10 moments in time

August 21, 2006 on 12:46 pm | In The Casual Games Business |

The last 20 years have been a hectic ride in the world of casual games. We’ve tried to distill the milestones into a top 10 list, presented here in chronological order:

1. The development of Authorware (1987), Shockwave (1990s) and Flash (1996), which dramatically increased our ability to create complex games that load quickly.

2. The Nintendo deal in 1989 to include Tetris with the Gameboy. The deal cost between $5 and 10 million, and followed the gaming license squabble of the century between Mirrorsoft, Atari, BPS and other players.

3. Nokia’s inclusion of the original monochromatic version of Snake on its Nokia 6100 phone in 1997. Many a thumb was jarred and mobile casual gaming became a reality.

4. Microsoft’s inclusion of Solitaire with Windows 95 in May 1997.

5. The creation of J2ME in 15 June 1999. The inclusion of a Java Virtual Machine on mobile phones made it easier for developers to create and emulate mobile games on a PC before uploading them to phones.

6. Electronic Arts’ purcase of Pogo.com in March 2001 for a whopping $50 million, after the site was left in the lurch by Excite. In this move, one of the world’s most succesful hardcore game developers recognised the value of, and invested in, casual games.

7. PopCap’s launch of Bejeweled in August 2001, originally as a browser-based game named Diamond Mine. The original has inspired countless casual games in this format.

8. RealNetworks’ purchase of Gamehouse in January 2004, turning this leading distributor of digital content (including games) into a casual game publisher in its own right. This trend towards vertical integration will continue.

9. Microsoft’s launch of Xbox Live Arcade in late 2004. Since then, 3 million Xbox Live Arcade games have been downloaded and at least 600,000 have been purchased.

10. The first casual games conference: Casuality, in Seattle, US, in July 2005.

The Little Gamer