Casual Kid Games

[Roman Budzowski]

Hi,
I was wondering if making game for kids (lets say 2-5 years old) is a good idea. I looked at some portals and don't see category 'kid games'. Is that because there is no casual games for kids or because there is no business in that kind of games?

best regards
Roman Budzowski

[whisperstorm]

to get casual kid games you go to sites like:

everythinggirl.com
bonus.com
nickjr.com
toomunchfun.com
lego.com
garfield.com (many amazing games there!)

-- kids play casual games, but as flash and shockwave games on the web - they dont have the time or patience to download/install games.

[Bmc]

Real Arcade has a section called Kids Favorites, look there for the type of casual games that appeal to kids.

I say the thing to do is make a game that both kids and adults enjoy playing. Examples from Real, I Spy, Hamsterball, Feeding Frenzy. All of these are listed in Kids Favorites.


kids play casual games, but as flash and shockwave games on the web - they dont have the time or patience to download/install games.

Do you have any data to back that up?

In most cases it would be the parent who downloads the game, especially when you are talking about 2-5 year olds. They will also be the one who pays for it, so obviously you will need to please them first and what better way to do that then to make a game they also enjoy.

PS. There is a casual games forum, which is where this thread belongs. ;)

[dburger]

Yep, the portals carry very few if any kids games. There is a market for them, but it will require a different marketing approach than normal casual games. Educational and parenting sites are a good place to start. Also, it will be hard to compete with the branded games from Nickelodeon and the likes.

-- kids play casual games, but as flash and shockwave games on the web - they dont have the time or patience to download/install games.
Agreed, and like most parents I basically forbid my kids from installing anything from the internet, no mater how harmless it seems.

To sell casual games to kids as young as you are suggesting, you will really have to get the games in front of the parents. This age kid won't be downloading anything themselves.

Here's an idea... since all the portals acknowledge that more than half of their audience is female, why not market kids games to all these moms?? Mom could go to the portal, review the game and look at screen shots online, safely download and install it and then let the kids play the trial and see if they like it. If the game has an educational spin to it Mom gets a double bonus... feeling good about helping the kids educationally, and get a little free time while they are "learning" on the computer.

<rant> I spent many years developing kids cd-rom games and when the big branders came in and slapped Barbie, Hotwheels, and the likes on every game, sales stopped being driven by the quality of the game play. All that mattered was the power of the license and the glitziness of the box. Maybe the shareware model where you get to see if the game is any good before purchasing can overcome some of the branding advantage.</rant>

By the way, I do think there is a huge market for kids games, it just requires a different plan of attack for marketing and sales.

Good luck.

[Roman Budzowski]

Here's an idea... since all the portals acknowledge that more than half of their audience is female, why not market kids games to all these moms?? Mom could go to the portal, review the game and look at screen shots online, safely download and install it and then let the kids play the trial and see if they like it. If the game has an educational spin to it Mom gets a double bonus... feeling good about helping the kids educationally, and get a little free time while they are "learning" on the computer.

That's exactly my points. All those womans must have some childrens :) Since they buy games for themselfes, they might be willing to buy games for their kids.

By the way, I do think there is a huge market for kids games, it just requires a different plan of attack for marketing and sales.

Good luck.


Thanks. Will going to have very good quality product similar to Bob the Builder. The only thing we will not be able to compete with is the song.

best regards
Roman

[Savant]

There's a lot of truth to the Java/Flash comment above. Whenever small children are brought into the office they inevitably end up sitting in front of the Nickolodeon web site, playing web games. Nobody is downloading games to entertain them...

[BantamCityGames]

Some of the bigger portals are have recently or are in the process of adding a Kids channel to their sites.

[Anthony Flack]

kids play casual games, but as flash and shockwave games on the web

I'm a school teacher, and I can tell you that the kids at my school play web games on the school emacs all the damn time. Every time you turn your back in fact.

[Yuriy O]

Hi,
I was wondering if making game for kids (lets say 2-5 years old) is a good idea. I looked at some portals and don't see category 'kid games'. Is that because there is no casual games for kids or because there is no business in that kind of games?

best regards
Roman Budzowski

I would think it's not a bad idea. There's market for everything.

[Rod Hyde]

I know this is audience research of just one and I may not be typical, but parents definitely buy games for their kids, both educational and other. I've just bought (after the longest demo ever) Best Friends Forever for my 4 year old and now she's nagging me to buy Hamsterball.

But, it is fair to say that she also gets good mileage out the various online / web games.

--- Rod

[gpetersz]

I am already developing my first title for this market... :)

[Roman Budzowski]

I am already developing my first title for this market... :)

Hmmm... So there's going to be some competition in this market :-) As long if it is not to big, I believe it'll be good for us.

take care
Roman