Toys-to-life - Reaching for the Skylanders

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/10/toys-life

In 2007 consoles held 90% of the video-games market in America, with the rest played predominately on PCs. That market has since fragmented. Marquee sequels still produce headlines upon release, but revenues overall are in freefall as fibre-optic broadband, social media and mobile apps create other ways for promoting, distributing and selling games. Angry Birds, conceived by Rovio in Finland, is the best known: basic in concept, a shallow learning curve, and as addictive to high-flying business executives as it is to toddlers. By 2012 half of game sales were coming from digital formats. And although big developers are on the mobile bandwagon, expensively produced high-end games are not their mainstay.