What this list tells me is that the face of gaming is changing. Despite the actual or perceived quality of these games, how amazing is it that two games that would be considered fairly non-hardcore made it to the top 5?

While I'd like to see solid demographic breakdowns for Wii Fit and Guitar Hero III, I am fairly certain that they reflect a different demographic than GTA IV. This says to me that the gaming arena has really opened up to the general public and gaming has truly hit mainstream status, as it has been threatening to do for the last decade or so.

i dunno Helava, i like SSBB (not the online play though), and Mario Kart (including the online play) a lot. but it may be because i bought the Wii specifically because of those 2 games. sure they were late on delivering them, but they are fun none the less.

SSBB delivers on the head to head action with friends, while Mario Kart seems like an all around winner to me. but that's just me.

as far as the sales figures go though, they're Nintendo. the parents of today were the kids (me included) of the 80's who begged their parents for an NES. i'm thinking that the parents are buying the games based on what they remember being fun... and of course the constantly whining kid who begs for games on a daily basis.

But Nintendo was in some trouble (in the home console space) just a few years back. This recent resurgence in popularity is far beyond anything anyone expected.

I agree with ebeast that the face of the industry *is* changing. Thankfully, not in the same way that it is in Japan, and to a lesser extent, in Europe. In the US, it just seems to be expanding, rather than completely changing focus from core to casual games.

Remember, this list is only from January. There are plenty of core games that released over the Christmas season that would be at the top end of this list (namely Assassin's Creed and COD4). Still, it's interesting to see casual games at the top of any list.

Can you elaborate on the changes you see happening in Japan & Europe? Do you see a complete shift in direction to casual? That's fascinating. Do you know if it's related to the mobile market (both phones and portables) or if this is true on home consoles as well?

i'm noticing that investors are funneling their money into casual, and mobile game dev lately. a sign that casual games are definitely not just a fad. i've also been told, by several friends doing both mobile and casual dev, that the online casual, mobile entertainment, and console casual games market are the dotcoms of 2008. having said that, because there's so much money to be made in this arena, watch for a shift in the industry. sooner or later, publishers and developers will distance themselves from the expensive hardcore game experience (leaving only those studios who have both time and money to continue developing those types of games), and bring themselves closer to the casual market.

with this economy, a lot of people are trying to make entertaining, fun, and worthwhile titles in the casual games arena. it's not as expensive to do, and since casual games focus heavily on the fun factor aspect rather than the looks of it, it's the economical approach to game dev.

You make some really good points about the developer/investor end of things. It definitely does feel like, at least in the Bay Area, that there is a lot of investment money floating around for small/casual/mobile game development, and what you say makes sense, especially about the economical perspective.

What do you think is happening on the consumer end though? Is it simply that mobile devices, in particular, cellphones, are getting better as gaming platforms, or something else? I wonder if people are feeling busier and busier and less prone to spending a lot of time playing a longer game.

from the consumer perspective, people are leaning towards the fun factor, as well as the attempt to ease the pain of paying $39.99 - $49.99 for the prettier looking games on the high end consoles.

the hardcore gamers don't mind paying and playing. but for the thrifty gamers, they seem to be looking to get more bang for their buck. at least, as far as i can tell anyway. there are those beautifully awesome games that are eye catching, are are loaded with features, power ups, etc... and they've also got tons of commercials to sell their games. but because they're so expensive upon release, it becomes unattractive to the people who are trying to stretch their paychecks out further. so i think it's a combination of price point, ease of learning curve, and fun factor that's strengthening the casual/mobile/online market.

... and in this economy, people seem to be shedding their previous titles as hardcore gamers, and are trading in their crowns to become casual gamers. when the economy recovers... perhaps the price point won't matter as much anymore, and they may all return.

Again, I think you're seeing a broadening of the market, rather than a complete shift. You still see high end extremely hardcore games selling millions of units, and you're also seeing a rise in prominence of casual games. There are a lot of new developers coming up that concentrate on casual games, but a lot of them will end up being closed down our bought out, just as you saw with the last big surge in smaller dev studios for core games.

ebeast - In regards to the changes in other markets, the Japanese market is almost exclusively Wii and DS now. You still see the occasional PS2 game pop up, and even more rarely, the occasional PS3 or X360 game pop up on the sales charts, but sales are so completely dominated by "games" by Nintendo (they're more tools than anything - English teaching programs, cooking programs, etc). The next gen consoles have proven to be too big and too expensive for the changing Japanese gamers. Mobile games are still moderately successful, but people spend more time on their DS (and now PSP as well). And people, in general, don't consider their PCs as a source of entertainment, so casual gaming on the PC is all but non existent.

In Europe, it's not quite as bad, but the next gen platforms are definitely having a harder time catching on than in the US. Particularly the X360. It had a head start, so is still ahead of the PS3 (which is catching up and will surpass, if it hasn't already), but the focus is definitely on the Wii and DS.