what Activision has done with Skylanders, it’s what Nintendo does year-in year-out, and Traveller’s Tales does consistently with its LEGO titles. Great games that can compete with the best core games. In the words of our publishing exec: “Quite frankly, a lot of kids games are just not good enough.”
UDRAW DISASTER What killed THQ’s kids business for good was uDraw. The drawing tablet started life on Wii and was a moderate hit. THQ then re-
19.4%
launched it last Christmas, complete with 360 and PS3 versions. But it flopped. THQ is now sitting on millions of unsold games and accessories.
But this is not indicative of the kids games market. For starters, uDraw wasn’t a product marketed directly at children. It was sold to parents as a form of edutainment. This put it head-to-head with established devices from V-Tech and Leapfrog. It was also an expensive piece of kit.
But perhaps the biggest fault with uDraw was over ambition. Xbox 360 and PS3 have yet to truly attract the kids, while Wii is a
LICENCES TO THRILL
ALL 3+/7+/U/PG CONSOLE TITLES 2010
Wii
PS3 DS
Xbox 360 PSP PS2 3DS
TOTAL%
24.8 29.5 18.6 25.2 1.6 0.3
N/A 100
2011
% of unit sales % of revenue % of unit sales % of revenue 27.2 24.3 23.9 21.9 2.3 0.3
TOP KIDS LICENSED CONSOLE TITLES RELEASED IN 2011 (3+/7+/U/PG) 1
LEGO PIRATES
OF THE CARIBBEAN Publisher: Disney Interactive
2 LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars........................................................LucasArts 3 Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo ..............................................................Mind Candy 4 Cars 2 ..........................................................................................................Disney Interactive 5 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7................................................................Warner Bros 6 Tangled ......................................................................................................Disney Interactive 7 Kinect Disneyland Adventures ....................................................................Microsoft 8 Disney Universe ..................................................................................Disney Interactive 9 Phineas & Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension ....................Disney Interactive 10 Peppa Pig: Theme Park Fun..........................................................................P2 Games
2011
40.2 23.7 19.4 10.2 4.9 1.6
N/A 100
34.6 21.7 24.1 12.8 5.3 1.3
N/A 100
THE licensed kids games market is actually on the rise. In 2010, licensed titles accounted for 11.2 per cent of all the kids games sold that year. But in 2011, that increased to 17.5 per cent, thanks to three new LEGO titles and Moshi Monsters. “Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are the big factors in this upturn with
360 moving ahead of Wii in 2011 as the second most significant format for kids licensed games in terms of revenue,” said GfK Chart- Track’s Chris Poole.
“I would imagine Xbox 360 Kinect and Move played a big role in this. Also having Nintendo 3DS in 2011 helps.”
February 17th 2012 19
Almost one fifth of all gamers are aged between six and 11 according to GameVision
platform that’s slowing down. The market was never that big for uDraw and THQ should have perhaps built half the units it did. Upon saying that, pulling out of kids is probably the right move for THQ. Game development budgets are rising, the market is saturated and THQ have to give some of its profits to the licence holders. That’s the lesson for publishers. Kids games may still be a vibrant sector, but it isn’t as profitable as
it used to be. It’s no longer a low-risk category. That’s why only the biggest players – Activision, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Disney and Warner Bros – can afford to do it. But there’s a lesson here for retail, too. Shops backed Moshi Monstersand Skylandersand the results spoke for themselves. Now, as we approach a new generation of consoles, retail needs to ensure that these children also become the next generation of console buyers. Or we risk losing them to smartphones, social networks and online browser games.