Worldwide Games Portfolio Planner for Xbox Live Arcade, and research affiliate of the MIT CMS Program. (Note: This blog is not endorsed by Microsoft or MIT; statements expressed therein should not be interpreted as statements by those organizations)
Konami is developing a Yoga Training game for the DS. Probably the most stark example of third party publishers buying into the mass-casual vision laid out by Nintendo.
Acclaim is taking community-centric game design one step further by effectively launching the equivalent of American Idol/The Apprentice for game design. The “best” contributor to an existing project will become the “director” of a future MMOG. Neat stuff; looking forward to seeing whether this is purely a PR stunt, or a genuine attempt to loop users into game design (plus PR stunt).
Always useful to be reminded how unbelievably compelling Xbox achievements are to some customers…
GameTap is trying hard (short of significant first or second-party funding, as far as I know) to claim the mantle of “indie game champion.” All kinds of snide, competitive remarks are coming to mind, but I’m stiffling ‘em. ;-)