iNiS and Q Entertainment both shared a love of music and a different view of how to interpret music into a game setting. Both companies decided the proper platform for their games was handheld devices; this could be due to the price of handhelds and music games being marketable to non-gamers. Casual games, like music games, serve as an excellent way to introduce people to games and gaming systems. Gaming companies have recently began to realize the profitability of marketing to non-gamers, Nintendo’s Wii has become the best selling console ever by following this strategy. iNis and Q’s games speak to this audience by utilizing something that is inherently human, music. Music is something that speaks to everyone; games that are based around music have the opportunity to have the same power. The games that iNiS and Q have designed seem to have this power with their audience. iNiS’s Elite Beat Agents does an excellent job of drawing the player into the beat of the song, and making them feel like they control the song, this ability to draw the player in and keep them absorbed in the game play is where music games excel.
