In Contrast to Competitive Gaming: Why the Audience for Casual Games has Risen

In Contrast to Competitive Gaming: Why the Audience for Casual Games has Risen

Casual gaming may not be as popular as competitive gaming, but it’s still a multi-billion dollar industry, and the audience for this particular type of gameplay continues to grow at a steady pace. A casual game is a more laid-back kind of computer game that doesn’t require a great deal of skill to play. Compared to competitive gaming (which is also often known as hardcore gaming), the rules for most games are fairly straightforward, and the session times are much shorter.

Here is a closer look at several reasons why the audience for casual gaming has risen to the multi-billion dollar industry it is today.

What is Casual Gaming?

Casual gaming is a term given to video games that are quick and easy to play without the player having to spend hours of time at a screen, which is why the people who play these games are also often referred to as casual gamers. In comparison, a hardcore gamer or competitive gamer can spend hours of time playing, and gaming at this level is seen more of as a hobby rather than just something to do to pass the time.

Most casual gamers will only play to kill a few minutes of time. They could be stuck in traffic, sitting on a bus or train to or from work, just chilling on the sofa or in bed, or even sitting on the toilet (a lot of people have openly admitted in anonymous surveys to playing games while on the toilet!). In other words, it doesn’t really matter where you are to play a casual game, and it doesn’t matter about distractions possibly getting in the way.

Die-hard gamers who sit at the screen for hours playing games such as Call of Duty need more of a comfortable environment to play in, with little or no distractions. There is no real commitment to casual games as there is with competitive/hardcore games.

Why the Audience for Casual Games has Risen

Casual games have come a long way since the early days. However, many of these earlier games are still available to play right now and are just as popular today as they were when they were first released. Hit titles, such as Candy Crush, Flappy Bird, Angry Birds, and Subway Surfers, are available across multiple devices, which has allowed them to reach a much wider audience. Just like Pac-Man, the Dinosaur Game, Minesweeper, Bejewelled, Tetris, and Solitaire, today’s casual games are quick and easy to play, and they are instantly appealing to most who play them.

They are generally quite simple in design, bright and colourful, and have catchy sound effects and repetitive background audio that are both easy on the ears and eyes. Also, casual games have been designed to reach a wide demographic of players, from the young to the old, to every gender. They don’t require additional in-play purchases, and the ones that you do have to pay for are generally extremely cheap.

The other reason why the popularity of casual games is on the rise could also be that they take just seconds to launch in most web browsers without the need to download any programs from the internet. The ultimate convenience of being able to play these games with just a couple of taps or clicks is what makes them so appealing to the masses, plus the sheer volume of games you can find today means that you can always find something to play.

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Ibuki


Aspiring ninja.

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