The Year Of The Casual Gamer?

By Michael McWhertor, 10:00 AM on Mon Dec 8 2008, 6,994 views While some console manufacturers may have claimed that 2008 was going to be their year, the past twelve months may be remembered for the year the casual gamer won the market. And like it or not, it may have been the best thing to happen to the video game industry. Admittedly, 2008 has seen some growing pains, especially tender for hardcore gamers who cringed at the E3 debuts of Nintendo's Wii Music and Microsoft's You're In The Movies. We've shifted from a glut of brain training games, but at what cost? Fortunately, the release of Wii Fit outside of Japan may have helped spawn a new generation of gamer. The casual market has also seen what may appeared to be some growing pains with two notable transitions at Electronic Arts: the merging of EA Casual with The Sims label and the closure of EA Blueprint. Chip Lange, vice president of EA Casual, however, says that EA's commitment to casual games is "stronger than it has ever ...  more