Monthly Archives: December 2005

Revolution: Lower Horsepower, Lower Price, Wider Audience?

IGN reports that the Nintendo Revolution will be “not much more powerful than a [first generation] Xbox”, but instead “small, quiet and affordable.” Also predicted: 128mb of RAM, a fraction of the 512mb found in the Xbox 360. One source also said “It’s like another current generation platform for us. But it’s such a nice controller that it opens up a lot of possibilities.” Contrast all this with speculation on upcoming 360 titles which may fill four DVDs full of high-definition content.

I continue to be impressed with the gambles that Nintendo is willing to make. While everyone else is trying to win the entertainment war via better graphics and/or internet play, Nintendo is betting on more interesting games and a more diverse audience (as well as internet play.) The shrinking Japanese game market may be a primary contributor to Nintendo’s tactics — i.e. “something’s gotta change.” And of course, the PS2’s triumph over the more-powerful Xbox is proof enough that power does not always decide the victor in the console wars.

Silly idea of the day: an advertisement showing a whole family fighting over the Revolution, using their controllers to make stuff happen in real life (games flying through the air, chairs falling over, Dad’s shirt yanking up over his face, etc.) *grin*

User-Generated Content: Not Without Obligations

The 2005 Second Life Game Developer Contest, intended to generate positive PR and fun new in-game content, appears to have generated some serious controversy as well. Jeffrey Gomez, the contest winner, recently discovered that a system-wide software patch had rendered his 1st place entry non-functional.

Linden Lab has argued that Gomez could have used their test servers to identify and troubleshoot the problem before it was too late. Gomez has responded that he (and other users) shouldn’t be forced to adopt a patch before they are good and ready.

I chatted with my friend Sameer Ajmani, PhD graduate of MIT’s computer science program (and a systems specialist) about this debate. His words:

It can be very difficult to enable users running different versions to coexist in a game. But even if they could coexist, this would force users to choose between features of the different versions. Most MMOGs require that users upgrade to the latest version specifically to avoid this problem. However, since Second Life depends on its users for content, Linden Labs ought to make every effort to make API changes backwards-compatible. If users have no guarantee that their content will work after the next upgrade, then they will be demotivated to create new things.

Someone who makes content for Second Life doesn’t necessarily want to maintain it for the rest of their (real) lives. Users don’t have the same persistent (and/or consistent) committment to a game that the game’s developers do. If users can’t be certain that their efforts will retain value for a significant period of time, without significant upkeep, their motivation to produce will diminish. A business that is reliant upon user-generated content cannot afford this.

PS. While we’re on the subject, check out this cool business simulation Second Life competition. The Apprentice meets MMOG. 🙂

Resource: Game Company Database (via Google Maps)

Just want to quickly point out a nice resource: the game company database, which takes advantage of Google Maps to pinpoint every game company in the US. (Thanks GamesBlog).

Bioware: Geniuses? Or Just Really Smart?

This fit of admiration was inspired by two articles I read yesterday. One announced a writing contest; entrants must create a Neverwinter Nights module via which to tell their story, and the winners get a job working for Bioware. Good (free) content and good employees in one fell swoop. Nice.

The second article summarized a recent lecture by Bioware’s web community manager. The whole thing is worth reading if you care about learning from your customers, fostering a fan base, creating “super-fans”, and/or grooming an audience for future sales.

Bioware really understands the value of social engagement and user-generated content, two of the differentiators that make games so much more interesting (and potentially lucrative) than other forms of media.

They’re also smart recruiters. It isn’t cost-effective to build a team entirely from “experienced” talent in a rapidly-growing industry that lacks supply of qualified personnel. Plus, new people bring new ideas and fresh perspectives! (Then again, that might take all the fun out of bemoaning the industry’s lack of innovation. I can’t imagine going one week without reading another five articles on the subject…) Anyway, no surprise that Bioware was one of the few game companies attending the MIT career fair this year.

Shanda Drops Subscription Fees for Games

Shanda, China’s largest online game operator, announced that it is eliminating subscription fees for Mir 2, Magical Land, and Woool. The move was expected for Mir 2, an older game with a rapidly declining user base. However, Magical Land is a much newer game, and Woool is Shanda’s #1 property.

The company’s focus will shift to driving revenue primarily via in-game purchase of premium content. This applies to most of Shanda’s upcoming titles as well. The change is expected to result in a very signficant earnings shortfall, at least in the short term.

Predictably, Wall Street got spooked. Most analysts are interpreting this as further sign of bruising competition from the likes of WoW. But then, we know that WoW isn’t doing as well as Blizzard hoped in China.

If movie theaters stopped charging admission in the hopes that greater popcorn sales would make up the difference, I’d probably call them nuts. This seems similar, though I don’t discount the potential of in-game purchasing. I just think a dual-revenue model is better.

Oh, I also heard another explanation for these troubles: piracy. Apparently, Chinese MMOG operators might be losing the war against illegal instances of their games. I didn’t think it was possible to effectively pirate an MMOG…