Casual games are anything but casual business. Gamezebo has an editorial exploring how the casual market is changing. The weak alliances that were formed to promote the genre are now beginning to fall apart.Demographics show that the market may be casual, but sure isn't small, with women a majority of consumers. Heck, there are even competitions with thousands of dollars at stake. The Gamezebo piece explains that over the last two years casual game developers have been competing in distribution, but were friends as developers. The editorial does a good job explaining how odd this is saying, "Relating this to the retail world, it would be as if Walmart were selling their branded laundry detergent at Target. It just would not happen."
What does this mean to gamers? Well, ever notice how you could find the same casual game from many outlets? That's over. This new competition means sites will have exclusive titles with competitive price structures to bring in consumers. Casual game sites will now fight for gamers, and when there is competition, the consumer wins.
[via GameSetWatch]
