I suppose people had similar doubts about Microsoft entering the console space with the original Xbox. What were they going to do that would make it a worthy upgrade to the trifecta of Sony, Nintendo, and Sega?
Whatever Google reveals, it'll probably shake things up over the traditional "online game store model". It'll probably be something that seems weird and maybe counter-intuitive to us, but will make sense to the wider audience. "Casual market" might be the wrong term though.
True, but Microsoft already had Windows. People had been gaming on their operating system and one could argue, Windows XP alone gave Microsoft a community. You could say well what about Android. I can't place a finger on it, but somehow I don't feel like Android translates as well.
That wider audience is not what we would call core or hardcore. "Casual" can be a demeaning term in the video game world, but I'm not meaning it with negative inflection. These are gamers who don't generally prefer to play on console or who may not really game at all? This was a phenomenon realized by the Wii.
My dad is 69 years old currently, He bought a Wii for himself, and the last console he bought before that was a Sega Genesis....for me. His situation is not all encompassing when discussing the casual market. I don't think Google's going after my dad necessarily. Rather, I believe there are a metric fuck-ton of people who play games on mobile, who don't own a console. Whoever threads that needle first will win. I feel Nintendo has proven they can. Microsoft has discussed that it will. Google can say they currently are. Sony has not said much recently, which may be just part of their "crouching down" thing but I think they are really stuck in their ways sometimes and going with the "if it ain't broke, on't fix it" mantra.
