First Question, Whats a Mid core game?

Like most things it is always important to consider the audience to which you are making your product for. So with that in mind what is this market which we call the 'mid-core'?

I mean it sounds quite obvious really, somewhere between casual and hardcore games...

But there is a lot more to consider then that! So lets expand slowly on this genre, what if we had to describe the differences between the three genres in a few sentences?

At People Fun we segment the gaming audience by lifestyle patterns:

(1) Hardcore arranges their schedules around their gaming.

(2) Mid-core arranges their gaming around their daily schedule.

(3) Casual entertains self with games when time presents itself.

Tony Goodman, co-founder, Ensemble Studios, founder, PeopleFun

So a key difference we can start with between the three genres is when they play games.

It seems that the mid-core market are the gamers that want to play games however do not have the time to dedicate to long games with opening trawls, 80hr play times and take long amounts of time to get into.

But Who are these gamers?

The potential for mid-core games is often backed up by the fact that former core players who, as they start families and careers, no longer have as much time to devote to playing and also includes casual gamers who desire a more immersive experience.

Peter Warman, CEO Newzoo

So it seems that at least a portion of mid-core gamers are the grown-up version of the Hard-core gamers, those who now have far too many other things going on in their lives to afford the time to comfortably loose themselves in a hard-core title which demands a lot of time and effort. These gamers still hold true to their standards of what makes a game good, however they wish to play a game which fits around their schedule. One that is easily picked up and played, one that has a loop of 20-30 minutes or maybe even an hour, but does not sacrifice on any amount of quality or depth to it.

It's really about distilling what you'd consider a 'hardcore' game down to its core essence, without making concessions on production quality, themes and gameplay mechanics.

Frederic Descamps, general manager of Team Solstice (Solstice Arena), Zynga

So what is a mid-core game?

Since it is a new term it is found to be quite hard to define, seeing as at the moment companies are pioneering their own perspectives of mid core gaming. The only way to correctly define mid-core gaming will be when the dust has settled on the first few titles and the best definitions of a mid-core game are decided. However for the moment we are all sure on what a mid-core game is not:

• Mid-core is not a demographic. Mid-core games, like a diamond’s beauty, are for everyone to enjoy.
• Mid-core is not a statement of depth. Mechanics of strategy are not removed in mid-core games, they are carefully distilled into their finest essence.
• Mid-core is not a balance of new and old. Novel concepts can be the subject of a mid-core game, but careful attention must be given to the final cut since no blueprint exists.

Andrew Pellerano -To his Blog

I think we have a slightly better understanding of what a Mid core gamer is, to sum up what we have so far:

• The mid core demographic has a core element of gamers between the age of 30-50, gamers who cannot give the sort of time that they used to give to gaming that they used to. These gamers do not necessarily want to compete with others as much and also do not simply desire an adrenaline rush, they want more complex emotional rewards.
• Other people who wish to play mid-core games include anybody who falls into the hard core genre however does not have the time to invest in the 60hr games or MMO games which require routine playing.

So there we have it!

So I think it would be good to now take a brief look into the market trends of entertainment on other mediums  the 30-50yr olds...