see the mass numbers like we saw with the Wii.

Nintendo needs to focus on bringing back gamers to their console. Because they lost them and the casuals too.

[dedicatedtogamers]

I guess this is how I look at it: casuals bought a console for one game for $250. And casuals currently spend quite a lot more money on a tablet or a smartphone to play Candy Crush.

I think the market is there.

Casuals are currently enthralled with smartphones, but I don't see why they wouldn't jump back into a console. Dem casuals have purchased consoles in the past, haven't they? Don't people say PS2 sold so well because of the DVD player?

[maniacmayhem]

Yes, the PS2 had a huge advantage over the Dreamcast because of it's DVD playback. But I don't think it was the casuals that made the PS2 a success.

I believe the momentum of the PS1 and there not being any other option of a gaming system on the market at that time. Dreamcast didn't have the third party support but had the games, N64 was outdated and didn't have the games the Dreamcast and PS2 had. Not to mention the huge selection of games the PS2 had played more to it's success.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Hmm, I think that's a fair point, though I wouldn't go as far to say that "there [wasn't] any other option of a gaming system on the market at that time".

You've stated above that you believe the Wii was a fluke. I disagree, but I think we both could give a lot of facts to back up our opinion on that, so no reason to get into that discussion.

Instead, let me ask you this: do you think the Wii was an *unrepeatable* fluke? I mean, in my eyes, I see "flukes" all the time become huge hits. Candy Crush, Words With Friends...heck, pretty much any major smartphone game comes across as a "fluke" to me, especially since the dev rarely strikes gold twice. If we're still seeing "flukes", don't you think we could have a console "fluke" attract the casual audience again?

[Lukejrl]

when the wii came out in 2006 cell phones did not have the games they had today. Iphone changed all that. But it gave casuals gamers that glimpse for 3 years when the iphone became global and more affordable.

So no, the casuals have moved on, not simply become more enthralled.
If casuals were to be brought back, it would need to incorporate their phone, because half of them can't put it down to watch a movie anyway.

Secondly Playstation Now will be playable on Smart phones, giving casuals a glimpse of powerful gaming and they can invest later in a system. I think that is an answer.

[maniacmayhem]

"do you think the Wii was an *unrepeatable* fluke?"

In my honest opinion I do think the Wii is an unrepeatable fluke. The attraction of the motion controller has worn off and that fad has passed indefinitely.

"don't you think we could have a console "fluke" attract the casual audience again?"

Anything is possible, I definitely won't be so bold and say it will never happen again. But I highly doubt it with both new systems at $400/500 dollars.
Another reason for the Wii's success was the very low price of $250. Now I know some will say tablets and smartphones cost 400 and upward. But smartphones/tablets have more practical uses for the common person than a dedicated gaming console.

[jessupj]

I'm a little scared right now. For once I agree whole hearted with everything you said, maniac.

They really don't care about gaming at all. They're only looking to find something to pass the time.

[ground_beef]

Dude finally, !!!!!!! At last someone on this site agrees with me on the Wii being a fad

See whenever I criticize Nintendo, (don't get me wrong I love nin to death, I grew up on it, that's why my critique of nin is a bit harsh, cause I am disappointed after all the love I had for it, I feel cheated) people always come up with the ancient nonsensical argument about sales, and how the Wii sold a trillion billion gazillion units. I always reply by saying it's not wholly about sales, not only that but the Wii is a one hit wonder. A great example would be music, will smith as a rapper made more sales than nas and wutang clan. WILL SMITH AS A RAPPER that is, does that mean will smith is a better rapper than 2 of the greates mc's to ever grace earth. Will smith was just a fad as a rapper. And so are many things. One hit wonders happen all the time. The Wii was clearly a fad, a one hit wonder, that's it really.

Nintendo has been irrelevant since the last years of the n64. I mean iwata just said that ninty are not marketing kids more!!!! Iwata still thinks that gaming is for kids, I don't blame him though as this was the norm in the 80's thru to the 90's. At that time gaming was for little kids, we didn't have any commercially successful mature games back then. The idea of blood in games was unheard of, let alone sexual encounters and mature story lines like spec ops or TLOU. Actually story lines in games were unheard of. Contra didn't have any story to it. Just a few sentences of text.

Now times have changed, the biggest money making games out there are all rated mature, titles like GTA, cod, god of war, halo, mass effect. Now, it's very evident that mature games are the ones that make money, if anything ninty should ABANDON marketing for kids. The real problem though is iwata, of course he's a legend, he's one of the fathers of video gaming , and without him we probably wouldn't have video games. But he just has to go, he's getting old and stubborn, and it's evident in his ideas. No player stays in the game forever, there comes a time when u have to pass down the torch and quit.

Am sure I am still gonna get the typical Wii sold more than bread comment, but I already stated my opinion. I really wish Nintendo would be the best again, as it is an old love affair.

[tigertron]

The casuals will buy whatever is in fashion and the good thing is the PS4 - which is a traditional console has generated significant hype, so I'm confident that the PS4 and perhaps even the XB1 can claw back lost ground from smartphones.

[intellegent]

Casuals are still on consoles, that's why COD is still selling so well.

[e-p-ayeaH]

There´s alot of casuals on PC in case you havent noticed.

[PS3Freak]

I wouldn't really classify the people who play only COD and sports games as casuals. They are in their own sort of group and will probably never buy anything that isn't a shooter or a sports game.

[CourierSix]

Can someone actually tell me the definition of a "casual" is? And a "gamer" for that matter? I really don't know...

[Lukejrl]

A casual gamer sees a friend playing a couple of cool games, maybe a interesting game advertised, and wants to join in. These games can be a simple a la wii sports/tablet games or more intensive like Call of Duty.

The casual gamer doesn't care about game culture. They are often not out to find anything interesting besides the obvious. Games like Beyond 2 Souls would not appeal to a casual gamer as easily because they see gaming as just another entertainment medium.

A true gamer sees gaming more than just the pixels on the screen. They are able to see the sense of the game and look to the themes, styles, mechanics. This isn't to say that a casual can not see these things, but to interest them is harder as it is not their particular hobby. They dismiss games often because there is no immediate gratification. Some comment that a game is too hard to learn the controls, or the cutscenes were too long. maybe it was just too slow starting, so because they lack conviction they may just stop playing that game. And not to say a more hardcore gamer wouldn't do so either, but in my experience a person who loves games tries to tough it out.

I can compare it this way: One person loves off road driving in a dirt bike or four wheeler. He buys all the magazines and tinkers with his vehicle's engine. He plans trips to go driving that can last days. The real off roader is that guy. the casual is the guy that bought the brand new Kawasaki or honda top of the line just so he could go join his friend once in awhile, or use it to haul a little trailer full of wood or dirt around the yard. Both still have a off road vehicle, but who's interest is actually in off road culture?

people have different tastes. that is fine. Every entertainment medium has different sub cultures. "Casual" is an adjective that describes the peoples nonchalance, maybe even apathy, to an industry as a whole. Their just along for a ride and will move on to the next one.

That is just my thoughts

[CourierSix]

Well said and thanks! That clear a lot up for me. I only have one more question, is there a medium between a 'casual' and a 'gamer'? In your opinion.

[Lukejrl]

Certainly. I feel that medium usually is found among genres. Some gamers go crazy for RPGs or shooters. I myself try everything.

The only games I don't play don't have a story, but there are exceptions to games like metroid or mario kart for giggles..I still try stuff and I know what is going on in the industry, but to me racing games are pointless. Any game that can go on forever can just become a waste of time. Mmorpgs can become a second job. But if people play only those games and only care about world of Warcraft or final fantasy xiv then all the power too them. That genre makes them care about gaming in some way.

A gamer is a gamer. What they play, or how much the play isn't the issue however. What is the issue is how they feel about the games industry is. So if they do not have a passion for any particular genre then they are likely not really worried about games as a whole and are far more casual.

[CourierSix]

Cool. Thanks greatly:)