Lots of things in the gaming community don't make sense... Resident Evil on GCN, Sega's continued Xbox support, etc., but Nintendo's lack of online support has to take the cake as the most profound blunder.
...and perhaps Sony is making an even bigger mistake by doing it all for free.
The article is PC oriented, but explains that casuals market is going to grow rapidly and the casuals are paying for simple on-line games (see XBL arcade), subscription based services, and downloadable content. Everything that XBL offers.
It seems that this market would be perfect for Nintendo.
discuss....
...and perhaps Sony is making an even bigger mistake by doing it all for free.
Casual Online Gaming On The Rise
Pay-per-play browser gaming, where users pay to enter skill-based games tournaments to compete for cash and other prizes, is the hottest of the new online gaming sub-sectors. Its dramatic growth over the past two years has already precipitated a service provider (and investor) land-grab. A $35m global market only three years ago, pay-per-play gaming reached $137m in 2003 and is forecast to grow at an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40 per cent to 2007 to become the second largest online gaming sub-sector behind MMOGs. Other revenue streams for casual games include a resurgent advertising element, subscription-based services and paid-for downloads.
The article is PC oriented, but explains that casuals market is going to grow rapidly and the casuals are paying for simple on-line games (see XBL arcade), subscription based services, and downloadable content. Everything that XBL offers.
It seems that this market would be perfect for Nintendo.
discuss....