Monthly Archives: August 2006

Articles of Interest

Posted on August 31, 2006 by | Comments Off on Articles of Interest

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Goodbye Boston, Hello Seattle

Posted on August 29, 2006 by | 10 comments

When I was a kid, whenever my family flew somewhere, my mother would say “goodbye current-City, hello target-City” just as the plane was taking off the ground. This habit inspired a fair bit of eye-rolling during my teenage years (what didn’t?) but lately I catch myself saying it every time I board a plane with my wife. I guess the affliction is sure to be passed on to my future children. Mom will be so proud.

Believe it or not, I have a reason for sharing this fascinating anecdote — I’ve decided on my next career move (and it involves travel.) I’m joining the Xbox Live Arcade team at Microsoft as “Worldwide Games Portfolio Planner”. So… goodbye Boston, hello Seattle!

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Posted in Personal Stuff

Austin Game Conference

Posted on August 23, 2006 by | 2 comments

Just a quick note to say that I’ll be moderating a couple of panels at the upcoming Austin Game Conference. If you’ll be there and want to meet up, let me know.

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Posted in Articles of Interest

Yankee Group, Dissected

Posted on August 23, 2006 by | 7 comments

Last week, Yankee Group predicted that the PS3 would eventually beat the Xbox 360 (though not by much), and that the Wii would perform quite poorly. I initially disregarded the analysis as thoughtless and resolved to ignore it entirely. That was unfair of me. The analysis is not thoughtless (though I believe it’s mostly incorrect), and dissecting it may prove useful, insofar as it sheds light on common misconceptions that could hurt developers and publishers.

Let’s start with the PS3 vs Xbox:

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Posted in Platforms

Articles of Interest

Posted on August 22, 2006 by | Comments Off on Articles of Interest

  • A detailed look at the Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera. I’ve been waiting for a next-generation EyeToy for ages, and I’m not picky about who I get it from!
  • EA says the Wii will cost $170. My wallet is happier already.  🙂
  • An interdisciplinary research study has concluded that some games promote sociability and new worldviews.
  • Philips has found a partner for its amBX technology (which, as you may recall, manipulates lighting, temperature, and airflow during gameplay.) THQ has licensed amBX for at least one game. Now, am I missing something, or does this all hinge on hardware that nobody owns (and nobody would ever buy, unless a large number of hit games supported it?)

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Snakes on a Plane

Posted on August 21, 2006 by | 1 comment

A big debate has been brewing for months now, and this weekend marked the event that will finally blow the lid off that debate. I’m not talking about “PS3 vs. Xbox 360” — partisans in that fight won’t rest anytime soon. I’m talking about the debut of Snakes on a Plane, the movie that bloggers (and a few media scholars) love to talk about, and cynics love to trash. There are lessons here for the game industry.

Intro to Snakes on a Plane

A brief recap, for those of you who aren’t familiar with this. Snakes on a Plane features Samuel L. Jackson, in a story so silly that as soon as bloggers got wind of it, they began gleefully making parodies and hailing the movie as the upcoming camp hit of the year. Makers of the movie (including Jackson) were probably not initially intending to create a camp hit, but when they realized what was happening, they did something relatively unusual in Hollywood: they adapted their marketing efforts (and even the movie itself) to conform to the camp expectations of the blogosphere.

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Posted in Business, Design / Production, Marketing / PR

Organizational Processes

Posted on August 17, 2006 by | 1 comment

One thing that seems to be neglected at a fair number of game companies is the tuning of organizational processes (OP for short). OP relates to a wide variety of issues, including but not limited to: organizational structure, decision-making, corporate politics and culture, incentives and goal-setting, hierarchy, hiring, etc. Tuning OP isn’t simply a question of implementing, monitoring, or enforcing policies. and it is relevant to all managers, not merely HR professionals.

Unfortunately, I could write a few more paragraphs and you still might wonder what I was yammering about. So instead, I’ve decided to list some of my favorite readings from my old OP bschool course and summarize them for you. Hopefully, it will be immediately apparent why this stuff is useful! (Unfortunately, none of the readings are available for free — some are books, and some have to be purchased from Harvard for a few bucks.)

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Posted in Business, Design / Production

Articles of Interest

Posted on August 15, 2006 by | 1 comment

  • The PSP just can’t catch a break. Latest bad news: EA is shifting development resources to the DS. Oh, and publicly decrying Sony’s pricing and technological failures (that has to hurt.)
  • Via Edge, a cute Grand Theft Auto parody advertisement by Coca Cola. (It’s stuff like this that makes Coke one of the most valuable brands on Earth.)
  • Another fun video: check out this PS3 vs. Wii spoof. (Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I first saw this.)
  • Microsoft has announced XNA Game Studio Express, a product which enables indie developers and students to develop games for the Xbox 360 and PC, and to share their games via the “Xbox 360 Creators Club”.
    • Game Studio Express will incorporate GarageGames’ Torque Engine.
    • Most of the prominent game design university programs in the US have already announced their intention to integrate Game Studio Express into their curricula.
    • My thoughts: this is all extremely promising. However, it sounds like the ability to share games on the Xbox 360 will initially be very limited. That’s a reasonable (initial) approach for Microsoft to take as it works out the kinks, but eventually, it would be good to see something more…

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Debating the Long Tail

Posted on August 14, 2006 by | 1 comment

As some of you may be aware, a rather heated debate over the significance and validity of Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory has erupted over the past couple of months. (For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Long Tail theory dictates that “our culture and economy is shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail.”)

The debate started with an article by Lee Gomes in the Wall Street Journal, which vigorously questions some of Anderson’s assertions. I’d characterize myself as a believer in the Long Tail (especially as it relates to digital content) but not necessarily a supporter of everything Anderson has to say on the subject. As such, I appreciated Gomes’ article. Some highlights:

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Posted in Business, Marketing / PR, Social / Cultural, User-Generated Content

Moving On

Posted on August 12, 2006 by | 3 comments

I’ve got some news to share: this is my last week working full-time as Associate Director of Special Projects for MIT CMS. My time here has been really wonderful, and I feel like we’ve accomplished a tremendous amount with the successful launch and growth of C3. (We’ve also got something major percolating in the game space, but I can’t say anything about that until it really happens!)

I’ve been working with MIT for a couple of months now to ensure a smooth transition. Meanwhile, I’ve been exploring my options in the game industry, including roles in large companies as well as the possibility of starting or joining a startup. (There’s a lot of venture capital floating around out there, but that’s a temptation worth weighing carefully.) I haven’t made any decisions yet — and am enjoying the prospect of a little downtime — but I’ll certainly announce my next move the moment I’ve decided on it.  🙂

In the meantime (and for the foreseeable future), I will remain a research affiliate of MIT CMS. As always, if you are seeking insight into our research, want to recruit MIT students, or are interested in forming a partnership with the CMS Program (etc) please feel free to contact me. At a minimum, I will connect you with the appropriate person.

And of course, I’ll be continuing my independent consulting work for now (unless/until my next move makes that impractical.) I like the way that consulting enables me to tackle widely divergent business problems, despite the frustrating fact that I generally can’t share my experiences with others. NDAs don’t leave much wiggle room.

Anyway… it’s time to shut off my laptop and catch some Z’s on the beach. Cape Cod is beautiful this time of year!  🙂

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Posted in Personal Stuff