casual players want more of the same

[killarkai]

<rant mode="off"/>

just throwing out something everybody already knows... but still shocking since its the first time I saw statements like this with my own eyes

Second comment from Gamezebo's Weding Dash announcement:

http://www.gamezebo.com/2007/07/just_in_wedding_dash.html

"this game really is a lot of fun.
hey game makers keep this type of genre rolling,also the hidden object games too."

[WaveRider]

Is anyone else thinking that the name "Wedding Dash" came straight from Sakura Games' Casual Game Name Generator (http://sakuragames.com/casualgamenamegenerator.php)?

[cliffski]

what people want, and what they think they want is different.
That same person would have said keep the match 3 games coming, till they played diner dash (and ignored Bettys Beer bar...).

People do not know what they want. If they did, there would be no marketing industry. Nobody ever asked for a political simulation game or a turn based life sim, but lots of people bought both of them once they were made.

[Polycount Productions]

Is anyone else thinking that the name "Wedding Dash" came straight from Sakura Games' Casual Game Name Generator (http://sakuragames.com/casualgamenamegenerator.php)?

Hehee, this is excellent! :)

[Spore Man]

Shouldn't be surprising. Just look at music.... movies..... even restaurants. In your typical small city, you'll see the "chains" that all serve basically the same thing do well, meanwhile "variety" like good japanese, thai, indian, etc barely survive. PEOPLE ARE SHEEP. They like to stick to what they know and are familiar with. That's why ugly brown "traditional" wood furniture will outsell any unique design or color any day, by a huge margin.

[vjvj]

Is anyone else thinking that the name "Wedding Dash" came straight from Sakura Games' Casual Game Name Generator (http://sakuragames.com/casualgamenamegenerator.php)?

Creativity Error

Sorry, but is not possible to create a casual game that's not a clone of any current existing games! Please correct this and retry!
Press the back button to know more great names for your future top-games!

HAHAHAHA... I love it.

[Spiegel]

Shouldn't be surprising. Just look at music.... movies..... even restaurants. In your typical small city, you'll see the "chains" that all serve basically the same thing do well, meanwhile "variety" like good japanese, thai, indian, etc barely survive. PEOPLE ARE SHEEP. They like to stick to what they know and are familiar with. That's why ugly brown "traditional" wood furniture will outsell any unique design or color any day, by a huge margin.

Most people just dont like to use the thing that is inside they're skulls... That's why sometimes there are individuals with a different idea that make a lot of money...

People may be little sheep but guess what everyone is thirsty for something new because they all say the same "Man, I'm sick of the same old thing, but still lets do the same old thing anyway because I have no new ideas..."... In Portugal we have a saying that goes "In a land full of blind people, any one with only one eye is king...", which may refer to the fact that we have dangerous lives and stories involving eyes, or probably because one with skills above average generally tend to lead the others... :D

[cyrus_zuo]

1 Horror movie is more than enough for me. That should be enough for the genre and no more should be made.
1 Action movie isn't nearly enough. I'll watch the Bourne Identity, and then look for a sequel, but if I can't find a sequel I'll look for something similar. (how often do you rent or check out a movie based on the poster/box art?)

The same applies in every sphere, casual games/players aren't any different.

[Sirrus]

1 Horror movie is more than enough for me. That should be enough for the genre and no more should be made.
1 Action movie isn't nearly enough. I'll watch the Bourne Identity, and then look for a sequel, but if I can't find a sequel I'll look for something similar. (how often do you rent or check out a movie based on the poster/box art?)

The same applies in every sphere, casual games/players aren't any different.

Well put, Russell.

[whisperstorm]

I'm not sure why folks are so down on casual gamers. They play games for different reasons than "hard core" gamers do. Most likely they are playing to de-stress from a long day, or to escape from a daily grind kinda thing. When they play a clone game, its like revisting a favorite novel in a new way. They dont have to figure out the game mechanics, or spend alot of time at a game they end up disliking. I also imagine casual gamers dont have alot of free time, so finding something familiar helps cut down the time they take searching for something fun.

I've read hundreds of fantasy novels where the hero is some noob that eventually slays the huge evil guy. It's basically the same thing, but I never get tired of it because I'm reading to just escape and get into a story. I think this is partially why casual gamers are attracted to familiar stuff as well.

It sounds more like folks here are unhappy with casual game developers who appear to be taking shortcuts to success. If a game is not completely new and dramatically different it has to be somehow a cop out. I firmly believe you should build games that you would want to play yourself, but perhaps some of these developers are naturally gravitating to areas where they can make a profit.