IGDA Creates Casual Games SIG

The International Game Developers Association has announced that it has formed a Casual Games Special Interest Group in response to marked growth and opportunities in this evolving game sector. The Casual Games SIG will be dedicated to serving game developers worldwide by offering an independent and balanced resource for those interested in this emerging market force, according to the non-profit professional membership organization. Industry experts anticipate that the casual games market will reach over $2 billion by 2008. While the core PC gaming audience is male and aged 18-34, casual gamers, generally playing these smaller in scope and easier to play titles on the PC via a web browser or with easily downloadable games, tend to be both women and men between the ages of 35 and 65, with a slight demographic skew towards women. Brian Robbins, Casual Games SIG Chair and Director of Online Games at Fuel Industries, commented: "Having a special interest group committed to casual games is a great way to focus on consumer needs and emerging models for interacting with the end-user." The SIG plans to issue a quarterly online e-zine focusing on opportunities and challenges observed in the current casual games development environment, as well as hosting white papers and a mailing-list. Further information on the Casual Games SIG is available at its official website.