Facebook sleuths playing "CSI" will share the spotlight with assassins at Ubisoft Entertainment SA's E3 booth next week, the latest sign that video game makers recognize the threat posed by lower-priced casual titles.
The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo video game conference in Los Angeles, once the muscle-car showdown of big names and costly titles for mostly young males, is beginning to showcase family fare targeting a wider audience.
Games that can be downloaded anywhere and played for a few minutes at a time top many agendas. Almost 25 percent of France-based Ubisoft's 6,000 developers now create titles defined as more casual, mobile and social, said Chris Early, vice president of digital publishing. Makers of iPhone games that go for 99 cents (¥80) are joining the competition for players' time and money.