Monthly Archives: June 2007

Nintendo finally announced WiiWare, aka original downloadable games on the Wii — coming in 2008. I wonder if consumers will be confused by all the terminology (Virtual Console vs. WiiWare vs. Shop Channel), if they’ll appreciate the distinctions, or if … Continue reading

What I’m Saying and Doing

There’s a three part interview of me published on XBLArcade.com. If you’re interested in Xbox Live Arcade, you will probably enjoy it. If not, feel free to pass. :-)

BTW, I’m sorry that I have written so infrequently as of late. I confess to: A) being smitten by summer fever, and B) being a bit preoccupied. I’ve accepted an invitation by Pearson to write a book about business and video games. Not the business of games per se, but a book about how businesses of all kinds can take advantage of games. By, for example, using games to train their employees, using games to advertise to their customers, using games to crowd-source, etc. I’ll be co-writing the book with a brilliant friend, Ethan Mollick, who has graciously agreed to work with me. Which is great, because otherwise I might still be writing this book ten years from now.

(Actually, I couldn’t. These pesky publishing contracts appear to include deadlines.)

Wizards of the Coast has launched Gleemax, a portal with a focus on self-expression (show off your D&D character, your Magic deck, etc) and community — both local and international. Wizards hopes that local gaming stores will sign up, promote … Continue reading

Demographic Advocates

It recently occurred to me that video game publishers might be well served by having an internal advocate for different demographic groups. (The details: i.e. is it one specific person or several people with other responsibilities are less interesting to me than the idea itself.)

The idea came to mind when I was thinking about Marble Blast Ultra, one of our XBLA games. I have heard it said on more than one occasion that “if Marble Blast Ultra included a sandbox mode in which there were no penalties, no timers, etc, it would be a perfect kid’s game.” Conversely, when playing Pokemon Diamond, I’ve often thought “if only there were a way to speed up the rather slow and repetitive feeling of battles (among other related issues), this game might have some chance of appealing to more adults.”

(Those of you who’ve played Pokemon will understand what I’m talking about here. How many times do I need to sit through the same animation of the same attack? Is it OK to be bored after the 500th time I’ve watched the “throwing my pokeball into the field” animation? The repetition is valuable to kids but adults might enjoy a “skip” option…)

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Some information about the size of the market for casual MMOs for children. I’m really excited about Fracture, a shooter being made by LucasArts. Your weapons dramatically deform the terrain around you, with tactical implications for all involved. LucasArts is … Continue reading

The Sims is being made into a film by 20th Century Fox. Seems like they intend to work the “god game” angle for the film. Probably the only way to handle it, given the nature of The Sims. Even so, … Continue reading