Agatha Christie Carves New Niche in Casual Video Games
By Shawn on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 4:29 PM PST In Computer, Game Companies, Games
Agatha Christie is getting exposure in a whole new media outlet, casual video games. Although I don’t see the comparison between Christie and Lara Croft or Zelda, considering Agatha Christie is a writer not a character, the article in the Times Online does point out a growing niche of games. Oberon’s Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile, released as an internet download, has become one of the top ten games played on personal computers.
Don Ryan, of Oberon Media, the parent of Oberon Games, said: “The Agatha Christie stories and her audience are, as the figures show, a perfect fit for casual games, and we know that both mystery buffs and casual gamers are delighted with Death on the Nile.”
Where as gamers are statistically 60 percent male, Agatha Christie’s fan base is from the “non core gamers” with 60 percent female players. Casual gamers are gaining influence in the industry daily. A study by DFC Intelligence, the researchers, predicts that by 2008 there will be nearly 200 million casual online gamers globally downloading between five and ten million games a day. That’s an estimated $2.5 billion in revenues worldwide for casual online gaming by 2011.
Jane Jenson lead designer on Death on the Nile and writer of the Gabriel Knight series said, “I’m pretty sure that we haven’t yet seen the last of Monsieur Poirot in the casual games world.”
Poirot isn’t the only Christie staple being developed for gaming. An adaptation of Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None will hit retail shelves in November for the PC and the Wii. Gamers interested in getting a first hand look at the game can peruse screenshots and download the PC demo here on FileFront.
via Times Online
Wait, wtf? Jane Jenson is still working on games, but instead of Gabriel Knight games she’s making casual games based on Agatha Christie novels?
I want more Gabriel Knight, dammit. Agatha Christie is overrated and dull beyond 10 Little Indians (Or whatever we’re calling her horribly titled most famous mystery now). I’d love to see the response if someone tried to port THAT book to the gaming world with the original title!
I can’t agree with you more about wanting to see more Gabriel Knight. I was so disappointed with the end of that series. Jenson is an interesting writer. I would love to see more of her own work.
First off, Gabriel Knight 3 was not only the best of the series, but maybe the best adventure game of all time. At least one of the most innovative, and a truly incredible storyline.
Second, And Then There Were None has been on PC for over a year now. Is this a revamp, or a totally different version??
also, I’m delighted that adventure games are getting some new life again. The adventure genre needs to be nurtured again, they’re my favorite games barnone