Xbox / India link updated with correct URL. I’m batting what… one broken link every other post? Bah.

• eBay is delisting auctions for virtual objects. The stated rationale is notable: they’re effectively declaring that game players don’t have inherent ownership of their own virtual property… which is the rationale most MMO developers are hoping will take hold in legal circles.
• Classic Nintendo game themes, acapella-style — a delightfully geeky treat.  :-)
• Hamburger giant Burger King says its Xbox games promo helped the company achieve a 40% increase in profits for Q2. That’s huge!!
• Some interesting anecdotes about games (and Xbox) in India.
• Today’s Penny Arcade comic is hysterical.  :-)

(I’m currently in Shanghai and having a blast. Haven’t had time to write something about my experiences yet, so here’s an unrelated article I wrote a few weeks ago but never got around to posting…)

Since I joined XBLA, I’ve refrained from writing about my job because most of what I do is considered highly confidential. In addition, there’s been so much to absorb (intellectually, organizationally, and creatively) that I’m still digesting most of it. But I think there’s one thing I can share that you all might find interesting.

Five months ago, I wasn’t sure what kinds of content developers might be pitching to Microsoft. My assumption was that many pitches (if not most) would involve content that traditional publishers generally shy away from. Experimental gameplay, completely original IP… that sort of thing.

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• Bioware has announced vague but “big” plans for episodic extensions of some upcoming games. IMO, that qualifies as a significant (if exploratory) vote of confidence in the business model. Speaking of, I’d love to witness a no-holds-barred debate between Ray Muzyka and Mark Rein on this topic.  :-)
• Via Parmesh, some insight into the inevitably huge (but currently somewhat uninspired) Indian mobile game market. The entrepreneur in me just drools over the (eventual) possibilities…!
• Nintendo and Six Flags have joined forces to promote one another. Some will argue over the wisdom of this particular partnership, but I’ll sidestep that debate and simply express support for the general idea: i.e. advertising console gaming to a broader audience. Nintendo continues to lean in the right general direction.

PS. I just landed in China; will be here on business for about a week. Hopefully I’ll have some good stories to tell soon!

The article below was written by Chris Avellone, Chief Creative Officer of Obsidian Entertainment. Chris also designed Planescape: Torment, which is my favorite game of all time, as I’ve noted repeatedly on this blog (much to Chris’ acute embarrassment, I’m sure.)

Anyway, Chris is also a great writer, so I asked if he’d do this guest spot. No strings attached, any subject allowed. The only requirement: it had to include his famous stick figures. (Famous, I say!) Chris gracefully accepted. And with that, I’ll stop yammering now…

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• Andre Vrignaud asked the Xbox community to tell him how Live should evolve. Tons of responses. Skimming them will give you some insight into the desires of Xbox’s most passionate customers.
• A detailed account of a virtual war that has erupted in Second Life.
• Ubisoft is attempting to crack the “very young / pseudo-edutainment” market with a game that lets kids create images, brush a monster’s teeth, play dress-up, etc.
• Via Edge, go make yourself a Parappa the Rapper-style 2d dancing image. You’ll waste ten minutes of your life and love it. I want this fleshed out and turned into a game!
• The development contract for Call Of Duty: Finest Hour has been published and picked apart by Gamasutra, for all the world to see. (Long article — I’m still working my way through it.)
• The top 15 selling games in Japan this past week were for Nintendo hardware; all but two were published by Nintendo. Wow. This helps illustrate two things:
  1. One more reason why Sony should be freaking out [they have always relied on the Japanese market to safeguard them against Microsoft] and,
  2. Why third party publishers are becoming worried about their prospects in Japan [Nintendo IP generally steals the show on Nintendo hardware, and Sony has a better reputation than Nintendo when it comes to working with third party publishers. Hopefully with the help of more titles like Blue Dragon, Xbox can finally begin to fill the void…]

  And speaking of Nintendo, check out this cute Wii-related weight loss testimonial (thanks, Ben).

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that lately, when someone asks me for advice on building up their community-centric media project, my answer often includes the following question: “What are you doing to drive financial value back to your users?” I say embarrassed because this question invokes tragicomic memories of failed dot-com startups; you know, the websites that paid you money for websurfing (”make pennies per day!”) Or, for that matter, more recent sites that prove the classic pyramid scheme is alive and well.

Past failures and frauds aside, there’s clear evidence that creating economic opportunities for users can result in big bucks for businesses. This has long been obvious outside the entertainment industry — eBay, Google (adSense), and Amazon (Marketplace) all make a ton of money by riding the efforts of users. But in entertainment, many people remain fundamentally opposed to sharing the wealth. Why bother, they ask, when users aren’t demanding it? (see MySpace, YouTube, etc.)

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Apologies — I wanted to write something intelligent this weekend; instead I spent all of it playing with Pooka, our new whippet. (We didn’t pick the name Pooka — she’s three years old and she’s had that name since she was born. Feels wrong to change it.)

But I also occasionally call her “ghost” because she’s entirely white and utterly silent. I’ve never met a dog that doesn’t bark or yelp or anything. We’ve heard her whine once — when Eve left the house and Pooka got separation anxiety — and we heard her growl for about a second, when another dog tried to paw her. That’s about it.

Anyway, much time spent giving treats, learning dog mannerisms, and keeping Pooka off the bed (she still jumps on it when I’m not looking, but she’s smart enough to fly out of the room when I walk in… *grin*)

Something more worth reading to come soon. Thank you for your patience.  ;-)

I got tagged with the “five things” influenza that’s ravaging the blogosphere. I could ignore it, but where’s the fun in that? So here’s five things you probably don’t know about me:

1. My first favorite games were Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Hero’s Quest, and Might and Magic 2. My best friend and I still occasionally chant the tune (in unison) that M&M2 made each time you destroy a skeleton with “turn undead” (”na-na-na, na-na-na!”)
2. I got into medical school (Mt Sinai, NYC) when I was a sophomore in college. I didn’t end up going because every time I saw blood, it made me want to puke. Contrary to popular wisdom, the urge to puke did not wane with repeat exposure. My father still wakes up screaming from time to time as a result of my decision.
3. My first language was Spanish. My parents wiped Spanish from our home when some teacher complained I was incomprehensible. Now I have a BA in English Literature and can’t speak Spanish worth a damn. Stupid teacher.
4. My wife and I are frequently compared to “Dharma and Greg.”
5. I love really good dark chocolate. But I can barely stand the taste of milk chocolate, no matter how fancy.

And now, for my shameful contribution to blog pollution, I tag Ben Mattes, Henry Jenkins, Parmesh Shahani, Danc, and Chris Avellone.

• Worldwide wrap-up of notable happenings in video game academia this past Fall.
• Linden Lab has open-sourced the Second Life client. Given widespread recognition that the current client isn’t very user-friendly, the announcement has been greeted with enthusiasm by many bloggers. Linden Lab claims it will someday open-source the server code, but I’ll believe that when I see it.
• Everyone is talking about Slamdance (specifically, the festival’s decision to eject a controversial contestant, Super Columbine Massacre RPG, given pressure from sponsors.) Now three fellow contestants have withdrawn from Slamdance in protest; most industry bloggers appear to be cheering them on (primarily for rejecting double-standards, re: the treatment of controversial films vs. controversial games.)
• Lots of (good!) Microsoft-and-games-related news:
• From CES, 10.4M Xbox 360s shipped, 2.7M units of Gears of War shipped in 8 weeks, attach rate of 5.3 titles per Xbox 360, 5M+ members of Xbox Live, 20M+ XBLA games downloaded, and 2M text/voice/picture messages sent via Live per day. Estimate of 13-15M consoles shipped by fiscal year end.
• Also from CES, IPTV is coming to the Xbox 360 (by holiday season ‘07). Personally very excited about this one.  :-)
• The New York Times has published a glowing review of Vista, as it pertains to games. The review focuses on the importance and usability of parental controls in the OS.
• Via FierceGameBiz a few days ago, news that movie downloads on Xbox are surpassing those of several major e-tailers (including Amazon), despite an obviously smaller customer base.

A couple of weeks ago, Kim Pallister and I were chatting about a particular video game. Kim mentioned that it would be nice if the game included a “little kids’ mode” — i.e. one in which the player can’t actually lose and doesn’t even need to follow any “rules” per se; he/she can just experiment with the controls and have fun within the virtual environment. (I believe the comment was inspired by the exploits of Kim’s two-year-old twins.) In essence: open the game to more members of the household (in this case, very young children) without much additional cost.

Shortly thereafter, I read a post on Ben Mattes’ blog exploring a related theme; offering “little brother” co-op mode in hardcore games, so that experienced gamers can more easily invite less dextrous family members and friends to play along. A quote:

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