Analysts: Board games are the next big thing

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 11th 2007 at 9:30PM }

Gamasutra got a cadre of analysts together to look into crystal balls, read tea leaves, and guess what the next big breakout genre will be following the rhythm game's ascension with Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The analysts' guess? The board game. Yes, the humble board game put on a TV (or in the case of Scene It?, being tweaked a bit) is what the group thought would be the next über genre.

Jesse Divnich of simExchange believes that Scene It?, which released last month, will be a "moderate success" and Ben Bajarian of Creative Strategies uses the term "social gaming" to describe this genre of titles. He says that families are still looking for a "board game" to play together, with the natural evolution being to do so on a console. It probably doesn't hurt their hypothesis that the board games we've seen translated to consoles so far (Scene It?, Carcassonne, Catan) have been very effective. With any luck, European games like Alhambra and Puerto Rico will become digital experiences to be enjoyed by those who missed out on them in America. Oh, and would someone get on Scotland Yard and Café International, please?

Tags: analysts, board-games, boardgames, gamasutra

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

randomshagz @ Dec 11th 2007 9:34PM

More like...
Analysts: Bored games are the next big thing!

Gangsta Smurf @ Dec 11th 2007 10:27PM

LOL M I RITE?

gonk @ Dec 11th 2007 11:56PM

where the fuck is my god damn risk already on xbla?

i played risk on school computers 10 years ago

sifer2400 @ Dec 11th 2007 9:37PM

Aw man i hated that cassornoe game that they gave out for free no wonder and here i thought they were going to give out something good like golden axe LOL board games next big thing LOL

Freeze @ Dec 11th 2007 9:42PM

XBLA need board games like Monopoly, Sorry, Scrable. I mean, what's the hold up? Add some online play and I think these board games would stay in the TOP 10 XBLA list of the week beating out UNO for a while. All of the developers out there, not one brainic can't think of stuff like this? MSN (Windows LIVE) has all of those games, why not XBLA?

sifer2400 @ Dec 11th 2007 9:44PM

i would deff play stuff like monopoly and life but maby they need to ask for copy rights?

GoldenS1104 @ Dec 11th 2007 9:58PM

Those board games would definitely work. Even with local multiplayer people would pick them over the board games themselves. I remember playing monopoly on N64. It was so much easier to deal with cause you didn't have to deal with all the calculating and keeping track of money and cards. With online multiplayer and voice/video chat it could be a great way to play board games with friends when you can't actually hang out. I think board games will end up being fairly popular on XLA, but I can't see it going much farther than that.

Vidikron (FU) @ Dec 11th 2007 11:11PM

Yes... Scrabble please.

I Dex I @ Dec 12th 2007 2:28AM

A nice souped up Battle Ship would be fun as well.

Gangsta Smurf @ Dec 13th 2007 2:39PM

For the love of God, Monopoly for XBL = FTFW

Deanerama @ Dec 11th 2007 11:45PM

Make Risk for XBLA! Instant million seller!

Hiroken @ Dec 11th 2007 9:53PM

Modern bored games are unstimulating, I think--the purpose of games like chess, Go, and Risk (to an extent) is to challenge new thinking. This is why these forms of digitized games are (and will probably remain) very popular--I'm still of the opinion these versions are 'cheapened' somewhat, as looking your opponent in the eye adds a vital and electrifying dynamic to the game.

As for other modern/popular games like Sorry, Monopoly, etc--games based mostly on pure chance-- they'll stay in their low, niche places due to the arbitrary circumstances of victory by chance; i.e., defeating or losing to your family at Sorry! is fun because you get to rub it in or be a modest winner, pout, fight, or do whatever. Doing the same to an invisible online opponent dehumanizes that experience--which is probably the only reason we play to begin with.

~

Undead Priest @ Dec 11th 2007 9:59PM

Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have cameras available, defeating your entire point.

colin @ Dec 11th 2007 11:00PM

yeah, because we all know that the 1 inch square 2 fps video screen in uno is about as close to real interpersonal communication as it gets.

/sarcasm

his point isn't even close to defeated.

Max Headroom @ Dec 12th 2007 1:12AM

There are also a lot of other quality board games out there that are based more on strategy than luck. Some of these are almost perfect for converting into a video game - HeroQuest being top on my list. (Not to be confused with the popular tile game HeroScape). For some reason, good games like HeroQuest go unplayed because it is hard to find local opponents, which is sad.

sifer2400 @ Dec 11th 2007 9:59PM

lol monopoly will become the new whore central replacing uno lol

EoJ @ Dec 11th 2007 10:02PM

this article is retarded, menntioning XBOX360 exclusives Scene It?, Carcassonne, and Catan, without mentioning a TRUE board game, uh, game: Eye of Judgement. It's played on a board and deserves to be recognized as such

bgss @ Dec 11th 2007 10:28PM

EoJ

EoJ is a CCG, not a board game. Don't even bother to try to argue otherwise because it would be completely wrong no matter how valid you think your skewed points are.

Vidikron (FU) @ Dec 11th 2007 11:14PM

Played on a board.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 11th 2007 11:29PM

But it isn't technically a board game. Do we call Pokemon a board game? No. CCG and TCG are not board games.

Vidikron (FU) @ Dec 12th 2007 12:00AM

Ummm... board games are played on boards. EoJ is played on a 3x3 grid. I mean, what disqualifies it from being called a board game? Why can't it fit in both categories?

Velops @ Dec 11th 2007 10:03PM

This might be why Mario Party sells so many units every single month.

Rob Accomando @ Dec 11th 2007 10:08PM

I downloaded Carcassonne when it was free and enjoy playing it here and there.

I disagree with the ANALysts though. Board games have had their video counterparts for a while now and I really doubt that all of a sudden after 20+ years they will become the "Uber genre".

Jonah Falcon @ Dec 11th 2007 10:13PM

Ticket to Ride, please. Risk, too.

Courtney @ Dec 11th 2007 10:22PM

I predict the next uber-genre will be popular, easy to pick up and surprisingly deep once you've become addicted to it. Where to I pick up my paycheck?

Kn1ves @ Dec 11th 2007 10:36PM

What Mario Party game am I suppose to be excited for? 30 something?

EoJ @ Dec 11th 2007 10:39PM

Point made bgss, and even though i'd still consider it a board game, i don''t see Scene it? taking Halo or Call of Duty over anytime soon (unless of course Scene it?: Halo Edition came out), could this article b foreshadowing....

PaulBlake @ Dec 11th 2007 10:55PM

For the record, there is a digital version of Puerto Rico, at least for the PC. The interface goes for style over substance, so sometimes it's not all that easy to see exactly what's going on with the other players, but it works decently. You can even get it fairly cheaply, since Eagle Games was liquidating thousands of copies when they went belly-up.

There's also a PC version of Scotland Yard floating around out there, but it came out in the early-to-mid-1990s. I haven't seen it, so I can't attest to its quality. I believe it may have only been released in Europe.

Jerk Face @ Dec 11th 2007 10:57PM

MOAR HERO QUEST PLEASE.

ColossalHat @ Dec 12th 2007 1:56AM

They would only need to put that out and House on Haunted Hill for me to get in on that sweet digital board game action.

But seriously, those are pretty kickass games.

Fox318 @ Dec 11th 2007 11:07PM

If more Board games that are as awesome as Carcassonne come out then by all means open the flood gates.

ThornedVenom @ Dec 11th 2007 11:18PM

Board games my ass: mini-games more likely. In other words, 4 player experiences.

Guess where the wii is at?

(PS: Online gaming is awesome, but they shouldn't remove multiplayer content, like co-op, as a result. Genuine "in your face" ass-kicking cannot be simulated accurately.)

Gavin @ Dec 11th 2007 11:18PM

I can't wait for Talisman.

And they should work on adapting Supremacy for XBLA. That would just be plain awesome. I would much rather have them do that than something like Risk. Supremacy is one of the most over-looked classic games of all time. I really loved that board game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_(board_game)

The expansions were expensive though....

Donald @ Dec 11th 2007 11:26PM

Man, the analysts must've dipped into the extra hard egg nog at their Christmas party this year.

voloftn @ Dec 12th 2007 12:43AM

Here's the deal:

You pay over $20 for a good board game such as Risk. It probably costs them less than $5 to manufacture the game. They are probably concerned they won't receive the profitabilty from a downloaded game.

How much is it worth? We will gripe about spending more than $10 for a XBLA game. They may be afraid they will undervalue the game. Although I don't buy it at all. They'll have greater access to new players.

gonk @ Dec 12th 2007 12:57AM

exactly. it will appeal to more people, due to the online possibilities (pvp, new maps to play on as DLC, etc) and it would have a lower price point (probably $10 is fair) but the costs of making it would all just be front-loaded, and it's pure profit once you pay off the initial investment, since you're just copying files

Dave @ Dec 12th 2007 1:16AM

I would enjoy "new" board games.

I Dex I @ Dec 12th 2007 2:31AM

I would like to see some quality Mario like rip offs. Bring back the 2D platformer to the television. The DS and PSP are great, but I would like to see some on the XBOX ARCADE.

waynski1457 @ Dec 12th 2007 3:05AM

while i can definitely see a marginal success coming from putting board games on XBLA/PSN/WiiWare, i think that this article overblows it.
side note: i love board games on console. carcassone was one of the best free things on xbla in a long time.

Klay @ Dec 12th 2007 5:31AM

Princes of Florence for the 360 would be great! If you haven't played it, go try to grab a copy - it's a game about trying to produce great works of art/literature/etc by attracting different types of people to your estate...only with an auction phase and a splash of tetris thrown in.

I would love to see it on 360 in 3d ala Carcassonne and Catan!

Brucie B @ Dec 12th 2007 8:14AM

Sorry but NO!

randomshagz @ Dec 12th 2007 8:44AM

Strip CandyLand...

Other than that... everything else just takes away from my childhood. Although FireBall Island as a multiplayer game that played like TF2 would be nice.

I called it first! If it ever happens...

Gimbal @ Dec 12th 2007 8:54AM

Everytime this subject comes up I will say the same thing:

Risk 2210 A.D. - Most fun had out of any of the Risk variants. Make this work as a 'play by email' style game over Live and this will sell like hotcakes. (I'm assuming hotcakes sell well?)

Does Live or PSN have this kind of functionality available? Wait, now that I'm thinking of it, there is kinda. In Halo 3 you can do the file share thing, or message a friend to check out a clip. It can work. You'd even be able to attach an audio or video clip with your turn.

As much as I absolutely love Arkham Horror, I'm not sure it would work as well in digital form. I'd still love to be able to play it with friends who no longer live nearby.

twixter @ Dec 12th 2007 3:09PM

There are plenty of great board games, and many of them already are available to play online on a PC for free. I don't know if they will be the next big thing or not, but when stuff like Surface

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Surface

or the Entertaible

http://www.research.philips.com/initiatives/entertaible/

become more common, board gaming might gain a wider audience.

I am limited to three links per post, so here is the ultimate board game site:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/