If you need any further clue that we're entering a golden era for casual games, take a look in Nintendo's direction. It looks like Nintendo have been prepping developers for their upcoming appstore for downloadable game and application content. Platforms as the iPhone (30 million units), Xbox 360 (28 million), PS3 (22 million), Nintendo WIi (nearly 50 million), and the PC all provide some healthy choices for casual game offerings, but with a concentrated user base of a whopping 100 million gamers, the market leader is set to be a huge player in the downloadable casual games market with their new handheld.
From developmag.com...
Sources which attended the top-secret Nintendo Developer Conference in London this week have told us that Nintendo has a plan in place that will push developers towards producing short-form content for its new DSi handheld.The device includes access to the DS Shop and DSi Ware, but instead of emphasising game downloads - as has been done with previously with Wii/WiiWare - Nintendo is encouraging developers to think about making shorter 'applications', both of a games and non-game variety for the DSi.
Don't forget that the
Don't forget that the existing user base of 100m won't be able to access the appstore unless they buy the new hardware. The userbase will be small until some of those 100m upgrade. It's a pretty expensive upgrade for not a lot of extra hardware, although the extra cpu speed and memory will be useful. I wonder how many DS Lite owners are likely to upgrade. For those with an original DS, it seems more reasonable in the current financial climate...