Online games » Games Market

The Huge Online Multi-Player Games Market

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:32:25 +0000

Over recent years there has been an ever increasing demand worldwide for online multi player games. This growth has been fueled by the booming skill games sector which has evolved from being a niche market just a few years ago, to very much a mainstream player today.

I always considered typical online gamers to be young males playing the ‘hardcore’ console type games. Although this market does exist and it is itself a massive one, the skill games sector has really flourished over recent years and appeals to a much broader demographic.

Skill games or addictive online games, as they are sometimes known, are browser based games which are played in a tournament format. Each participant pays a cash entry fee to play and with a cash or merchandise prize going to the winner or winners of the tournament.

Unlike the often complex console games, skill games last for only a few minutes at a time and have only a few very simple rules to learn before playing. For these reasons, skill games can be enjoyed during a break at work or at any other time when you have a few minutes to spare. In fact, 80% of people who have played addictive online games during the workday felt better focused as a result of this periodic mental break. What’s more, an amazing 72% relied on game breaks to reduce job-related stress.

The simplicity and rapid completion of this gaming type is a key reason why these online multiplayer games appeal to a much broader age range than the far more complicated and immersive console games. In fact, skill gamers tend to be both men and women between the ages of 35 and 65, with a slight demographic skew towards women. Although this is the main participating age range, people of all ages, from all over the world, play in there millions. Such is the demand for the playing of these games, there are now skill gaming sites with hundreds of thousands of individuals playing games online at any one time.

What Exactly Are Skill Games?

Skill games are familiar, fun pastimes such as:

Board games like draughts, backgammon Sports games like pool, golf and basketball Puzzle games like jigsaws and word games

Until quite recently I had never played an online game in my life thinking that they were for kids and would simply not interest me. How wrong I was. I have always loved playing pool, so I went online and found a pool game to play. It was brilliant and I was instantly hooked. I started playing for free but when I had become a little more competent, I started placing small wagers on each game; this just added to the excitement. I then entered a £1000 cash prize tournament and although I did not win, I felt a real buzz knowing that I was competing live with people around the world. I can really now see first hand how and why the skill games market has really grasped the attention of all ages from all cultures and countries worldwide.

If you’re looking for a little excitement and you have not yet done so, I urge you to pick out a good skill games site and have a crack at some online multi player games today.

By: Gavin Evans

The Addictive Online Games Market

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:50:38 +0000

The aim of this article is to highlight the emergence of the addictive online games market and how it has become the fastest growing sector in the whole online entertainment industry.

The skill gaming market or casual games market, as it is more commonly known, has become big business in recent years; it has become attractive to investors and entrepreneurs alike. The casual games sector grew from almost nothing in 2002 to in excess of $600 million in 2004, in the US alone. In 2008, the US market has now grown to over $2 billion.

The casual games business reaches virtually all demographic sectors, with women in their forties comprising the typical casual game player. However, statistics show that men, teens, children as well as the older generation also enjoy partaking in this booming pastime.

By utilizing the web as the key platform for the creation, monetization and promotion of casual gaming content, the industry has created a channel that both drives and is driven by consumer demand. Today, addictive online games are some of the ’stickiness’ forms of web-based entertainment and it is therefore not surprising that skill games websites are among the highest ranked and most visited sites on the web. In the past, online games entertainment content was dominated by game reviews but this has now been replaced by the actual games themselves. Due to the mass market appeal of this gaming genre, it has rapidly moved well beyond the realm of niche into the mainstream.

The huge growth in global broadband take up has boosted the online distribution of skill games which has made them a great deal more accessible to non-traditional gaming audiences, particularly female players who may have never considered themselves “gamers” per se.

Unlike typical hardcore gaming which generally appeals to males in the 18-34 age range, casual gaming is much more the pastime of both men and women from the age of 35 to 65; In fact there is even a slight demographic skew towards women. Statistics show that women spend a great deal longer playing these games each week than compared to men. On average, women spend 9.1 hours per week playing online games compared to just 6.1 hours with men.

There is a glut of companies competing for a share of the online skill games profits. However, the quality of the service can vary dramatically from company to company, so it is imperative that you do your research before making your choice. One of the common complaints made by gamers is the poor level of customer support offered by many firms. Getting a speedy response to a query is often rare since most organisations use an email ticket service where response times can vary from 24-48 hours. Conversely, there is the other end of the scale when you are offered a 24/7 telephone and email support service in 7 languages. However, I have so far only found one company offering this exemplary service.

Once you have selected the outfit of your choice, you will surely lose yourself in hours of fun enjoying the fabulous array on addictive online games on offer.

By: Gavin Evans