We don't like violence and we don't have time to play epic games. These are the astonishing assertions of a story entitled Games That Europe Loves To Play, currently taking up space on Forbes.com. From the piece:
Guns and gore also don't sell as well in Europe because Europeans like short, so-called casual games, rather than the long, epic tales that keep gamers pounding on their consoles for hours at a stretch. Casual games also fit the European lifestyle better: People can play these short games on trains and subways on their way to work.
Wait, don't at least a few Americans go to work on subways and trains? And don't the staggering sales (and indeed the development of) Grand Theft Auto 4 in Britain challenge this rather general characterisation? True, Europe does have a wider demographic, and mainstream titles sell better here than in the States, but there's a chasm of deduction between noting the popularity of one genre and concluding general disdain for another.
My favourite bit is the ending:
Perhaps the biggest difference between the European and U.S. game markets is size: Sales of games in the two markets are nearly the same; both generated about $18 billion in revenues in 2007, despite the fact that Europe's potential market is twice as large.
So look for game publishers to travel across the Atlantic in hopes of exploiting an untapped market.
Do you hear that EA, Activision, Midway, THQ and Take Two? There's money to be made over in Europe apparently - Forbes has spotted it!
