10 years ago, if we polled people to find out what their favorite video game was, you’d probably hear answers like Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Madden NFL 2005 or even the newly released World of Warcraft, which is now the highest grossing video game of all time.
Enter Social Games
Today, gamers aren’t sitting down to play video games like they were 10 years ago. Probably one of the biggest hurdles for gaming console developers has been the emergence of smartphones and tablets as major gaming outlets. The virality of social games like Candy Crush, Flappy Bird, Angry Birds and the new arrival 2048 are inexpensive to create, free for users and offer the convenience of “on-the-go” play.
The emergence of social media gaming, gamers are excessively becoming addicted to online games. And given the number of substitutes available to gamers, the market is witnessing a rapid shift to online gaming.
This shift of consumers to other gaming platforms poses a challenge to the growth of the market, which is why the Global Packaged Console Gaming Market is only expected to post a CAGR of 1.18 percent for the 2013-2018 period.
It is safe to say that the advent of smartphones has revolutionized the gaming market. Nowadays, consumers prefer to use smartphones and tablets to play games rather than purchasing or investing in gaming consoles. Moreover, gamers have the option to download games through smartphones and connect them to TV sets through HDMI cables, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
In addition, the user-friendly features and compactness of tablets have enabled gamers to enjoy virtual gaming on the move. Thus, the emergence of smartphones and tablets poses a challenge to the growth of the market during the forecast period.
Social Games vs Console Games
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Console Games |
Social Games |
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Pros |
Cons |
Pros |
Cons |
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High quality graphics and enhanced gameplay. |
Requires gaming consoles, which are expensive. |
Games can be played anywhere at any time (though many require an internet connection). |
Dependant on wireless connectivity for gameplay. Slow connections mean poor gaming experience. |
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Some consoles are equipped with additional features like Blu-Ray and Netflix. |
Games are more expensive to purchase. |
Many games are free to download and play. In-app purchases can be made at the discretion of the gamer. |
Quality of graphics are not as good as console games. |
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Better internet connectivity. |
Paid subscriptions required for online play. |
Can be played across devices (smartphone, tablet, PC). |
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Social gaming is one of the fastest growing industries in the gaming market. In the United States alone, approximately one third of internet users are social gamers, which is driving the growth of the Global Social Gaming Market at a CAGR of 17.81 percent from 2013-2018. In addition, there is a huge opportunity for the vendors in this market to attract and retain potential gamers since internet penetration is very high in the US.
But Can Social Games Really Replace Console Games?
Fortunately for gaming console manufacturers, many gamers are still attracted to the vastly superior game play of console games. So while many people still kill time by playing social games on-the-go, when they get home, there is still that edge preventing social games from monopolizing the market.
Furthermore, while there is still a high initial cost of investment for gaming consoles, the additional features included like a Blu-Ray player and access to Netflix make spending an extra couple hundred bucks worth it in the long run.
Verdict
As gamers stand (and I’d consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject), social games have effectively changed gaming forever. But that doesn’t mean game over for consoles quite yet.
While social games are something that people enjoy playing while commuting home from work, or in line at the bank, or as a way to unwind after a long day, they can’t provide the complexity and immersive gameplay achieved from games like Call of Duty or World of Warcraft…yet.
Who knows what video games will look like in another 10 years (though if I had to guess, they will be heavily weighted in augmented reality); but if one thing is clear, it is that both social game and console game developers will have to find a way to offer features that the competition can’t. If they can do this, then there will always be a place for both social games and console games.
