• The New York Times, Tuesday, September 11, 2007 12:30 PM

The most important trend in gaming over the last two years has been the pastime's explosive growth outside its traditional demographic base of young men. "Noobs"--short for newbies--is the online vernacular for players who are new to gaming. In the video game industry, those are known as new customers.

Daniel A. DeMatteo, vice chairman and COO of GameStop, the largest specialty game retailer, says he expects that noobs will continue to affect console makers, game producers and retailers this coming holiday season.

Since the casual gamer and the gift-giver do not always know what they want, GameStop is setting up two sections in each of its stores this holiday season to appeal to the noobs. One will focus on music games. GameStop is also establishing special sections dedicated to children's and family-friendly titles. Demand for Nintendo's Wii game console will continue to outstrip supply, DeMatteo says.

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