Online Games Kill Game Consoles?

There is a war going on between casual online games and console games, a war on the cultural image of game play. And if you ask Kevin Carney, marketing expert who've worked with the industry's biggest names, online games are having the upper hand, and their opponents consoles such as Wii, Xbox and PS3 are heading for distinction. That is because game consoles, as opposed to online games, are unsocial in nature. 

Kevin Carney counts several reasons to the future takeover of online games on the gaming industry. One reason is the solitary experience console play provides. If the console games developers would focus more on creating a friendlier, more family-oriented gaming experience then on delivering a realer than life graphics, Carney claims, they would not be losing the market to designers of 2D web versions of Jewel Quest. 

According to Carney's opinion, game consoles developers have failed reading the change in gamers' behaviors, their transition from passive form of entertainment offered by the game console (or the TV) to the interactive communication available on the internet, via MMORPGs, social networks, and casual social games. And while playing on console games requires the gamer's full attention and grab a big bite of his time, online games are briefer and aware to the jumpy, restless nature of its target audience. 

Moreover, online games are free. The players are paying with exposure to advertisements, but while console game developers are starting to experiment in in-game ads, online games designers have gathered years of experience in the field.