From brian-l at dubane.com Thu Jul 3 11:55:42 2008 From: brian-l at dubane.com (Brian Robbins) Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 09:55:42 -0600 Subject: [casual_games] IGDA Casual SIG Steering Committee Nominations now open Message-ID: <7097421f0807030855i75b288e9o2161288f67618d5e@mail.gmail.com> With Casual Connect fast approaching it's time for us to open the nominations for steering committee of the IGDA Casual Games SIG. The Steering Committee is responsible for driving the initiatives and direction of the SIG, and providing leadership in the community. Over the years we have been extremely productive in producing several white papers, numerous quarterlies, creating a digital standard for royalty sharing, and hosting this mailing list. The IGDA Casual Games SIG is run by volunteers, and it is through the time and dedication of those volunteers that we are able to provide these resources to the community. At its core, the SIG is led by a steering committee which makes the final decision on what initiatives to pursue, and then takes the lead in bringing those initiatives to fruition. This decision is based on our perceived needs of the community as well as the resources available to accomplish the goal. We are now soliciting nominations for next year's SIG steering committee. Nominations can be made anytime between now and Sunday July 20, 2008 by e-mailing Brian Robbins at brobbins - at - dubane.com Please let us know who you think should help determine the direction this SIG takes. Nominations should be e-mailed to Brian Robbins (brobbins - at - dubane.com) or submitted publicly via this Discussion List. If you are publicly nominating someone other than yourself, please be sure to check first and make sure he or she is interested. Nominations Should include: * Name * E-mail Address * Company * Title * A couple sentences on why this person should play a role on the steering committee. Please address the traits a nominee should have, e.g. time available, knowledge and experience in one or more areas of the casual game development (please identify: business, market, technology, etc.), and willingness to contribute. Please feel free to nominate yourself. If you do nominate yourself then also include a couple sentences reassuring us that you will be a consistent reliable contributor to the group, especially if you have not volunteered for any of our initiatives to date. Participating on the Steering Committee can be a great way to show your support of the casual game community. It can also be a way to help expand your professional network of industry peers. However, nominees should be aware that steering committee participation requires an increased level of commitment to the SIG and our activities. If selected to the Steering Committee you should be prepared to participate in at least 1 monthly conference call, as well as take a more active role in our initiatives. The current Steering Committee will be meeting at Casual Connect to select next year's committee. Those results will be announced shortly after the show. The current steering committee is: * Cherie Lutz * Charles Merrin * Jared Nieuwenhuis * Brian Robbins (Chair) * Dave Rohrl * Rex Sikora * James C Smith * Wade Tinney * Margaret Wallace It is important to note, that selection to the steering committee is not based on the profile of the company that an individual works for. We seek to select those people who will provide the most to the group by way of volunteering their time, energy and expertise to the community at large. One of the best indicators of this is by participation in previous community and SIG endeavors such as the Casual Games White Paper (http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Whitepaper), the Quarterly (http://www.igda.org/casual/quarterly/), the Data Reporting Initiative, and even the Casual Games Association's various projects. To that end, if you are nominated, or nominate yourself, please be sure to let us know how you have helped out in the past, and what you hope to do in the future. If you have any questions please contact me via this list, or directly at brobbins - at - dubane.com. -- Brian Robbins Executive Producer and Gaming Evangelist Fuel Industries - www.fuelindustries.com Chair, IGDA Casual Games SIG http://www.igda.org/casual/ From austin at pettomato.com Mon Jul 7 21:27:41 2008 From: austin at pettomato.com (Austin Haas) Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 21:27:41 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] in-game advertisers Message-ID: <20080708012741.GA14768@bean.chicago> Which companies provide in-game advertisements for online Flash games and what are their pros/cons and specialities? I know of: MochiAds Pros: Amazing tools, including a swf protection scheme and versioning system. Anyone can sign up. They will provide hosting for the game. Cons: Not a lot of advertisers, currently. Type of ads: Preroll and inter-level. 10 seconds or click through. Animated. No sound. CPMStar Pros: Very lightweight system. Cons: Niche group of advertisers (mostly online RPGs). You can only sign up through one of their authorized partners. Type of ads: Click through. Animated. No sound. I'd also be interested in any other information about the current state or future of in-game advertisments. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com From Damon at deltaechoconsulting.com Tue Jul 8 20:33:22 2008 From: Damon at deltaechoconsulting.com (Damon D'Amore) Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 17:33:22 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] In-Game Advertising Hurdles Message-ID: <001501c8e15b$651ea5c0$6701a8c0@Damon> What are the most common hurdles developers face when dealing with in-game advertisers? I recently worked on two online promotions that featured brand sponsored in-game product integrations and the tech-knowledge and expectations gap between the development team and the brands (managers, their ad agencies, etc) was the biggest hurdle we faced. In planning to work with more in-game advertising I wanted to reach out to the group and see what other challenges I can look expect. Thank you. Damon D'Amore Delta Echo Consulting Damon at DeltaEchoConsulting.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andres at bakno.com Wed Jul 9 04:20:40 2008 From: andres at bakno.com (Andres Martinez) Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 04:20:40 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] In-Game Advertising In-Reply-To: <001501c8e15b$651ea5c0$6701a8c0@Damon> References: <001501c8e15b$651ea5c0$6701a8c0@Damon> Message-ID: <169982EC-BA76-44C2-BC7F-198DBB602677@bakno.com> Hello We are looking for a partner to provide us with in-game advertising. Can someone recommend a company that is not focused on flash games? Regards, Andres Martinez www.baKno.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rvladimiro at vortixgames.com Wed Jul 9 05:43:45 2008 From: rvladimiro at vortixgames.com (Ricardo Vladimiro) Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 10:43:45 +0100 Subject: [casual_games] In-Game Advertising In-Reply-To: <169982EC-BA76-44C2-BC7F-198DBB602677@bakno.com> References: <001501c8e15b$651ea5c0$6701a8c0@Damon> <169982EC-BA76-44C2-BC7F-198DBB602677@bakno.com> Message-ID: <73533EC6F2214205A97FA31D646A6B05@Vlad> Hi, I have this one on my bookmarks, but we have no experience with them. http://www.eb-ingames.com/ ----- Original Message ----- From: Andres Martinez To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 9:20 AM Subject: [casual_games] In-Game Advertising Hello We are looking for a partner to provide us with in-game advertising. Can someone recommend a company that is not focused on flash games? Regards, Andres Martinez www.baKno.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Lennard at RustyAxe.com Wed Jul 9 09:01:25 2008 From: Lennard at RustyAxe.com (Lennard) Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:01:25 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] In-Game Advertising Hurdles In-Reply-To: <001501c8e15b$651ea5c0$6701a8c0@Damon> References: <001501c8e15b$651ea5c0$6701a8c0@Damon> Message-ID: <4874B6A5.5010204@RustyAxe.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jmurray at fuelindustries.com Wed Jul 9 12:47:12 2008 From: jmurray at fuelindustries.com (Jeff Murray) Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 12:47:12 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] In-Game Advertising Hurdles References: <001501c8e15b$651ea5c0$6701a8c0@Damon> Message-ID: <1861F7D138B8034FAAB4BF433EBCAD2401BA4563@EX1.Fuel.Ott> I've dealt with a lot of different brands and advertisers and I think you nailed it on the head, Damon. The advertising world all too often appears to have little or no knowledge of interactive. I wish I could share some of the incredible things advertisers have asked for ... oh, and it has to be less than 500kb in download size, full 3d, joystick support, work on all platforms and cost less than a 2 second tv spot during the wee early hours! Being able to deal with and manage client expectations is the biggest hurdle I've come across. Advertisers concentrate very little on delivering the best within the constraints and are often so concerned with the aesthetic that they overlook the actual experience. Without the ability to understand the constraints of, say, browser-based delivery and why they can't have that 1024x1024 50mb image as a 20mb cd-quality mp3 plays in the background, is something that frequently crops up in advergame dev. Having good client service managers to try and communicate this is a great start, but not always the most practical route. Since I certainly don't want to slap logos on tired old concepts, it's extremely difficult to get advertisers to think about 'how to build a game AROUND a brand, not slap a brand ON to a game'. It's also extremely difficult to get advertisers to understand quality over quantity - 'game design by checklist' is what I call it - that's when someone has obviously been through a bunch of similar games making a checklist of features for their own version. Often 'game design by checklist' leads to the mentality of 'if that game had x number of features, we want x number more', when a much better approach would be to find the core experience and concentrate on making that the most entertaining possible. People remember good experiences a lot more than bad ones, so it makes sense to try and make people enjoy the games rather than watch slideshows of new and un-exciting product features - it's just that the 'old school' advertising folk just haven't caught on yet! Rant over :p Them's my two cents on the subject, anyways .. I should probably stress that this is my personal opinion etc. disclaimer blah ;) Jeff. Jeff Murray | Director, Game Development FUEL INDUSTRIES tel: 613.224.6738 www.fuelindustries.com ________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevin at chewysoft.com Wed Jul 9 10:33:01 2008 From: kevin at chewysoft.com (Kevin Larson) Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 09:33:01 -0500 Subject: [casual_games] in-game advertisers In-Reply-To: <20080708012741.GA14768@bean.chicago> Message-ID: <83353AB752A4CE478DFCA5B65BC5776F2262DA@Server.ChewySoft.local> This company may be a possibility: http://www.neoedge.com/ Here's a recent article that may be helpful as well: http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/27576/FEATURE-More-than-a-Flash-in-the- pan Kevin Larson | Chewy Software -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Austin Haas Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 8:28 PM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: [casual_games] in-game advertisers Which companies provide in-game advertisements for online Flash games and what are their pros/cons and specialities? I know of: MochiAds Pros: Amazing tools, including a swf protection scheme and versioning system. Anyone can sign up. They will provide hosting for the game. Cons: Not a lot of advertisers, currently. Type of ads: Preroll and inter-level. 10 seconds or click through. Animated. No sound. CPMStar Pros: Very lightweight system. Cons: Niche group of advertisers (mostly online RPGs). You can only sign up through one of their authorized partners. Type of ads: Click through. Animated. No sound. I'd also be interested in any other information about the current state or future of in-game advertisments. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FA Q From karen19 at gmail.com Fri Jul 11 00:09:22 2008 From: karen19 at gmail.com (Karen S) Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:09:22 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] Survey: Games Industry/Games Conferences Message-ID: <24eaa61e0807102109u1e3e8186p911ba06c6433308f@mail.gmail.com> Hi all, Sorry about any cross-postings! I am a doctoral student at Columbia University, where I am completing a program on games and learning. I am conducting a research project on the games industry and games conferences, and I wanted to invite you to fill out my survey. Here is the link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nznUmQbUGAJPVDznZ7hezA_3d_3d The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. If you are also available for a phone or email interview based on your answers, please email me directly. The survey is completely anonymous. While I will be using this for a class paper, I may also reference the results for a publication or presentation to the academic or games community. Please let me know if you have any comments or concerns. Thanks so much! Karen PS If you would like to get a copy of the paper once it's completed, please email me. -- _________ Karen Schrier kschrier at gmail.com kls2108 at columbia.edu kschrier at alum.mit.edu kschrier at scholastic.com From james at reflexive.net Wed Jul 16 12:54:46 2008 From: james at reflexive.net (James C. Smith) Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:54:46 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by Play Mechanic Message-ID: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> "most portals are lunching just as many Time Management games as Hidden Object games and almost as many match 3 games" In the past 6 months, the top 10 lists on casual game download portals have been dominated by Hidden Object games followed closely by Time Management games. Sim games and Match 3 games have been a distance 3rd and 4th. (Source ) This is when ranking play mechanics by their popularity is top 10 lists. But it you look the number of new release in the past 6 months the number look a little different. About 17% of the games launched on most portals are Hidden Object games and another 17% are Time Management games. Match 3 games are not far behind with 14% on the average portal. In other words, most portals are lunching just as many Time Management games as Hidden Object games and almost as many match 3 games. New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008 Hidden Object Time Management Match 3 Sim Adventure Mahjong Chain Pop Word Strategy Inlay Unknown Other Reflexive 19% 17% 15% 8% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 4% 26% MSN 18% 22% 16% 7% 1% 4% 4% 3% 0% 1% 0% 24% Big Fish 17% 16% 14% 7% 6% 2% 2% 3% 1% 1% 1% 30% Real 25% 20% 10% 10% 2% 3% 2% 3% 0% 0% 0% 25% iWin 15% 15% 16% 7% 3% 3% 2% 1% 0% 1% 14% 24% Pogo 14% 15% 15% 4% 2% 3% 3% 1% 1% 1% 10% 31% Shockwave 18% 21% 12% 8% 6% 1% 1% 2% 1% 2% 3% 26% Average 17% 17% 14% 7% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 6% 27% Click the portal links above to see that portal's list of new releases in this 180 day window Here is the same data again but this time as raw numbers rather than percentages: New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008 Portal Games Released Hidden Object Time Management Match 3 Sim Adventure Mahjong Chain Pop Word Strategy Inlay Unknown Other Reflexive 127 24 21 19 10 3 3 2 2 3 2 5 33 MSN 76 14 17 12 5 1 3 3 2 0 1 0 18 Big Fish 183 31 30 26 12 11 4 4 6 2 2 1 54 Real 60 15 12 6 6 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 15 iWin 178 26 27 28 13 5 5 3 1 0 2 25 43 Pogo 137 19 20 21 6 3 4 4 2 1 1 14 42 Shockwave 102 18 21 12 8 6 1 1 2 1 2 3 27 Average 123 21 21 18 9 4 3 3 2 1 1 7 33 "Other" means I looked at the game and determined it does not fit into one of the 10 popular play mechanics listed above. "Unknown" means I didn't look at the game and have no idea what kind of game it is. It could be a Hidden Object game but that is very unlikely since the "Unknown" games are generally games that were launch by very few portals and never made it into their top 10 lists. I am a little surprised that Match 3 games are still released so frequently. I use a rather strict definition for the Match 3 play mechanic that means the game involved getting 3 in a row on a grid. This does no include Zuma (Chain popper), Collapse (click group to clear) or many other recent games like Ancient Quest of Saqqarah which I call an "other puzzle" mechanic but many portals toss into their "match 3" genera. So the Match 3 number listed above and conservative and would be higher if other puzzle games were included. Also notice how few Word games are being made or how few of them get released. What other numbers in there are surprising or interesting to you? James C. Smith Co-founder & Producer: Reflexive Entertainment Editor & Chief: CasualCharts.com PS: If you have bookmarks for CasualCharts.com or Game-Sales-Charts.com that are more than 2 months old then you are probably using the legacy charts. Those bookmarks still work, but you won't see any of the slick new features unless you go to the home page at CasualCharts.com and navigate from there. The new World Map is so much better than the legacy version of the World Map. Be sure you are using the latest and greatest. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Joe.Schultz at ByDesignGames.com Mon Jul 21 11:13:54 2008 From: Joe.Schultz at ByDesignGames.com (Joe Schultz) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:13:54 +0200 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by Play Mechanic In-Reply-To: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> Message-ID: <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> What's great to see here is not that Hidden Object is doing more than Time Management et. al., but that the strongest game types are ones that do not fit into the what most portals define as "casual"; this is really refreshing to see. We knew it was only a matter of time before casual players were tired of all the same stuff, over and over. I mean who but the creatively bankrupt would want to play (or develop) yet another match 3 / time management / hidden object game? Sure there are yet many players (and games) of those types, and some people will do anything for money it seems, but judging from this data (and logic) it looks that they are slowly dwindling in number, thankfully. Maybe with such info, the more forward-thinking of the bigger portals will now better consider "other" definitions of "fun" & "casual"... Joe Schultz Game Director ByDesign Games http://www.bydesigngames.com On Jul 16, 2008, at 18:54h, James C. Smith wrote: > ?most portals are lunching just as many Time Management games as > Hidden Object games and almost as many match 3 games? > > In the past 6 months, the top 10 lists on casual game download > portals have been dominated by Hidden Object games followed closely > by Time Management games. Sim games and Match 3 games have been a > distance 3rd and 4th. (Source) This is when ranking play mechanics > by their popularity is top 10 lists. > > But it you look the number of new release in the past 6 months the > number look a little different. About 17% of the games launched on > most portals are Hidden Object games and another 17% are Time > Management games. Match 3 games are not far behind with 14% on the > average portal. In other words, most portals are lunching just as > many Time Management games as Hidden Object games and almost as many > match 3 games. > > New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008 > > Hidden Object > Time Management > Match 3 > Sim > Adventure > Mahjong > Chain Pop > Word > Strategy > Inlay > Unknown > Other > Reflexive > 19% > 17% > 15% > 8% > 2% > 2% > 2% > 2% > 2% > 2% > 4% > 26% > MSN > 18% > 22% > 16% > 7% > 1% > 4% > 4% > 3% > 0% > 1% > 0% > 24% > Big Fish > 17% > 16% > 14% > 7% > 6% > 2% > 2% > 3% > 1% > 1% > 1% > 30% > Real > 25% > 20% > 10% > 10% > 2% > 3% > 2% > 3% > 0% > 0% > 0% > 25% > iWin > 15% > 15% > 16% > 7% > 3% > 3% > 2% > 1% > 0% > 1% > 14% > 24% > Pogo > 14% > 15% > 15% > 4% > 2% > 3% > 3% > 1% > 1% > 1% > 10% > 31% > Shockwave > 18% > 21% > 12% > 8% > 6% > 1% > 1% > 2% > 1% > 2% > 3% > 26% > Average > 17% > 17% > 14% > 7% > 3% > 3% > 2% > 2% > 1% > 1% > 6% > 27% > Click the portal links above to see that portal?s list of new > releases in this 180 day window > > Here is the same data again but this time as raw numbers rather than > percentages: > New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008 > Portal > Games Released > Hidden Object > Time Management > Match 3 > Sim > Adventure > Mahjong > Chain Pop > Word > Strategy > Inlay > Unknown > Other > Reflexive > 127 > 24 > 21 > 19 > 10 > 3 > 3 > 2 > 2 > 3 > 2 > 5 > 33 > MSN > 76 > 14 > 17 > 12 > 5 > 1 > 3 > 3 > 2 > 0 > 1 > 0 > 18 > Big Fish > 183 > 31 > 30 > 26 > 12 > 11 > 4 > 4 > 6 > 2 > 2 > 1 > 54 > Real > 60 > 15 > 12 > 6 > 6 > 1 > 2 > 1 > 2 > 0 > 0 > 0 > 15 > iWin > 178 > 26 > 27 > 28 > 13 > 5 > 5 > 3 > 1 > 0 > 2 > 25 > 43 > Pogo > 137 > 19 > 20 > 21 > 6 > 3 > 4 > 4 > 2 > 1 > 1 > 14 > 42 > Shockwave > 102 > 18 > 21 > 12 > 8 > 6 > 1 > 1 > 2 > 1 > 2 > 3 > 27 > Average > 123 > 21 > 21 > 18 > 9 > 4 > 3 > 3 > 2 > 1 > 1 > 7 > 33 > > ?Other? means I looked at the game and determined it does not fit > into one of the 10 popular play mechanics listed above. > > ?Unknown? means I didn?t look at the game and have no idea what kind > of game it is. It could be a Hidden Object game but that is very > unlikely since the ?Unknown? games are generally games that were > launch by very few portals and never made it into their top 10 lists. > > > I am a little surprised that Match 3 games are still released so > frequently. I use a rather strict definition for the Match 3 play > mechanic that means the game involved getting 3 in a row on a grid. > This does no include Zuma (Chain popper), Collapse (click group to > clear) or many other recent games like Ancient Quest of Saqqarah > which I call an ?other puzzle? mechanic but many portals toss into > their ?match 3? genera. So the Match 3 number listed above and > conservative and would be higher if other puzzle games were included. > > Also notice how few Word games are being made or how few of them get > released. > > What other numbers in there are surprising or interesting to you? > > James C. Smith > Co-founder & Producer: Reflexive Entertainment > Editor & Chief: CasualCharts.com > > > PS: If you have bookmarks for CasualCharts.com or Game-Sales- > Charts.com that are more than 2 months old then you are probably > using the legacy charts. Those bookmarks still work, but you won?t > see any of the slick new features unless you go to the home page at > CasualCharts.com and navigate from there. The new World Map is so > much better than the legacy version of the World Map. Be sure you > are using the latest and greatest. > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brian-l at dubane.com Mon Jul 21 11:22:20 2008 From: brian-l at dubane.com (Brian Robbins) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:22:20 -0600 Subject: [casual_games] IGDA Casual SIG Steering Committee Nominations now open In-Reply-To: <7097421f0807030855i75b288e9o2161288f67618d5e@mail.gmail.com> References: <7097421f0807030855i75b288e9o2161288f67618d5e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <7097421f0807210822x247d8475hc6dc7eaa698fab34@mail.gmail.com> Just one final reminder that if you are interested in being on the Casual Games SIG Steering Committee (or know someone who you think should be), please e-mail me today at brobbins - at - dubane.com. Thanks! -Brian On Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 9:55 AM, Brian Robbins wrote: > With Casual Connect fast approaching it's time for us to open the > nominations for steering committee of the IGDA Casual Games SIG. The > Steering Committee is responsible for driving the initiatives and > direction of the SIG, and providing leadership in the community. Over > the years we have been extremely productive in producing several white > papers, numerous quarterlies, creating a digital standard for royalty > sharing, and hosting this mailing list. > > The IGDA Casual Games SIG is run by volunteers, and it is through the > time and dedication of those volunteers that we are able to provide > these resources to the community. At its core, the SIG is led by a > steering committee which makes the final decision on what initiatives > to > pursue, and then takes the lead in bringing those initiatives to > fruition. This decision is based on our perceived needs of the > community as well as the resources available to accomplish the goal. > > We are now soliciting nominations for next year's SIG steering committee. > > > > Nominations can be made anytime between now and Sunday July 20, 2008 > by e-mailing Brian Robbins at brobbins - at - dubane.com > > > > Please let us know who you think should help determine the direction > this SIG takes. Nominations should be e-mailed to Brian > Robbins (brobbins - at - dubane.com) or submitted publicly via this > Discussion List. If you are publicly nominating someone other than > yourself, please be sure to check first and make sure he or she is interested. > > Nominations Should include: > * Name > * E-mail Address > * Company > * Title > * A couple sentences on why this person should play a role on the > steering committee. Please address the traits a nominee should have, > e.g. time available, knowledge and experience in one or more areas of > the casual game development (please identify: business, market, > technology, etc.), and willingness to contribute. > > Please feel free to nominate yourself. If you do nominate yourself > then also include a couple sentences reassuring us that you will be a > consistent reliable contributor to the group, especially if you have > not volunteered for any of our initiatives to date. > > Participating on the Steering Committee can be a great way to show > your support of the casual game community. It can also be a way to > help expand your professional network of industry peers. However, > nominees should be aware that steering committee participation > requires an increased level of commitment to the SIG and our > activities. If selected to the Steering Committee you should be > prepared to participate in at least 1 monthly conference call, as well > as take a more active role in our initiatives. > > The current Steering Committee will be meeting at Casual Connect to > select next year's committee. Those results will be announced shortly > after the show. The current steering committee is: > * Cherie Lutz > * Charles Merrin > * Jared Nieuwenhuis > * Brian Robbins (Chair) > * Dave Rohrl > * Rex Sikora > * James C Smith > * Wade Tinney > * Margaret Wallace > > It is important to note, that selection to the steering committee is > not based on the profile of the company that an individual works for. > We seek to select those people who will provide the most to the group > by way of volunteering their time, energy and expertise to the > community at large. One of the best indicators of this is by > participation in previous community and SIG endeavors such as the > Casual Games White Paper > (http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Whitepaper), the > Quarterly (http://www.igda.org/casual/quarterly/), the Data Reporting > Initiative, and even the Casual Games Association's various projects. > > To that end, if you are nominated, or nominate yourself, please be > sure to let us know how you have helped out in the past, and what you > hope to do in the future. > > If you have any questions please contact me via this list, or directly > at brobbins - at - dubane.com. > > -- > Brian Robbins > Executive Producer and Gaming Evangelist > Fuel Industries - www.fuelindustries.com > Chair, IGDA Casual Games SIG > http://www.igda.org/casual/ > -- Brian Robbins Executive Producer and Gaming Evangelist Fuel Industries - www.fuelgames.com From aaron at tandemgames.com Mon Jul 21 12:07:40 2008 From: aaron at tandemgames.com (Aaron Murray) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:07:40 -0500 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by Play Mechanic In-Reply-To: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> Message-ID: <3129a3da0807210907p2faa12e5k564093893ac3c29f@mail.gmail.com> James, thank you for continuing to provide these metrics and analysis. -- Aaron Murray Technical Director, Co-founder Tandem Games www.TandemGames.com www.DomainOfHeroes.com "Fun for All. All for Fun." On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 11:54 AM, James C. Smith wrote: > "*most portals are lunching just as many Time Management games as Hidden > Object games and almost as many match 3 games*" > > > > In the past 6 months, the top 10 lists on casual game download portals have > been dominated by Hidden Object games followed closely by Time Management > games. Sim games and Match 3 games have been a distance 3rd and 4th. ( > Source) > This is when ranking play mechanics by their popularity is top 10 lists. > > > > But it you look the number of new release in the past 6 months the number > look a little different. About 17% of the games launched on most portals > are Hidden Object games and another 17% are Time Management games. Match 3 > games are not far behind with 14% on the average portal. In other words, > most portals are lunching just as many Time Management games as Hidden > Object games and almost as many match 3 games. > > > > *New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008* > > * * > > *Hidden Object* > > *Time Management* > > *Match 3* > > *Sim* > > *Adventure* > > *Mahjong* > > *Chain Pop* > > *Word * > > *Strategy* > > *Inlay* > > *Unknown* > > *Other* > > *Reflexive > * > > 19% > > 17% > > 15% > > 8% > > 2% > > 2% > > 2% > > 2% > > 2% > > 2% > > 4% > > 26% > > *MSN > * > > 18% > > 22% > > 16% > > 7% > > 1% > > 4% > > 4% > > 3% > > 0% > > 1% > > 0% > > 24% > > *Big Fish > * > > 17% > > 16% > > 14% > > 7% > > 6% > > 2% > > 2% > > 3% > > 1% > > 1% > > 1% > > 30% > > *Real > * > > 25% > > 20% > > 10% > > 10% > > 2% > > 3% > > 2% > > 3% > > 0% > > 0% > > 0% > > 25% > > *iWin > * > > 15% > > 15% > > 16% > > 7% > > 3% > > 3% > > 2% > > 1% > > 0% > > 1% > > 14% > > 24% > > *Pogo > * > > 14% > > 15% > > 15% > > 4% > > 2% > > 3% > > 3% > > 1% > > 1% > > 1% > > 10% > > 31% > > *Shockwave > * > > 18% > > 21% > > 12% > > 8% > > 6% > > 1% > > 1% > > 2% > > 1% > > 2% > > 3% > > 26% > > *Average* > > 17% > > 17% > > 14% > > 7% > > 3% > > 3% > > 2% > > 2% > > 1% > > 1% > > 6% > > 27% > > Click the portal links above to see that portal's list of new releases in > this 180 day window > > > > Here is the same data again but this time as raw numbers rather than > percentages: > > *New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008* > > *Portal* > > *Games Released* > > *Hidden Object* > > *Time Management* > > *Match 3* > > *Sim* > > *Adventure* > > *Mahjong* > > *Chain Pop* > > *Word * > > *Strategy* > > *Inlay* > > *Unknown* > > *Other* > > *Reflexive > * > > 127 > > 24 > > 21 > > 19 > > 10 > > 3 > > 3 > > 2 > > 2 > > 3 > > 2 > > 5 > > 33 > > *MSN > * > > 76 > > 14 > > 17 > > 12 > > 5 > > 1 > > 3 > > 3 > > 2 > > 0 > > 1 > > 0 > > 18 > > *Big Fish > * > > 183 > > 31 > > 30 > > 26 > > 12 > > 11 > > 4 > > 4 > > 6 > > 2 > > 2 > > 1 > > 54 > > *Real > * > > 60 > > 15 > > 12 > > 6 > > 6 > > 1 > > 2 > > 1 > > 2 > > 0 > > 0 > > 0 > > 15 > > *iWin > * > > 178 > > 26 > > 27 > > 28 > > 13 > > 5 > > 5 > > 3 > > 1 > > 0 > > 2 > > 25 > > 43 > > *Pogo > * > > 137 > > 19 > > 20 > > 21 > > 6 > > 3 > > 4 > > 4 > > 2 > > 1 > > 1 > > 14 > > 42 > > *Shockwave > * > > 102 > > 18 > > 21 > > 12 > > 8 > > 6 > > 1 > > 1 > > 2 > > 1 > > 2 > > 3 > > 27 > > *Average* > > 123 > > 21 > > 21 > > 18 > > 9 > > 4 > > 3 > > 3 > > 2 > > 1 > > 1 > > 7 > > 33 > > > > "Other" means I looked at the game and determined it does not fit into one > of the 10 popular play mechanics listed above. > > > > "Unknown" means I didn't look at the game and have no idea what kind of > game it is. It could be a Hidden Object game but that is very unlikely > since the "Unknown" games are generally games that were launch by very few > portals and never made it into their top 10 lists. > > > > > > I am a little surprised that Match 3 games are still released so > frequently. I use a rather strict definition for the Match 3 play mechanic > that means the game involved getting 3 in a row on a grid. This does no > include Zuma (Chain popper), Collapse (click group to clear) or many other > recent games like Ancient Quest of Saqqarah which I call an "other puzzle" > mechanic but many portals toss into their "match 3" genera. So the Match 3 > number listed above and conservative and would be higher if other puzzle > games were included. > > > > Also notice how few Word games are being made or how few of them get > released. > > > > What other numbers in there are surprising or interesting to you? > > > > James C. Smith > > Co-founder & Producer: Reflexive Entertainment > > Editor & Chief: CasualCharts.com > > > > > > PS: If you have bookmarks for CasualCharts.com or Game-Sales-Charts.com > that are more than 2 months old then you are probably using the legacy > charts. Those bookmarks still work, but you won't see any of the slick new > features unless you go to the home page at CasualCharts.comand navigate from there. The new > World Map is so much better > than the legacy version of the World Map. > Be sure you are using the latest and greatest. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thb at gameattorney.com Mon Jul 21 12:16:55 2008 From: thb at gameattorney.com (Thomas H. Buscaglia) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:16:55 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] SIG gathering at Casual Connect? In-Reply-To: <7097421f0807210822x247d8475hc6dc7eaa698fab34@mail.gmail.co m> References: <7097421f0807030855i75b288e9o2161288f67618d5e@mail.gmail.com> <7097421f0807210822x247d8475hc6dc7eaa698fab34@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <200807211616.m6LGGum54116@dev-biz.com> So, who is coming to casual connect and is the SIG having any sort of meeting that I should pop in on? Tom B ???`???,??,???`??????`???,??,???`??? Tom Buscaglia, Esquire The Game Attorney T. H. Buscaglia and Associates Miami, Florida and Vashon, Washington - USA Tel (888)848-GLAW Chair IGDA Foundation Chair IGDA ECQC Taskforce Member, IGDA Board of Directors -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rcarroll at reflexive.net Mon Jul 21 13:09:42 2008 From: rcarroll at reflexive.net (Russell Carroll) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:09:42 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic In-Reply-To: <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> Message-ID: <005401c8eb54$91a8acf0$0202fea9@russ> It's true that the strongest game type is 'Other' if you are looking at pure volume of games being released. However, looking at the link provided, it is clear that those same games aren't performing well in the Top 10 lists (HO combined was 6:1 to Other despite Other having 50% more games!?) Using the Top 10 lists to equal sales, Other is #1 in games released and #4 in aggregate game sales. You could theorize then that games from that category are not selling very well at all. In fact I see the numbers below as giving the portals good reason not to add more "other." On a per game basis, they are very unlikely to show up in the top 10 lists when compared to the tried and true genres. I love 'different' as much as anyone (probably more;), but I didn't see the same conclusion from the numbers below. I see that other is a lot of the volume, which when combined with the link to the aggregated top 10 lists showing Other not making a good showing on the lists, makes it look like Other is something that the portals are likely only to take when they don't have something better, and apparently, most everything is better. Russell Carroll Reflexive Entertainment (949) 830-1903 x14 _____ From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Joe Schultz Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 8:14 AM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic What's great to see here is not that Hidden Object is doing more than Time Management et. al., but that the strongest game types are ones that do not fit into the what most portals define as "casual"; this is really refreshing to see. We knew it was only a matter of time before casual players were tired of all the same stuff, over and over. I mean who but the creatively bankrupt would want to play (or develop) yet another match 3 / time management / hidden object game? Sure there are yet many players (and games) of those types, and some people will do anything for money it seems, but judging from this data (and logic) it looks that they are slowly dwindling in number, thankfully. Maybe with such info, the more forward-thinking of the bigger portals will now better consider "other" definitions of "fun" & "casual"... Joe Schultz Game Director ByDesign Games http://www.bydesigngames.com On Jul 16, 2008, at 18:54h, James C. Smith wrote: "most portals are lunching just as many Time Management games as Hidden Object games and almost as many match 3 games" In the past 6 months, the top 10 lists on casual game download portals have been dominated by Hidden Object games followed closely by Time Management games. Sim games and Match 3 games have been a distance 3rd and 4th. (Source ) This is when ranking play mechanics by their popularity is top 10 lists. But it you look the number of new release in the past 6 months the number look a little different. About 17% of the games launched on most portals are Hidden Object games and another 17% are Time Management games. Match 3 games are not far behind with 14% on the average portal. In other words, most portals are lunching just as many Time Management games as Hidden Object games and almost as many match 3 games. New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008 Hidden Object Time Management Match 3 Sim Adventure Mahjong Chain Pop Word Strategy Inlay Unknown Other Reflexive 19% 17% 15% 8% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 4% 26% MSN 18% 22% 16% 7% 1% 4% 4% 3% 0% 1% 0% 24% Big Fish 17% 16% 14% 7% 6% 2% 2% 3% 1% 1% 1% 30% Real 25% 20% 10% 10% 2% 3% 2% 3% 0% 0% 0% 25% iWin 15% 15% 16% 7% 3% 3% 2% 1% 0% 1% 14% 24% Pogo 14% 15% 15% 4% 2% 3% 3% 1% 1% 1% 10% 31% Shockwave 18% 21% 12% 8% 6% 1% 1% 2% 1% 2% 3% 26% Average 17% 17% 14% 7% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 6% 27% Click the portal links above to see that portal's list of new releases in this 180 day window Here is the same data again but this time as raw numbers rather than percentages: New Releases in Last 180 days as of 7/16/2008 Portal Games Released Hidden Object Time Management Match 3 Sim Adventure Mahjong Chain Pop Word Strategy Inlay Unknown Other Reflexive 127 24 21 19 10 3 3 2 2 3 2 5 33 MSN 76 14 17 12 5 1 3 3 2 0 1 0 18 Big Fish 183 31 30 26 12 11 4 4 6 2 2 1 54 Real 60 15 12 6 6 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 15 iWin 178 26 27 28 13 5 5 3 1 0 2 25 43 Pogo 137 19 20 21 6 3 4 4 2 1 1 14 42 Shockwave 102 18 21 12 8 6 1 1 2 1 2 3 27 Average 123 21 21 18 9 4 3 3 2 1 1 7 33 "Other" means I looked at the game and determined it does not fit into one of the 10 popular play mechanics listed above. "Unknown" means I didn't look at the game and have no idea what kind of game it is. It could be a Hidden Object game but that is very unlikely since the "Unknown" games are generally games that were launch by very few portals and never made it into their top 10 lists. I am a little surprised that Match 3 games are still released so frequently. I use a rather strict definition for the Match 3 play mechanic that means the game involved getting 3 in a row on a grid. This does no include Zuma (Chain popper), Collapse (click group to clear) or many other recent games like Ancient Quest of Saqqarah which I call an "other puzzle" mechanic but many portals toss into their "match 3" genera. So the Match 3 number listed above and conservative and would be higher if other puzzle games were included. Also notice how few Word games are being made or how few of them get released. What other numbers in there are surprising or interesting to you? James C. Smith Co-founder & Producer: Reflexive Entertainment Editor & Chief: CasualCharts.com PS: If you have bookmarks for CasualCharts.com or Game-Sales-Charts.com that are more than 2 months old then you are probably using the legacy charts. Those bookmarks still work, but you won't see any of the slick new features unless you go to the home page at CasualCharts.com and navigate from there. The new World Map is so much better than the legacy version of the World Map. Be sure you are using the latest and greatest. _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amiller at skyworks.com Mon Jul 21 13:21:26 2008 From: amiller at skyworks.com (amiller at skyworks.com) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:21:26 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] Casual_Games Digest, Vol 39, Issue 3 Message-ID: I will be out of the office from Tuesday July 22nd returing Thursday July 31st. If this is urgent please contact me on my mobile at 917-518-5240. From james at reflexive.net Mon Jul 21 14:43:35 2008 From: james at reflexive.net (James C. Smith) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:43:35 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic In-Reply-To: <005401c8eb54$91a8acf0$0202fea9@russ> References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> <005401c8eb54$91a8acf0$0202fea9@russ> Message-ID: <045c01c8eb61$af131e80$0d395b80$@net> Russell is right. 'Other' is not a very strong contributor to the best selling games. My original post was focusing on the number of new games REASED. I assumed it was common knowledge that the Hidden Object and Time management games make up most of the sales on casual games portals. I was pointing out that people have not stopped making other games, and portals still release other games, but hardly anyone buys them. --James From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Russell Carroll Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 10:10 AM To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List' Subject: Re: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic It's true that the strongest game type is 'Other' if you are looking at pure volume of games being released. However, looking at the link provided, i -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrew at fugazo.com Mon Jul 21 15:24:20 2008 From: andrew at fugazo.com (Andrew Lum) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:24:20 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic In-Reply-To: <045c01c8eb61$af131e80$0d395b80$@net> References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> <005401c8eb54$91a8acf0$0202fea9@russ> <045c01c8eb61$af131e80$0d395b80$@net> Message-ID: <4884E264.4090009@fugazo.com> I disagree. There have been several non time management games this year that have done very well. I looked at the Top 30 games of 2008 so far based on # of days in the Top 10. I've listed a few titles that fall into the other, strategy, or sim category. I'll be going into more detail on this at the Casual Connect during the panel Confessions of an Independent Game Developer. Time Management Games and Hidden Object Games do very well, but it's possible for unique games to outsell Time Management and H.O. games. #1. Build-a-lot 1205 Days #5 Chocolatier 2 -1057 Days #13 Build-a-lot 2 756 Days #14 Virtual Villagers 3 -752 Days #25 Cooking Academy -538 Days -- Andrew Lum andrew at fugazo.com www.fugazo.com P: 206-349-7805 F: 206-568-3455 CEO, President Fugazo, Inc. James C. Smith wrote: > > Russell is right. ?Other? is not a very strong contributor to the best > selling games. My original post was focusing on the number of new > games REASED. I assumed it was common knowledge that the Hidden Object > and Time management games make up most of the sales on casual games > portals. I was pointing out that people have not stopped making other > games, and portals still release other games, but hardly anyone buys > them. > > --James > > *From:* casual_games-bounces at igda.org > [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] *On Behalf Of *Russell Carroll > *Sent:* Monday, July 21, 2008 10:10 AM > *To:* 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List' > *Subject:* Re: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by > PlayMechanic > > It's true that the strongest game type is 'Other' if you are looking > at pure volume of games being released. > > However, looking at the link provided, i > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > -- Andrew Lum andrew at fugazo.com www.fugazo.com P: 206-349-7805 F: 206-568-3455 CEO, President Fugazo, Inc. From Joe.Schultz at ByDesignGames.com Mon Jul 21 15:25:50 2008 From: Joe.Schultz at ByDesignGames.com (Joe Schultz) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:25:50 +0200 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic In-Reply-To: <045c01c8eb61$af131e80$0d395b80$@net> References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> <005401c8eb54$91a8acf0$0202fea9@russ> <045c01c8eb61$af131e80$0d395b80$@net> Message-ID: To clarify, you're list shows 26% of new released games (over 180 days) are considered type "Other" (not new released Top 10 games over 180 days) ? j On Jul 21, 2008, at 20:43h, James C. Smith wrote: > Russell is right. ?Other? is not a very strong contributor to the > best selling games. My original post was focusing on the number of > new games REASED. I assumed it was common knowledge that the Hidden > Object and Time management games make up most of the sales on casual > games portals. I was pointing out that people have not stopped > making other games, and portals still release other games, but > hardly anyone buys them. > > --James > > From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org > ] On Behalf Of Russell Carroll > Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 10:10 AM > To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List' > Subject: Re: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by > PlayMechanic > > It's true that the strongest game type is 'Other' if you are looking > at pure volume of games being released. > However, looking at the link provided, i > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From james at reflexive.net Mon Jul 21 16:11:20 2008 From: james at reflexive.net (James C. Smith) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:11:20 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic In-Reply-To: References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> <005401c8eb54$91a8acf0$0202fea9@russ> <045c01c8eb61$af131e80$0d395b80$@net> Message-ID: <048e01c8eb6d$f1cac6e0$d56054a0$@net> Correct. 26% of the newly released games were type "other". This is totally separate from the top 10 data. This is just how many games were released and not how many of the top 10 games were type "other". On the other hand, If you look at the top sellers (the games that make it into the top 10 for a long time), you will see several games of type "other" but nowhere near 26%. When you look at top 10 lists performance, the Hidden Object (HO) games as a group outperform the "other" games by a wide margin. Many individual games of type "other" have broken though and sold well, but in general, most HO games sell better than most "other" games. Here is a quote from my original post In the past 6 months, the top 10 lists on casual game download portals have been dominated by Hidden Object games followed closely by Time Management games. Sim games and Match 3 games have been a distance 3rd and 4th. (Source ) This is when ranking play mechanics by their popularity is top 10 lists. If you click on that (Source )link and look at the bottom of the page you see this Top scoring play mechanics Hidden Object(19775.4) Time Management(16522.1) Sim (9555) Match 3(7220.1) Other Mechanic(3597.1) The (numbers) are "score". A game mechanic earns 10 points for each day a game is ranked #1 on a portal and 5 points for each day it is ranked #2 and so on down to 1 point for each day ranked #10. Using this scoring system, Hidden Object games outscore Other Mechanic games by a wide margin. (11 to 2). But if you look at the top selling games in that chart you see this: Dream Day First Home (2122) - Hidden Object Jojo's Fashion Show (1990) - Other Mechanic Build-a-lot 2: Town of the Year (1972.4) - Sim Big City Adventure: Sydney, Australia(1916.8) - Hidden Object Virtual Villagers: The Secret City (1729.8) - Sim Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze(1496) - Adventure Burger Shop (1487.4) - Time Management As a group, the other mechanic games rank 5th, but among individual games, the #2 ranked game was of type "other mechanic" From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Joe Schultz Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 12:26 PM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic To clarify, you're list shows 26% of new released games (over 180 days) are considered type "Other" (not new released Top 10 games over 180 days) ? j -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From achaves at ecuaserver.net Mon Jul 21 18:12:13 2008 From: achaves at ecuaserver.net (Alfredo Chaves) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:12:13 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic In-Reply-To: <4884E264.4090009@fugazo.com> References: <0ce801c8e764$a74b87b0$f5e29710$@net> <43A46D4A-3BBB-490D-AC52-BCEB2BDAEB58@ByDesignGames.com> <005401c8eb54$91a8acf0$0202fea9@russ> <045c01c8eb61$af131e80$0d395b80$@net> <4884E264.4090009@fugazo.com> Message-ID: <006401c8eb7e$d7707fe0$86517fa0$@net> Well... Build-A-Lot IS a time-management game, isn't it? And both Chocolatier and Virtual Villagers are strategy/sim, still a tried-and-tested category with other great franchises like Tradewinds. In my opinion, the numbers that James kindly shared with us say that it is still "safer" to go for well-known mechanics, if, of course, playing "safe" is what makes sense to your company. Cheers, Alfredo Chaves CEO Blue Lizard Games -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Lum Sent: July-21-08 3:24 PM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by PlayMechanic I disagree. There have been several non time management games this year that have done very well. I looked at the Top 30 games of 2008 so far based on # of days in the Top 10. I've listed a few titles that fall into the other, strategy, or sim category. I'll be going into more detail on this at the Casual Connect during the panel Confessions of an Independent Game Developer. Time Management Games and Hidden Object Games do very well, but it's possible for unique games to outsell Time Management and H.O. games. #1. Build-a-lot 1205 Days #5 Chocolatier 2 -1057 Days #13 Build-a-lot 2 756 Days #14 Virtual Villagers 3 -752 Days #25 Cooking Academy -538 Days -- Andrew Lum andrew at fugazo.com www.fugazo.com P: 206-349-7805 F: 206-568-3455 CEO, President Fugazo, Inc. James C. Smith wrote: > > Russell is right. 'Other' is not a very strong contributor to the best > selling games. My original post was focusing on the number of new > games REASED. I assumed it was common knowledge that the Hidden Object > and Time management games make up most of the sales on casual games > portals. I was pointing out that people have not stopped making other > games, and portals still release other games, but hardly anyone buys > them. > > --James > > *From:* casual_games-bounces at igda.org > [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] *On Behalf Of *Russell Carroll > *Sent:* Monday, July 21, 2008 10:10 AM > *To:* 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List' > *Subject:* Re: [casual_games] Casual Download Games: New Releases by > PlayMechanic > > It's true that the strongest game type is 'Other' if you are looking > at pure volume of games being released. > > However, looking at the link provided, i > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > -- Andrew Lum andrew at fugazo.com www.fugazo.com P: 206-349-7805 F: 206-568-3455 CEO, President Fugazo, Inc. _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ