[casual_games] Impact of Netbooks on PC Development?

[Stephen Triche]

I think it absolutely will, to some degree.  Specifics (themes, genres,
level of complexity, controls) may differ but I think we're really
seeing two things occur. One is a spread of true "casual" (Wii as
WiiSports/Play) the other is the accelerated growth of a secondary
hardcore market focused on different types of, usually smaller games
(pc/console small downloadable portals). I think we'll see a continued
growth of production values.  The new customers are going to form (have
formed) brand loyalty.  These smaller more accessible games have tapped
into new customers, or old customers that were turned off by the added
complexity the PSX/64/Saturn/3D era brought.  

I don't think it will ever reach the heights of the current hardcore
biz, simply based on what these customers are looking for, but It's
going to go up.


-----Original Message-----
From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org
[mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Hal Barwood
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 2:52 PM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [casual_games] Impact of Netbooks on PC Development?

I worry about the Casual Games biz escalating into the Hard Core biz 
with ever-increasing download size and system requirements.

I also wonder about the common practice of full-screen defaults:  I've 
seen a few games that get stretched horizontally because the engine 
doesn't recognize widescreen displays -- for example, 1280x800 (most 
current laptops) and 1024x600 (the new netbooks).

Providing a windowed option for customers seems like good etiquette, if 
nothing else.
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