Monthly Archives: August 2006

I don’t normally post individual news stories (unless I intend to write an entire article about them), but this one’s got “happy Friday” written all over it. From Next-Gen: “total U.S. console software sales for July were $386M, according to NPD stats released this morning, up 22% compared to last year and much higher than even the most optimistic estimates.” Credit given to the DS and 360.

The numbers for June were better than expected as well, if I recall correctly. So, having helped spread the good news… enjoy your weekend, everyone.  🙂

• As every other blog has already reported, a Harvard Medical School professor claims that 40% of WoW player are addicted to the game.
• Ever-voracious MTV Networks is acquiring Atom Entertainment for $200M. Atom’s online destinations (including Shockwave.com and AddictingGames.com) feature casual games and/or video clips.
• Rupert Murdoch will soon tackle the PC online game market, as revealed by his now-public search for personnel (including a “head of PC gaming”). Let the big spending begin!
• Recently revealed: Activision paid $100M for RedOctane. (Now you know what Guitar Hero was worth, give or take.)
• Not explicitely game-related, but of interest to me: Amp’d Mobile will offer ad-supported fitness content to its subscribers, including dietary advice, written instructions, and video clips covering 20+ exercises.

• Via Raph Koster, Second Life now features a puppeteering system that enables players to gesture in real-time. Cool.
• Downloadable content generates $1M for Call of Duty 2 — a first on the Xbox 360.
• Integrated voice chat is coming to Eve Online; plans for other MMOs in the works. (Until they come up with convincing voice modification, I’m just not interested. I want to sound like an orc in World of Warcraft.)
• Via C3, check out this nifty marketing campaign for Snakes on a Plane (the site enables you to generate a custom voice message by Samuel L. Jackson, then calls your target person and plays the message.)

I don’t write about ARGs as often as I should (partially because they tend to be so complex that I just don’t have time to dig in, even though I really want to.) But ARGs are an important phenomenon, and anyone interested in the future of online entertainment can’t completely ignore them. The ARG Network recently posted three stories that highlight how interesting this space is:

Continue reading →

• Joystiq draws attention to the plight of the color-blind (10% of all males), noting that a fair number of games are difficult-to-unplayable for people with this common condition. Something for designers and artists to think about.
• More information about E3’s future, if you care: the details and why things changed.
• Via Slashdot, a study finds that integrating some games with commercially-available eye-tracking devices dramatically increases feelings of immersion. This worked in a range of contexts, including RPGs like Neverwinter Nights and sports titles like Madden.
• Rockstar has successfully defended itself in court against a real-world strip club that sued over its virtual appearance in Grand Theft Auto. I mention this only because the judge’s rationale was interesting: he noted that the Pig Pen wasn’t used in TV or print ads, didn’t appear on the packaging, and didn’t play a role in the game’s missions. As designers incorporate ever-more real-world landmarks into their games, they should be aware of these potential pre-conditions to “artistic license”.
• Lots of interesting China-related information this week:
• Henry has posted an analysis of “the largest political protest gathering in a virtual world game ever” (he also discusses the Chinese game market and related politics, in general.)
• Gamasutra has posted a series of articles on the Chinese game market. They cover piracy, the MMO market, gamer preferences, outsourcing, and more. Definitely worth a look.

• Sony is building “entitlements” (i.e. Xbox Achievements) into its online service. For some reason, this makes me think of medicare and social security … probably not the effect Sony was hoping for.  🙂
• As you’ve probably heard, E3 may be greatly scaled down in size and scope. Game Politics offers some insight from a “knowledgeable source”, if you’re curious.
• Via Raph, a nice article: Can Games Make You Cry? It proposes occassionally limiting interactivity (player control) in order to elicit sadness.
• Lots of buzz around GameTap lately. Turner announced a deal with Konami, bringing classic titles like Frogger and Castlevania into the service. GameTap will also play exclusive host to Sam & Max: Season One (the franchise is going episodic.) This news triggered an endorsement of sorts by Tycho of Penny Arcade (which will probably do more for GameTap than many advertisements). Tycho’s remarks mirror those of GameTap VP David Reid, who recently said, “It’s great to have this bulk of things that people can look to while they’re waiting for the next installment of something new, but like HBO has its Sopranos and things like that, we need things like Sam & Max that we rely on to be the hits that anchor people and keep them on the network.”