Since the last generation of consoles were released 7 years ago, the gaming industry has been through a seismic revolution with social media and mobile technology creating completely new types of gamer. With the next generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft likely to be available later this year, we wanted to explore this fragmented gaming audience landscape and measure the challenge that lies ahead for the two giants. In the first of a two part post, we interview four people from within the gaming industry to understand how they see the landscape and where the power to engage and own gaming audiences lies.

1. Platform Games

2. Since the last generation of consoles were released 7 years ago,
the gaming industry has been through a seismic revolution with
social media and mobile technology creating completely new
types of gamer. With the next generation of consoles from Sony
and Microsoft likely to be available later this year, we wanted to
explore this fragmented gaming audience landscape and
measure the challenge that lies ahead for the two giants.
In the first of a two part post, we interview four people from
within the gaming industry to understand how they see the
landscape and where the power to engage and own gaming
audiences lies
Gaming Insights

3. Contributers to this piece are:
Mike Masuku, Senior Marketing Manager – Digital, SEGA
Prash Mistry, Playstation Gamer
Chris Dring, Games Editor MCV
Tom Botting, Xbox Gamer
Gaming Insights

4. In the latest 7 year console cycle, at least two new
and powerful types of gamers have emerged with the rise in
prominence of social media and mobile. How would
you categorize this fragmented gaming audience and what, if
any, commonalities exist between them that can be exploited
by the new generation of consoles?

5. Mike Masuku:
‘There are still some commonalities, particularly around demand
and quality. A gamer always wants quality, irrespective of the
platform. It’s just that our interpretation of what quality is has to
change dependent on the platform. For a mobile game, quality
can actually mean the ease of play. It’s about repetition and
retention. Short quick bursts. This is completely different from a
console title, where quality is measured in the look and feel of
the graphics and how long it takes for the narrative to unfold. It’s
five minutes versus an hour. But it’s the same
Price is also another commonality; the perspective of getting
value for money can be transient across platforms. Whether
you’re paying 1.99 for a mobile game or £50 for the latest
console game…’

6. Prash Mistry:
‘Most of us would have grown up playing ‘Snake’ on the old Nokia
5146, but we wouldn’t be classed as a ‘gamer’. I wouldn’t categorize
gamers by platform but by behavior. I’d say:
Social gamer – All my friends are playing so it must be good
Bored gamer – I only play because I have nothing else to do
Entertainment gamer – I enjoy playing games and get a buzz out of it
Hardcore gamer – I am going home especially to play my favourite
game.’

7. Tom Botting:
‘…I’d say those that play games through social media and mobile
don’t necessarily take gaming as seriously as those that invest in
consoles and are more concerned with playing something to
pass the time whilst on the go. The type of content they
download and engage with is normally whatever is top of the
charts or new that week, so it’s based on trends, in many ways
it’s comparable to the Harlem Shake or LOLCats.
I think the two are separate to some degree, I think that any
mobile versions/extensions of XBOX games are pointless, but I
think console gamers like the idea of retro games such as Golden
Axe, Sonic and Streets of Rage being available on mobile and at
the same quality they are used to at the time of release so that
opens up a whole new area for ‘gamers’ ‘

8. Chris Dring:
‘I would categorise social and mobile players as ‘casual players’
or as I prefer, mainstream gamers. This is the same sort of
audience that invested in DS and Wii. People that aren’t
interested in 40-hour story-driven epics, but something light,
well-built and with social elements. Consoles face a challenge to
win over these players as buying a dedicated gaming machine is
not something they feel the need to do anymore. If they can get
a fun, simplistic (although I’m not saying all games on tablets
and mobiles are simplistic, just the most popular ones are)
gaming experience on a tablet, why would they need to go out
and buy a PS4, Wii U or PS3? ’

9. Do you think that the social and mobile gamers value
convenience over quality and what implications does this have
for the likes of PlayStation and Xbox in terms of engaging
them?

10. Chris Dring:
‘Not all gamers of social and mobile titles are casual gamers.
And there are plenty of deep, hardcore experiences on these
platforms. However, on the whole I believe the casual fans of
these products do like the convenience and immediacy of mobile
and tablet. The accessibility of Angry Birds, in terms of it being
on your phone and its affordability, is far superior to New Super
Mario Bros 2 on 3DS. However, consoles are starting to learn a
thing or two from the mobile world. The fact that you can boot
up PS4 in seconds, with all updates happening behind the scenes,
is significant. As is the fact you can start playing your game
before it is downloaded. This accessibility might make it easier
for PlayStation to engage these fans. However, Sony’s marketing
pitch – the future of play – is a telling one. PS4 isn’t being
pitched as a multi-entertainment device like a tablet (although it
is). It wants to win over the high-spending gaming audience first
and foremost.’

11. Tom Botting:
‘…I think convenience over quality, but also gameplay over
graphics, content or theatrics. Games like Angry Birds have
become successful due to their addictive nature through simple
gameplay. In my opinion the likes of PlayStation and Xbox don’t
really compete however old school games are available to Xbox
users to download via the dashboard so they can offer this
service too’

12. Prash Mistry:
‘Convenience is very powerful. It also helps that in times of
boredom or time passing, a game is always available in the palm
of your hand, on a device that you will be carrying either way.
The key things about playing on a console and why I would
ideally like to play on one if I had the choice of both would be so I
can be fully immersed into the gaming experience; with a large
HD screen with amazing graphics, high quality surround sound,
and communication with peers via a headset. If there was a way
to continue my game, via my mobile, that doesn’t require those
other facets of immerse gaming I mentioned earlier then that
would be amazing!

13. Mike Masuku:
‘social and mobile game developers remove the barriers to
success, which encourages a different kind of engagement with
the games. These gamers value ease, speed, price and
accessibility – if you want to call that convenience then yes, but
it’s a different paradigm to console gamers. But consoles
manufacturers are looking to remove those barriers to quick and
repetitive gamely with the FTP market. We could see this at the
PS4 event, when Sony mentioned nothing about the cost of the
new machine but spoke at length about enabling FTP and
streaming games. This ‘arcade mode’ is the middle ground
between mobile & social gaming and immersive console games’

14. Are we seeing a natural maturation of the gaming industry,
where there's a far broader and more diverse audience that
cannot be dominated by one type of technology or service? In
which case who has the most power to engage and retain these
audiences? Game developers, hardware manufacturers or the
social platforms?

15. Chris Dring:
‘Developers need to put their games where consumers are. And
they are spending so much time on Facebook and iPhone and
Android, and these are dominant players in the broader games
industry. However, content is key. It is always about the games.
Facebook and iPhone would not be interesting gaming platforms
if developers aren’t making interesting games for them. The
power to retain and engage audience has always been with the
developers. Top game makers will pull gamers with them.
Nintendo may be struggling right now, but its fortunes will turn
around the moment they release Mario Kart (just look at 3DS) or
another of its top, quality IP. The mass audience is particularly
fickle, and will go from playing Wii obsessively on minute, to
spending all their time down the cinema, to spending all their
time on Facebook. Making great, attractive games is the best
way to keep them engaged in the gaming market’.

16. Mike Masuku:
‘In my opinion, right now the hierarchy is Publishers, Hardware
then social platforms. The ambition has to be to have one title
across many game pillars and have gaming communities that
are built around games, not platforms. In this world, the
developers and the publishers have the power. But the challenge,
which is not really being fully met yet, is to truly bake in social
media as part of the experience. This is where the social and, to
some extent, the mobile platforms hold the power. The big buzz
tech is asynchronous multi-player where mates can ghost race
each other or play against people that have already played
hours before. This makes the whole experience more social…’

17. Tom Botting:
‘I think social/mobile gaming has created a new audience of
gamers who would never normally have considered purchasing
games on any platform, but with the introduction of games on
mobile and the popularity of said games this has created a new
era of gaming. With this in mind I think the social platforms have
the most power’

18. Prash Mistry:
‘An all-round integrated service for gaming will be most useful to
everyone, so you can continue your favourite console games
from your mobile device, and enhance one overall score rather
than start again on your mobile device. Game developers and
hardware manufacturers will be forced to use social platforms to
retain their audiences, as they offer more reach and accessibility
to the wider audience, as opposed to signing into server specific
forums and gaming hubs. Social platforms will set the tone for
how gaming will be perceived and advertised to the wider
audience and play a key role in making a game a success or a
failure.’

19. In part two of this piece we will
explore how these different gaming
audiences can be engaged and how
publishers, platforms and hardware
manufacturers must evolve…