Thanks to casual gaming, Ubisoft predicts that the gaming market will expand by 50% within the next 4 years. Casual games have greatly expanded the market by attracting a new audience, letting non-gamers cross over to the gaming side with their pick up and play stratagem.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot explains to Reuters at the Leipzig Games Convention the importance of Casual Gaming to the industry. Not only were the profits from their casual games line helped finance the hardcore games for the next gen consoles, but it's also expected to account for 20% of their revenues for this year, raking in about EUR 825 million (US$ 1.1 billion.)

One other great advantage to casual games is the cost of its development. A casual game costs only EUR 1 to 4 million depending on how many platforms it will be available in. In contrast, a normal Nintendo Wii game will cost EUR 5 to 10 million while an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3 game will cost around EUR 10 to 20 million.

In light of this, it looks like Ubisoft has no intention of letting their casual game line die down and has even announced a new game for the Nintendo Wii. Based on the award-winning board game "Cranium," Cranium Kabookii is slated for a release this December.