From the Austin Game Conference Asia Track:

• Anime and realist art are the most popular in Asia; realist art hasn’t done as well in the US.
• Individualism matters more in the US; community interactions (trading, graphical embraces, etc) matter more in Asia. (My two cents: it is dangerous to underplay community functionality in any region — it always matters.)
• Simple game controls are more important in Asia, due to habit of gamers in Asia to play with one hand while doing other things (such as eating, text messaging, etc).
• One Asian company reported that 60% of its customers were unemployed (living off unemployment checks). Some player’s wives wrote in thanks, preferring this to the possibility of gambling.
• Game companies are big buyers of advertising time in Asia — benefits of such spending are currently unclear.
• In China, companies pay fees to put up game posters in Internet cafes. Other companies can pay to have them removed. *grin*

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In no particular order:

• 25,000 wireless hotspots throughout Europe (unclear how many of these will be McDonald’s locations)
• Revolution will be “as graphically powerful” as PS3 / 360
• Revolution users will be ablet to play some games online without actually owning a copy.
• Online content will not be restricted by geographical region

Between the serious committment to online play and the nifty position-sensitive wireless controller, I’m getting more psyched abou the Revolution every day.

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