Gaming Biz: Know the Score Before You Play

Both industry stalwarts and newcomers who don't have sites can attract download-hungry players by submitting their games to portal/distribution sites. "[Casual] games are very broad in their appeal and small in terms of file size ... so it's relatively easy for portals to offer hundreds or thousands of casual games on their sites," Vechey says.

Getting into the top 10 of a large portal can be a path to success. "Get it on one site and prove that game; and then people will want it, [and] all the other sites will want it," Walls says. But he warns, "If you put out a game that people don't like, there's no amount of marketing, begging or pleading that's going to get that game on a site or sales."

PopCap, which distributes its own games and is also featured on sites like MSN Game Zone, initially made money through the try-before-you-buy download business model, but has since diversified its revenue stream to include online purchases, advertising, mobile units and OnDemand TV in thousands of hotel rooms. In addition, millions of copies of its games are sold at leading retail chains including Wal-MartWMT, Best BuyBBY and TargetTGT.

Playing to Win

Competition is stiff these days. A few years ago, a game could be developed in just a few months. Now it may take six to 12 months. You're competing not just against the giants, but against indie designers like yourself.

"Innovate or don't bother," Holland advises. "There are lots of casual game developers in the world, and they don't make money. If you want to get into the business, then work hard to come up with something different, new and unusual."

The PopCap founders also suggest some ingenuity when it comes to your market. "Do your research and make sure you're finding a niche that hasn't been over-exploited already; unless you're really, really good, you're not likely to push the established developers and publishers out of their spots," Kapalka says.

Audience is also key. "Always know who the product is for," Walls says. "The casual space is a whole different world than the core gamer space. What works for a 17-year-old gamer doesn't work for the 32-year-old casual gamer."

Holland agrees. He says many game developers make the classic mistake of creating a game only they want to play. "Make sure you test your game with women [especially over 35], and listen to all of the feedback carefully," he advises.

He also suggests would-be game entrepreneurs play many, many games. (Hey, it's research!) "The best way to learn how to create a great casual game is to play them," says Holland. "Analyze them. What did you like? What could have been done better?"

Also analyze yourself. Holland says games require two skill sets -- programming and art -- and few individuals have both. "If you're a programmer, then you need to find an artist. If you're an artist, you're going to have to find a programmer."

The Next Level

"In the next five years, there will be major changes to virtually every aspect of our industry sector," says PopCap's Fiete. These are signs that the industry is poised for growth. Major players like UbiSoft, EAERTS and ActivisionATVI are joining the market; MTV recently spent $600 million in game industry acquisitions. Threewave Software, the Canadian makers of first-person-shooter phenoms Quake III and Doom III, recently started a casual gaming division that focuses heavily on Facebook for casual game sales.

Even at the recent gaming convention DICE Summit, Wired.com reported industry bigwigs noting this year as "the year of casual games."

For now, room still exists for new games and entrepreneurs. "It's still anybody's industry; nothing is written in stone," Fiete says. "Casual games as a market have a lot of room to grow, reaching new customers as well as reaching new and existing customers on an ever-increasing number of devices and platforms."