How can casual game developers adapt?
In order to maintain the biggest piece of the pie possible, casual game developers need to evolve their business strategy. This essay covers the following: • Strengths and weaknesses of the typical successful casual game developer • How the addition of developer-run online services can help mitigate the weaknesses of the current downloadable business model • How a developer’s strengths as makers of great games can be turned into a competitive advantage when surviving in an ecosystem filled with larger service-oriented portals The current dominant strategy There are two pillars to the typical casual game developer’s strategy: Best-in-class casual games The golden geese at the center of most casual game developers’ success are their high-quality casual games. The best groups create a powerful creative team that consistently builds polished, innovative titles that have strong appeal with a wide demographic of players. Historically, such teams have focused on creating complete, packaged ga
