There are at least a dozen different game genres and more are emerging as games developers continue to innovate, experiment and create new content.
Different genres bring different challenges and opportunities to games developers. For studios releasing Casual Games, there is the advantage of being able to reach a huge market but this is counter-balanced by the sheer volume of competition in this space. Role Playing Games can be costly to develop but do not necessarily need to attract large numbers of players to be economically successful. Sports Games benefit from massive demand but developers may face substantial licensing costs. Horror Games provide significant scope for innovation and social gaming, but studios may need to have a wide mix of skillsets, including people with experience in film, entertainment, narrative and gameplay.
TIGA has today published a new report, Zest for Adventure, which outlines the range of game genres and the challenges and opportunities associated with each genre. For more information, see our new press release: www.tiga.org