Perhaps... but why did they target the 15-22 year old audience, when the 30+ audience is much much larger?

What exactly makes you think that Angry Birds, Draw Something, and Modern Warfare 3 are aimed at the 15-22 year-old audience?

My impression of both Angry Birds and Draw Something is that they aim fairly indiscriminately for the 55% of gamers who play on a mobile device (regardless of age). I certainly know 30+ year-olds who play both of the above.

As for MW3, I can't speak directly as to the age of the average player, but most of the players I know are young working professionals - those of us in a suitable income bracket to drop $500/year on console gaming.

What exactly makes you think that Angry Birds, Draw Something, and Modern Warfare 3 are aimed at the 15-22 year-old audience?

On this note, the only person I know who plays Angry Birds is my 50+ year old mother. No other game has ever really captured her attention (not for my lack of trying), but somehow Angry Birds was polished and presented in just the right way for her.

I find that average age really hard to believe. I don't know how they gathered this info, but I do know that 100% of the kids 16 or young who play any game rated M either lie about their age online or have their parents buy for them.

Going back to the earlier theme that the marketing department has a much larger budget than the actual developers --- how much personal information do you think you can buy for $100,000,000?
Imagine for a moment that every service you've ever used, every shop you've visited and every bill issued is part of an elaborate secret spy network more efficient than the Stasi -- that thought is not far from the truth.
These people have been collecting stats on the general public for so long that from a single trip to the shopping mall, they can fairly accurately guess your gender, age, industrial aptitudes, relationship status, etc... They can even guess that you're pregnant before you even know for yourself, or tell when your 18-yr old has 'borrowed' your credit card, or guess when you're likely cheating on your wife! It's really not beyond them to guess the age of a consumer...
This part of the business is probably much more refined, efficient and accurate than the software development part of the business

Anyway, it's not that hard to believe. If we go with the stereotype that only teenagers (say, 15yrs) become gamers, and assume the first "batch" of gamers started with the N.E.S. in 1985, then this first batch would be 42 by now. If every year, a new batch of 15yr old gamers is created, then we've got 27 batches, ranging from 15-42yrs old, with an average age of around 30.

It seems like the hardest part in this industry is to get that lucky break. Like angry birds, if it was never popular, where would it be? Then after you hit it big, you can sell anything, be it a repackaging like MW3, COD Black Ops, etc and it will be a worldwide phenomenon. I really wish people would stop believing in commercials. I'm guilty myself though.

[quote name='Net Gnome' timestamp='1334666160' post='4932112']
It's like they don't even know who their main audience is... They always target the easy blatant demographics.

Maybe the problem is that you think you're their main audience?
[/quote]
Damnit, I can't upvote you!

Overrated: Super Mario Bros.

Why? Because a plumber jumping on mushrooms and shells can't be that revolutionary. Unless you have a something against wildlife.



[size=1]Yes, I'm joking..