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The Future of Indie Games

By: Bret Wardle

August 20th, 2006

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Table Of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………… 3

Overview……………………………………………………………. 3

Delimitations………………………………………………………… 3

Definition of Terms…………………………………………………. 4

Abbreviations…………………………………………….…………. 5

Assumptions…………………………………………...……………. 5

The Purpose Statement………………………………………...……. 6

Hypothesis………………………………………………….………. 6

Literature Review…………………………………………………………. 7

Methodology……………………………………………………….………. 11

Overview……………………………………………………………. 11

Instruments…………………………………………….……………. 11

Subject Population…………………………………….……………. 12

Data Collection………………………………………………..……. 12

Results………………………………………………………………………. 13

Overview……………………………………………………………. 13

Conclusion…………………………………………….……………. 15

References…………………………………………………………..………. 17

Appendix……………………………………………………………………. 19

Sample Survey………………………………………………………. 19

Detailed Survey Results…………………………………………..…. 23

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Introduction

Overview

Ten to fifteen years ago the independent film industry was a newly experienced medium

for most people. Over a span of about eight years that industry became a major contributor to the

film market share. With lower production costs, and equal quality this drove some of the major

movie distributors under. I intend to predict the independent game industries future. Will the

lower cost of these games drive some lesser distributors out of the market? Will the quality of

these games rise to the level of their big money predecessors? All of these questions are

important to anyone involved in the industry. It is a major determinant of job security, job

openings, and industry pay. For anyone looking to get into the industry, and major companies

alike this study could shed some light on where the exploding game scene is headed.

Delimitations:

- This study will not be focused on any specific genre of games.

- This study will focus on the next five years of development for this industry

- This study will attempt to predict the industry in terms of market share, not player

satisfaction or any other subjective categories.

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Definition of Terms:

Future: For the scope of this study the researcher is considering the future of the industry

as a five-year period, the calendar years from 2006 through 2011.

Video Games: This is considered any platform of game played with a video feedback to

the consumer. It includes PC games, Console Games, Internet Based games, and any type of

virtual reality games.

Independent: when used in reference to the industry this means a developer that produces

games without a major publisher behind them. The developer serves as the designer, publisher,

and distributor of the game. Will, in some cases, also be referred to as “Indie”

Wii: A seventh generation video game console made by Nintendo. Intended for release in

the Fall of 2006.

Xbox Live Arcade: A feature of Xbox 360 Live in which users can pay to download

casual arcade style games and play them live with users from around the world. This platform is

regulated by Microsoft but upon approval is open to independent developers.

Core Gamer: short for hardcore gamer this term is used to describe a type of video game

player whose leisure time is largely devoted to playing video games. Generally prefers the

longer, more complicated titles.

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Casual Gamer: A video game player that focuses his/her attention to simple games. Plays

a game more as a way to pass time than a mission to complete.

Abbreviations:

IGF: Abbreviation for Independent Games Festival

FPS: Abbreviation for First Person Shooter (game genre)

RPG: Abbreviation for Role Playing Game

NES: Nintendo Entertainment System

SNES: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

PS3: Playstation 3

PDA: Personal Digital Assistant

XLA: Xbox Live Arcade

Assumptions:

The first assumption is that the game industry in whole will continue to grow on par with

the five years previous to the study, and not suffer a “crash” as was the case in the past.

The second assumption is that technology behind the game industry will not drastically

change in the next five years, and will keep its current rate of advancement.

The third assumption is that the production cost for independent games will remain the

same in comparison to published games for the period being evaluated.

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The Purpose Statement

The purpose of this research is to predict where the emerging independent video game

industry heading in the next five years. I will be using a quantitative research design for my

study. Specifically I will be using a survey research design. I intend to use a simple survey that I

have created surrounding some of the topics I have found relevant to this subject. It is intended

for casual and core video game players alike. The survey questions are based off of some of the

ideas I have found from articles and interviews I have read. The questions are intended to

evaluate the style of play that a gamer uses. The purpose of this is to determine the amount of

time and money is spent on gaming, as well as what types of habits these gamers have. Are these

players spending money on systems or games? Are they playing free games or published games?

Overall the purpose of this study is to attempt to track the habits of video game players,

and with that information predict whether the indie video game industry will become a major

contributor to the overall video game market share over the next five years. This will be useful to

anyone working in the industry, and can help give an insight as to where a fast moving

technology driven industry will be headed.

Hypothesis

My hypothesis is that the data found will show strong signs of the industry becoming a

major contributor to market share in the video game industry. With the gaming industry already

becoming huge (surpassed the film industry in total revenue for the first time ever in 2005) I feel

that independent developers will have more opportunity than ever to get a great release of a

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game. I also believe that with the many independent game festivals and competitions out there,

little known developers will be able to break into the semi-mainstream of gaming and be able to

fund future projects.

Literature Review

Indie games are defined by Wikipedia as a game of any sort that is created independently

of the financial backing of a publisher (Indie, 7). Most of the games you and I have heard of are

not this type of game. Generally big publishing dollars account for the familiarity of a title. This

is due to the fact that advertising is meant to create a buzz around a title or character. Indie

games are strongly linked to casual games (Indie, 7). They are also generally distributed via

shareware or freeware versioning. Are the trends in current video game habits leading away from

this fact? Could the indie game scene be making a shift towards the more mainstream, and in

turn higher revenue, distribution channels? According to my reading there are four distinct areas

that will drive the indie gaming scene over the next five years. These are: Seventh generation

consoles advancing in technology, an increase in market share for the casual game industry, the

availability of legitimate game engines and technology, and the progression of independent

gaming festivals.

At the current time there are 3 seventh generation video game consoles in the works. The

Microsoft Xbox 360 is the only console that has been released to the public at the time of this

publication. The Nintendo Wii has a tentative release date of Fall 2006, and the Sony Playstation

3 has a tentative date of Spring 2007. There is much to be found in regards to these systems via

the Internet, but due to the fact that the Xbox 360 is the only one available we will focus on it.

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The major technology behind this system as far as the indie gaming scene goes is the Xbox Live

Arcade. This feature allows a user to download and play games of many types on their system.

The games on XLA are generally old classics that have been redesigned for a new audience. This

kind of game is far less expensive to make due to its simplicity, and “tried and true” likeability.

For these reasons it lends itself perfectly to the independent game developer. Arthur Humphrey,

in an interview with Joel Brodie is quoted as saying: “As Xbox Live Arcade continues to blur the

lines between casual and core games, we also wonder if indie master pieces such as Darwinia

will start to cross over” (Brodie, 1). This idea that core and casual games are becoming closer

and closer is potentially huge for the indie game market. Core gamers account for a much higher

market share than casual gamers, due mostly to the time dedicated to playing video games. Any

sign that core gamers are starting to pay for and enjoy casual style games is a big indicator of

what might be to come. Another technology that is being talked about surrounding this console is

Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio Express. In a Gamasutra.com article Frank Cifaldi mentions the

following:

“The most infamous new development, of course, was Microsoft's

announcement of user-created Xbox 360 game content, via the GarageGames-

developed XNA Game Studio Express. XNA Game Studio Express will

"democratize game development" by allowing users of all caliber and experience

to create original game content using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, along

with managed C# code. Games can be created and shared for free on the

Windows platform, though content sharing and downloading on the Xbox 360

console – according to Microsoft’s online FAQ - may only occur if all users

involved are part of Microsoft's "creator's club," which requires a $99 annual

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membership fee.” (Cifaldi, 5)

This technology would allow users, for only $99 a year, to publish their homemade games via

the Xbox 360 to the world. In theory this could make it possible for independent developers to

not only cover the costs of development but most likely turn a profit as well.

Over the past few years’ casual games have been made increasingly popular. This is due

in large part to the success of many game portals. A game portal is a website that hosts casual

games. Some of the most popular portals include: Big Fish Games, EA’s Pogo, Gamehouse,

GameXtazy, Gamezone, Playfirst, Real Arcade, Shockwave, TryGames, and Yahoo Games

(Hietalahti, 6). These portals have made it easy for a developer to publish his game to a well-

known site. In return you will usually just pay a royalty to the hosting site for each registered

version. Another reason for an influx in well-known casual games is the Causal Games

Association, or CGA. Jessica Tams created this organization, and when asked about its purpose

responded, “Our purpose is to bring together developers, publishers, and distributors in order to

achieve our common goal of growing the global casual games market” (Brodie, 2). By growing

this market they are expanding a channel for independent developers to flourish. One

demographic that has gone fairly unnoticed until recently is women. According to Tams, “If

you’re a casual game developer or publisher, you should be very interested in a woman’s

perspective because so many of your users are women” (Brodie, 2). This demographic is creating

revenue that was previously unaccounted for due to the overwhelming number of male gamers.

The technology behind independent games is far less complicated than their published

counterparts. This is due mostly to the fact that the cost of making these games has to be

significantly lower than a published game. One technology that is making it easy for independent

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developers to get their hand on a simple yet effective toolset is the Torque Game Engine. This

engine is built from the ground up and allows the user to create any style, genre, or complexity of

game. According to wikipedia.org a user can obtain a copy of this game engine for only $100, if

the user is not employed by a game company with an annual revenue greater than $250,000

(Torque, 10). This is an unbelievable difference from the cost of the Unreal Engine 2, which has

a licensing rate of $350,000 for the engine alone (Torque, 10). These costs can be a huge barrier

to entry for the independent developer. The lower they go the stronger you have to assume the

industry will get. With these costs lowering each year many game enthusiasts are learning to

create games in their basements as a side project. Take for instance Peter Stock, the

designer/developer for the independent game Armadillo Run. These types of projects are small

scale and very low budget. According to Peter, “If the project totally failed, pretty much the only

loss would have been my time. While this attitude might be counterproductive for established

studios, I think it is pretty sensible for small-time chaps like me” (Stock, 8).

The early days of independent gaming was limited to the campuses of high-tech colleges

like MIT and Berkeley, or to the basement programmer who would distribute his new game to

friends in a Ziploc bag (Brown, 3). Now we have the Internet, and with that the possibility of

distributing a project across the world in just the click of a mouse. With this technology a natural

progression was formed. Much in the same way that the Sundance Film Festival was formed for

independent films, the Independent Games Festival was formed in 1999 for video games. It was

intended as a way for unknowns to get some attention, and an attempt to fix some of the “same-

old, same-old” feeling among game enthusiasts (Brown, 3). This and other festivals have given

the independent developers a platform to compete on without being bullied around by their big

money counterparts. And due to this fact there are games coming out of these contests with

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enough steam to make their presence known. One company that has had the honor of winning an

IGF award was Techland. They won the Best Visual Arts award for their game Crime Cities. In

response to that award one member of the crime cities team said, “[we] have created a game that

won a peer voted prize… It is one of the major prizes available in the industry, not influenced by

advertising, sales figures, brands, PR agencies, politics, or anything else” (Brown, 3). The

significance of these festivals and award contests is the idea of building a name for your

development team. If you have taken home one of these awards you are more likely to have a

low level sponsor, or return buyers in the future. These kinds of awards have lead to the demand

for sequels, which are a form of guaranteed revenue.

Methodology

Overview

The research method used was a quantitative study. A survey research design best fit this

research problem. After reviewing literature I developed a survey that included questions to

develop ideas about video game player habits. The focuses were time, money, and overall

interest spent in this industry.

Instruments

The instrument used to create the survey used was Survey Gold software. This software

allows you to easily Define survey questions using a familiar Explorer interface instead of

a proprietary editor. You can conduct the same survey online, over-the-phone or in-

person. Questions can be fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, ranking or pick-list (Survey,

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9). A sample survey can be found in the Appendix of this survey. I used the web-based

survey option. This allowed me to reach the most respondents is the least amount of time.

I also focused on simple sampling to try and gain the most respondents possible, and not

segregate the respondents by ethnicity or salary

Subject Population

The primary sample population in this study consisted of subjects who were directed to a

Web-based survey after viewing a post in a video game discussion forum. The forum sites used

were various discussion threads on the OhMyGamer.com discussion forums, as well as

MySpace.com Video Game “Groups”. The survey was also distributed via word of mouth

throughout the Digital Entertainment and Video Game Design Department of the Salt Lake City

ITT Technical Institute campus. This survey was not demographic specific. There was a “Sex?”

question included to try and determine what percentages of women were playing certain games

as opposed to men. After reading that I had done many industry professionals had hinted on the

idea that women were a quickly growing demographic in the casual game industry. The money

spent on video games in any month was not calculated in a percentage of salary due to the fact

that I am seeking to predict overall market share in revenue, not market share as a percentage of

player’s salary. The population of respondents included people of all ages, genders, races, and

educations. The majority of the respondents were males in the age range of 19-25.

Data Collection

The data collection process occurred over the course of three weeks from July 30, 2006 to

August 19, 2006. The total number of respondents for this time span was 20. The responses were

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entered into the Survey Gold software and evaluated. This software allows you to produce charts

and graphs of the responses, as well as evaluate specific answers against each other. For example

you can evaluate what percentage of respondents claimed they have heard of the Unreal Engine,

as well as the Torque Engine. Detailed results can be found in the Appendix of this report. The

results of this survey were evaluated to determine the playing habits of video gamers in the

present day. Using this information and the opinions of industry professionals regarding the

future of the indie video game scene I will get a gauge for what might be possible for this

industry in the future.

Results

Overview

The results of my survey were analyzed and I found three statistical areas of interest:

Video gamers computer/internet habits, familiarity with video game engines, and game console

type and usage statistics.

100% of my respondents answered that they owned a personal computer, 70% of these

respondents stated that the Internet was the primary use for this computer. With the PC, and

more specifically the Internet being the largest distribution network for indie games this would

seem to make the outlook for these games positive. Only 15% of the respondents said that they

do not play free games over the Internet, and all of those same respondents cited

design/publishing as the primary use for their systems rather than gaming or the Internet. 60% of

those surveyed purchase games to play on their PC, and 85% of those people have heard of the

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term “Indie Games”. These numbers strongly suggest that many gamers, core and casual alike,

are playing and in turn buying independently developed games.

I included two survey questions regarding the familiarity of some fairly popular game

engines. 60% of the respondents have heard of, or used the Torque Game Engine, for a system

that is not bundled with any game that is very high. The Unreal Engine was even higher at 70%.

This is most likely due to the fact that it ships with the updated version of the Unreal:

Tournament 2004 game. This familiarity towards these engines helps to build a community

around the products, as well as a huge documentation base for beginning users. That makes the

learning curve for these particular software packages very small. Which in turn makes the

barriers to entry for the video game design industry shrink. The more independent designers

there are, the more independent games there will be.

The statistics for console and spending habits were particularly interesting to me. 60% of

my respondents said that they spend under $20 a month on gaming. The average cost of a

published game is $40, and the average time to pass a published game is 15 hours. This means a

core gamer has more than a month of down time between games based on their average playtime

according to my survey. 60% of the respondents also claimed to own two or less consoles. With

the monthly expenditures as low as they are and the cost of games as high as they have been I

believe the players are spending a lot of time playing free games. They are also being very

selective about the cost and playability of their systems. Without features like downloadable

game demos, cheaper titles, and great replay value a console will most likely not flourish in the

future.

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Conclusion

After evaluating the numbers established by my survey I feel that my hypothesis has been

validated. Conversion rate is often used as the standard for determining the success of a game in

the casual market (Carroll, 4). This calculation is a percentage of users who purchased a game

after trying a demo. In today’s casual game market a 1% conversion rate is considered a success.

This means that out of every 100 people that play your game if only one of those players pay the

money to own it your team has done an adequate job. I predict the lesser cost of the independent

games alone being able to raise that conversion rate to at least double in the coming years. If

conversion rates were still considered the standard measurement of success, than a 100%

increase would have to be considered a success in the industry. And that is a low end estimate of

increase.

Many of the comments in my survey were about games reaching peaks, and having to go

back to basics as far as what makes them enjoyable. This only adds to the fact that players are

less willing to pay $40 for a game they are done with after only two weeks of play. I tend to

believe a game for $10 that can be played and enjoyed over and over will win out. Even if the

graphics and technology are inferior to the more expensive game I feel that the replay value

alone is enough to push these games above their more expensive counter parts as far as units

sold.

The new mediums in the works right now will only add to these numbers as well. With

Microsoft’s announcement of XNA Game Studio Express people of all skill levels will have a

way to get their games to the public. This will give gamers a choice as to what they want to buy.

Before you were faced with a choice of a published game, or another published game, both

costing a fairly large amount of money. But now you not only have the choice of an independent

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game but you get to try it before you buy it. The availability of the lower end game engines will

also add to this flood of gaming choices. Players will now have a broader choice of which games

to purchase and this will in turn eliminate poorly made games from sub-par publishers.

In conclusion I feel that the independent gaming industry will be able to grow their

market share by about 150-300% in the next five years. These technologies will be the driving

force of the next generation of video games. We saw the rush of the independent film industry a

decade ago and it is now a major competitor in the over all film industry. My findings and

research throughout this problem lead me to believe that the independent game industry will do

the same if not more in its respective industry.

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References

Brodie, Joel. “Interview with Arthur Humphrey: Last Day of Work.” August 2006. Gamezebo.

14 August 2006.

<http://www.gamezebo.com/2006/08/interview_with_arthur_humphrey.html> (1)

Brodie, Joel. “Interview with Jessica Tams.” June 2006. Gamezebo.

14 August 2006.

<http://www.gamezebo.com/2006/06/interview_with_jessica_tams.html> (2)

Brown, Damon. “From Underground to World-Renowned: Following Up on the First Annual

Independent Games Festival Finalists.” October 2000. Gamasutra. 14 August 2006.

<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20001023/brown_01.htm> (3)

Carroll, Russell. “Beyond Conversion Rate: Further Numbers to Improve Casual Game Sales.”

July 2006. Gamasutra. 16 August 2006.

<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060711/carroll_01.shtml> (4)

Cifaldi, Frank. “An Update From Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Vision Camera Technology.” August

2006. Gamasutra. 17 August 2006.

<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060818/cifaldi_01.shtml> (5)

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Hietalahti, Juuso. “The Basic Marketing Plan for Indie Games.” May

2006. Gamasutra. 17 August 2006.

<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060519/juuso_01.shtml> (6)

“Indie Gaming.” August 2006. Wikipedia. 13 August 2006.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_gaming> (7)

Stock, Peter. “Indie Postmortem: Armadillo Run.” June 2006. Gamasutra. 14 August 2006.

<http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060619/stock_01.shtml> (8)

“Survey Gold.” August 2006. Survey Gold. 10 August 2006.

<http://www.SurveyGold.com> (9)

“Torque Game Engine.” August 2006. Wikipedia. 13 August 2006.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque_Game_Engine> (10)

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Appendix

Sample Survey

Instructions:

Answer questions as they relate to you. Check the box most applicable to you or fill in the

blanks.

1. Are you familiar with the term "Indie Games"?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2. How many video game consoles do you own?

[ ] 0

[ ] 1

[ ] 2

[ ] 3+

3. Which of the following consoles do you play most often?

[ ] Xbox

[ ] Xbox 360

[ ] Playstation 2

[ ] Gamecube

[ ] PC/Mac

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4. Do you own a computer?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

5. What is the primary use for your computer?

[ ] Word Processing

[ ] Internet

[ ] Gaming

[ ] Design/Publishing

6. Do you purchase games to play on your computer?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

7. Do you play any simple free games over the Internet?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

8. Are you familiar with the Unreal Engine?

[ ] No

[ ] I have heard of it

[ ] I have used it

9. Are you familiar with the Torque Engine?

[ ] No

[ ] I have heard of it

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[ ] I have used it

10. Are you familiar with the Xbox 360's Live Arcade feature?

[ ] No

[ ] I have heard of it

[ ] I have used it

11. Have you heard of or played any of the following games: Darwinia, King of Dragon

Pass, Seiklus, Perfect Cherry Blossom?

[ ] Haven't heard of any of them

[ ] Have played or heard of one

[ ] Have played or heard of two

[ ] Have played or heard of three

[ ] Have played or heard of them all

12. In your opinion where do you see the video game industry going in the next few years

(revenue, games, breakthroughs, etc.)?

Open Ended Question

13. Sex?

[ ] Male

[ ] Female

14. Age?

[ ] 0-13 Years old

[ ] 14-18 Years old

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[ ] 19-25 Years old

[ ] 26-35 Years old

[ ] 36+ Years Old

15. How many hours a week do you spend playing games?

[ ] 1-3

[ ] 4-7

[ ] 8-10

[ ] 11+

16. How much money a month do you spend on gaming?

[ ] Under $20

[ ] $21 - $50

[ ] $51 - $75

[ ] $76 +

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Detailed Survey Results

The following is a graphical depiction of the responses to each survey question. Additional

comments provided by respondents, if any, are included after each graph.

1. Are you familiar with the term "Indie Games"?

Yes

No60.00% (12)

40.00% (8)

Mean: 1.40

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2. How many video game consoles do you own?

0

1

2

3+

10.00% (2)

35.00% (7)

15.00% (3)

40.00% (8)

Mean: 2.85

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3. Which of the following consoles do you play most often?

Xbox

Xbox 360

Playstation 2

Gamecube

PC/Mac

20.00% (4)

10.00% (2)

20.00% (4)10.00% (2)

40.00% (8)

Mean: 3.40

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4. Do you own a computer?

Yes

100.00% (20)

Mean: 1.00

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5. What is the primary use for your computer?

Internet

Gaming

Design/Publishing70.00% (14)

5.00% (1)

25.00% (5)

Mean: 2.55

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6. Do you purchase games to play on your computer?

Yes

No60.00% (12)

40.00% (8)

Mean: 1.40

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7. Do you play any simple free games over the Internet?

Yes

No

85.00% (17)

15.00% (3)

Mean: 1.15

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8. Are you familiar with the Unreal Engine?

No

I have heard of it

I have used it

30.00% (6)

20.00% (4)

50.00% (10)

Mean: 2.20

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9. Are you familiar with the Torque Engine?

No

I have heard of it

I have used it

40.00% (8)

40.00% (8)

20.00% (4)

Mean: 1.80

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10. Are you familiar with the Xbox 360's Live Arcade feature?

No

I have heard of it

I have used it

50.00% (10)

35.00% (7)

15.00% (3)

Mean: 1.65

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11. Have you heard of or played any of the following games: Darwinia, King

of Dragon Pass, Seiklus, Perfect Cherry Blossom?

Haven't heard of any of t

Have played or heard of

80.00% (16)

20.00% (4)

Mean: 1.20

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12. In your opinion where do you see the video game industry going in the

next few years (revenue, games, breakthroughs, etc.)?

CAUTION: DUE TO THE NATURE OF AN OPEN ENDED QUESTION SOME

LANGUAGE MAY BE CONSIDERED INNAPPROPRIATE.

Becoming more mainstream in pop culture then movies and television (Anonymous)

Better AI powered animation and NPC bots. It may cap as far as finances due to the fact that

most industries start out as many little companies but soon they get taken over by bigger

companies. The Wii may build a more diverse and new genus of games. (Anonymous)

Better graphics, more interactive/larger environments, more games targeted at older users.

(Anonymous)

Four ways: pushing forward with next generation technology (though Wii will allow the greatest

innovations), mobile game technology will hopefully take a leap forward in the U.S., Indie

Games will flourish particularly from the casual game standpoint and many developers will

continue to build games for older systems. (Anonymous)

Games will become more and more complex and I will not be able to play them anymore

(Anonymous)

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I believe the game industry is close to its peak. Only thing I see happing is better graphics. I

think holographic games are as far as they can get. (Anonymous)

I believe that the indie market will blow up in the next few years with Xbox Live Arcade and

with the Wii virtual console. I believe that those games will soon get a larger part of the market

as more and more people play them. (Anonymous)

I really see the Wii changing how consoles are going to be used. (Anonymous)

I see it slowing down because of the wait of PS3 and the Wii. But it will pick back up

afterwards. (Anonymous)

I see revenues skyrocketing... and I also think that the technology behind games will grow

tremendously. (Anonymous)

I think Nintendo is going to do well with their Wii technology. (Anonymous)

I think the video game industry will be a huge part of our lives. It will be everything we eat,

sleep, shit, and breathe! (Anonymous)

I'm sure it will keep on rising in trends and popularity. It seems every year they have a new and

better games system (Anonymous)

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It’s going to dilute itself- unfortunately. The access to game design is so widespread and more

and more people are gaining the knowledge to take on their own endeavors in the industry. There

will be too many "worker ants" producing mediocre games that are going to flood Internet

gaming. Other independent gaming consoles are going to continue to overcharge and try to wow

us. Game systems are going to become advanced on PDA's and such. (Anonymous)

Kickin’ Ass and takin' Names, byte by byte! (Anonymous)

More connectivity to other players. (Anonymous)

More realistic graphics and controls, Darker-feeling games, less cartoon-ish upbeat style.

(Anonymous)

Tails from the Sonic The Hedgehog series will get a solo game and kick the blue bastards ass

(Anonymous)

The mindless automatons at EA with keep poisoning our children with the same Madden 09

bullshit that they have been forcing on me for the last 10 years. While the RPS’s get more and

more devoid of game play. In short, in my opinion; the games that are being created now are

getting better to look at, and less fun to play. I think this is a trend are willing to accept, so long

and we can burn 6 hours a week on a game that really doesn't change (did anyone notice that

halo made the brilliant decision of putting all of there games in a circle so that they could make

every room exactly the same). Editorializing: when I use the term peak, I am referring to fun

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rather than looks. The peak of RPG’s was on SNES, even though some may argue that FF7 on

the PS was better than FF3 or Lufia, I would disagree. The peak of first person shooters was the

N64. Side-scrollers are just too big of a genre to pick a best platform, having said that I pick

SNES because of Super Metroid. (Anonymous)

With the development of the Wii I see a breakthrough into an audience that would have

otherwise not been tapped. With the release of PS3 and the 360 I think the HD industry will see

a surge and be given the opportunity to introduce some products earlier than they would have

otherwise. I.E. 1080p and HDMI etc. (Anonymous)

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13. Sex?

Male

Female

90.00% (18)

10.00% (2)

Mean: 1.10

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14. Age?

14-18 Years old

19-25 Years old

26-35 Years old

36+ Years Old

10.00% (2)

75.00% (15)

10.00% (2)5.00% (1)

Mean: 3.10

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15. How many hours a week do you spend playing games?

1-3

4-7

8-10

11+

40.00% (8)

25.00% (5)

20.00% (4)

15.00% (3)

Mean: 2.10

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16. How much money a month do you spend on gaming?

Under $20

$21 - $50

$51 - $75

$76 + 60.00% (12)25.00% (5)

10.00% (2)5.00% (1)

Mean: 1.60