GameDaily BIZ: Marketing to Game Minorities
Marketing to Game Minorities
Stereotypes suck; yet even today, they threaten to derail the interactive entertainment industry. Scott Steinberg, managing director of Embassy Multimedia Consultants, chats with experts from several non-traditional gaming audiences to learn how developers/publishers can finally put prejudice out to pasture.
It's easy being Jewish – everyone knows we control the media. And hailing from Atlanta, thousands must love me: You've heard about that Southern hospitality, naturally. Still, maybe not... after all, I do have that short man's complex, right?
Anyhow, I digress. See how much fun you can have with stereotypes? The only problem being as follows: Easy to fall back on, seemingly harmless at first blush, they're not only potentially offensive and/or demeaning – they're an absolute killer in a boardroom situation.
The same reason Embassy Multimedia Consultants advises its clientele to look at all potential partners and projects objectively is the same reason game makers and marketers can't afford to pigeonhole audiences. By doing so, you run the risk of not only speaking to them out of turn or erroneously, but you also flirt with the danger of completely missing the mark in terms of positioning, alienating entire demographics and ultimately consigning your product or service to oblivion.
That being said, it's painfully obvious that for too long, we in the gaming business have been slaves to typecasting. To wit, a few key points we'd all do well to remember:
* Gamers aren't all geeks
* Not every buyer's a white, 18-34 year-old male
* Graphics mean less than gameplay
* Hype alone does not move units
* Celebrity endorsements don't guarantee hits
* The simpler the concept, the better
* Shoppers are smarter than they're given credit for
In the spirit of constructively airing out several of the industry's more shameful grievances, I've invited four associates, each representing a traditional "gaming minority" – seniors, women, Latinos and African Americans, respectively – to offer their thoughts on the subject.
It's my sincere hope that the insight they offer helps to do away with some of the ignorance which sadly still seems to persist and color several of the sector's more common business practices:
Sal Falciglia
CEO and founder of Slingo, Inc., creators of the mega-successful Slingo casual game series: Won't disclose his age, but says he's "been around long enough to see a few U.S. presidents come and go."
What's the most common misconception about seniors?
"That seniors are not engaging in games and other online interactive entertainment experiences. According to Hitwise, over 30% of Slingo.com's traffic comes from users who are over 55 years of age. This means that hundreds of thousands of seniors are going online to play games and engage in social networks on our site alone."
How do you feel about their traditional portrayal in the gaming space?
"It's a bit shortsighted. Seniors have been engaging in social games for many years and the digital world is the next stage of senior entertainment evolution. Just look at any bingo hall or group of people playing bocce or shuffleboard and you will see a good portion of the players are from an older generation. Now they are conversing and congregating online."
What type of titles is the community really drawn to?
"We have seen our senior community drawn to games that embrace social elements and cooperative gameplay rather than isolated experiences or competitive games. They also have a tendency to enjoy games which are 'massively single-player' where people play together and are ranked against each other, but one person cannot affect another person's gameplay. For those people who don't have a large social outlet, online community games are a great way for people to connect."
How could game developers and publishers make their products more appealing and/or marketable to this audience?
"Start by forgetting most of what you learned about making games in the core space. User interface is considerably more important since eyesight, reaction time and color blindness can be factors with older players. Games should be designed so that next steps are clearly defined and the game itself should focus on the fun. Games should be pleasing to the eye, but don't have to focus on crazy particle effects and 3D graphics. Simple is usually better – like games that only require the use of the left mouse button."
Anything you'd like to say to software makers and distributors that might help them get their heads out of the sand?
"Just as the game industry dropped their mouths when they realized WOMEN were playing games a few years ago, the same level of awareness is going to strike when statistics show yet another demographic category has been underestimated. It's simple; anyone of any age enjoys an entertaining experience and sometimes that experience is a digital game."
Do games all have to be cerebral, slow-paced affairs like crossword puzzles or card games to connect with this demographic?
"Not at all. These people are seniors, not feeble, so they enjoy an exhilarating experience just as much as the next person. But just don't think that your older crowd is looking for shooters, RPGs and twitch games with complicated controls and unachievable goals that require 50 play-throughs."
As a follow up, what do you think is the best way to reach this audience?
"Like any other entertainment product you need to advertise where you will reach your market and show them how much fun your product is. Do not discount the massive power of word-of-mouth with an already social senior crowd."
Finally, the worst stereotype about seniors and gaming would be...?
"That older people don't add value to the game industry. Advertisers ignore them because they don't think they support an entertainment-based lifestyle. Seniors are a large and growing group of people who tend to consume entertainment products due to ample amounts of free time. They want to be entertained and are incredibly social people."
