Casual Gaming in Ireland- same trends as the US/UK?

[Anonymous]

Hi all!

I’m a final year student in Cork Institute of Technology and I’m currently working on my final year project, which is creating a game prototype that will appeal to older Irish audiences. The aim is to get a better understanding of what this audience wants and needs in a game, what types of issues they have with games eg. think colour-blindness, arthritis etc and basically what interests them.

I was at the GIG2012 yesterday and I was hoping some insight on this topic might come up but unfortunately there wasn’t. I have done quite a bit of research on the topic but unfortunately the vast majority of data available refers to audiences in the US and the UK. I have a blog on the topic at http://hazel-ok.blogspot.com if anyone is interested.

I am currently conducting a survey on the topic but unfortunately the majority of responses I’ve received have been from young males. So my question here is threefold-

Firstly I’d really appreciate any help with the survey. It should only take about 10 to 15 minutes and is all tick boxes, no essays required! It can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FPDX3WJ

Secondly I’d really love some advice on how to better target this audience. I understand that by doing an internet survey I’ve already open the doors to a little bias as people who do internet surveys are a lot more likely to play games. However I don’t feel that it’s the kind of survey that would be better done by standing on the streets! So any creative solutions out there? I’d love to hear them!

Finally I wanted to begin a general discussion on the topic. In the UK/US women over 40 are the fastest growing demographic in casual games. According to Popcaps 2011 survey they prefer short levels, puzzle games and games with a social aspect. Do these figures hold up here in your experience or do you think that Ireland is different?

Many thanks in advance for your help and replies! :)

[Author]

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