EA’s Russell Arons on the emergence of casual gaming

Ever since Nintendo tore up the gaming rule book with the Wii and the DS, scores of traditionally hardcore game publishers have tried to tap into this succulent, juicy new market with its own casual gaming offering. Now, finally, Electronic Arts, one of gaming’s giants, has jumped on the money train with its EA Casual label. VideoGamer.com caught up with Russell Arons, EA Casual’s marketing VP, to talk Boom Blox, the hardcore versus casual divide and why casual gaming may one day become EA’s main focus.

VideoGamer.com: Can casual and hardcore gamers co-exist?

Russell Arons: I think that oil and water can mix, and I’ll tell you why on two levels. The first is that there are a lot of core gamer men out there who can not get their girlfriends, spouses to ever play a game with them. They’re intimidated, it’s not my thing. What we’re seeing thanks to the Wii, or games like Rock Band, suddenly women are picking up and getting into it and that’s making it lean from this isolationist. That’s part of how the evolution is happening, first it’s bringing people together.

The second part of it is we are learning that core gamers are using casual games to take a break. After they’ve played eight hours or something very intense, a casual game is almost like a little recess amidst all the intensity. We’re seeing how something like Boom Blox which, honestly is just fun, but a core gamer will sit and study it. Amir Rahimi (Boom Blox senior producer), he’s a hardcore gamer. And he’s designed a game where the core gamer can sit and study it and figure out with one throw how to knock all of those down. So we’re really trying to in a case like that make it work on two levels, something honestly a seven year old boy could pick up and have fun with but then a little more attention can come from a core gamer. So delivering an equally exciting experience.

Going back to your point, can they ever coexist? Maybe one of the reasons that it may not come together is that people who for instance are very into Pogo.com, our online game site, don’t identify themselves as gamers. They’ll play four, eight hours and if you ask them are you a gamer? No I’m not a gamer. So there’s also this lexicon of how people identify themselves. Little girls who are going to play our Littlest Pet Shop game aren’t going to call themselves gamers. There’s also going to be an evolution in how people see themselves in all this.

VideoGamer.com: Is there an elitism and snobbery there among gamers?

RA: If there is it’s to the people who that matters to. People who just come into playing games think it’s just fun. For them the Wii has suddenly demystified the language of the controller and brought them into interactive experiences.

VideoGamer.com: Why did it take so long for the Wii, or something like it, to come out?

RA: I think there’s a little bit of, if they build it will they come? Women in gaming has always been, well women are never really going to get into gaming, it’s not how they like to play, it’s not social. So people weren’t willing to venture into that. There were so many reasons why it wasn’t possible. It was more identifying what the audience wanted to do, more so than what the technology could do. And that’s one of our mantras with EA Casual, we’re trying to build audiences, and not just games. Because you can make a lot of games, but are you really building an audience and giving them a lot of different experiences that will make them loyal to your brand.

VideoGamer.com: It’s a credit to Nintendo then?

RA: Well of course but I’m going to also say it’s a credit to EA that we put some of our best designers on something like Boom Blox and don’t say well you know we can not develop as high a quality of game. What we’re trying to do is approach casual with the same level of quality as we approach all of our titles.

VideoGamer.com: The perception is some third party games on the Wii are rubbish. Why are third party developers not taking it seriously and is it harming the industry.

RA: Firstly, why are there rubbish games? Rush to the market. Suddenly people said oh my God the DS, the Wii! Quick, we need a game in two months! And there you go. And also the technology requirements are not as great for those platforms so you can have a garage and start making some games. Ultimately what’s going to divide out is the consumer will be selective and word of mouth is very powerful, especially with casual games. No offence but they’re not yet reading your type of publication. It’s really about when moms are talking about, have you played a family game on the Wii? Yes, this was really fun, this one wasn’t so good, not worth your money. That’s going to ultimately be the harbinger of taste.

When consumers have their first experience of gaming are they going to think it’s crap? That’s where core gamers have maybe been more harsh on the Wii. The graphics aren’t as sharp and it’s not as deep as an experience. But to a casual gamer it’s more about is it fun? Is it quick to the fun? Is it easily accessible? Can all my family play? And those sometimes may rank higher than the depth of graphics. They still have to be visually exciting and we’re going to do that, but I think we’re learning what are the most important quality points to a casual consumer that may be different.

VideoGamer.com: How do casual and core gaming stack up in terms of how much money is generated?

RA: I can only speak about EA right now. The casual focus of the company was really birthed April of a year ago exactly. That’s when we put dedicated design, development and marketing teams on the opportunity. So if you think about it, it hasn’t been a lot of time. Revenue wise key casual has been driven by mobile and Pogo, but as I mentioned the opportunity for growth is huge because you’re not selling to a consumer who already has 50 games, you’re selling to a consumer who has maybe just bought the Wii and is just starting to build their library of games.

Will casual gaming outpace core gaming? I don’t know. But certainly right now I would say the industry has been very much the old 80/20 rule, 80% of the revenue has been driven by 20% of the consumer base, that may start to evolve.

VideoGamer.com: So there is the possibility in the future EA might focus more on the casual side of things?

RA: Well what I can safely say is this. We’re putting the resources against casual, we seem quite serious… we’re serious as a heart attack to put the right people and resources to grow casual.

VideoGamer.com: Gamers know EA and what it’s all about. How much of a challenge is it getting the brand across to casual gamers who might not know what EA is? Does it matter?

RA: Yes there is a halo effect, which is to say EA is a top brand so people have a knowledge of it. But what you’ll see in our marketing, for instance Boom Blox, we have a television commercial that’ll be on air in a number of countries, we haven’t gone heavy with the EA branding. As a matter of fact we’re more subtle about it. It’s an EA and Steven Spielberg presents. Maybe more consumers are going to know who Steven Spielberg is at first. Many people don’t know that Pogo.com is even owned by EA. So in a way the onus puts us more on the type of partners we choose, like a Hasbro, where the brand of Littlest Pet Shop or Monopoly means more than EA. Or when we do go out with an original game under a new IP like Zubo, it really has to be high quality because the consumer at first will say wow I love this game, who makes it? So we are having to invert where we were and not just assume EA’s pedigree is going to draw in the casual consumer.

VideoGamer.com: Does it matter for casual gamers to know what they buy is made by EA?

RA: Honestly I don’t think so. As long as they’re enjoying what they’re playing and for instance start enjoying the Hasbro games and know there’s going to be more out of them, I’m not necessarily needing them to say that it’s EA Games.

VideoGamer.com: And finally what in EA Casual are you most excited by?

RA: This is a tough one. Boom Blox. I’m new to gaming. I’m the perfect consumer for EA Casual. I came to the company honestly because I had a challenge. How can I market to myself? What I love about Boom Blox is as I said it’s easily accessible, it’s quick to the fun, my husband and I can play it, we can have friends over and immediately play it. As I mentioned it operates on two levels. Once I get beyond just doing this and watching things explode and loving that part of it I get more strategic. So I can see myself playing it for quite a while.

VideoGamer.com: Thanks for your time Russell.