Play Solitaire, Get Rich
More evidence that so-called casual gamers are more hardcore than people give them credit for.
A lot of people don't think of themselves gamers simply because they choose to spend their time trying to clear boards in FreeCell until 2 in the morning rather than killing friends online - casual gamers, the industry calls them. But there's nothing casual about the money one American gamer pulled in playing her favourites.
Kavitha and her big chequeAt the WorldWide Web Games this weekend, Texan Kavitha Yalavarthi clobbered 70 other contestants who played Bejewelled 2, Zuma and that classic time-waster, Solitaire, in six rounds of non-fatal combat. For her efforts, Yalavarthi walked away with $1 million (around £535,000).
This is just the latest evidence that casual gamers are anything but. Earlier in the year, a research report found that some casual gamers were spending up to 20 hours a week at their keyboards - more than many self-professed hardcore gamers.
It's also this segment of the gaming popular, in part, that Microsoft is targeting with its Xbox Live Arcade, which brings lighter fare, such as Zuma and Bejewelled 2, to Xbox 360 owners.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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