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Apparently EA sent some very illegal weapons to some game writers in support of the (awesome?) Godfather 2 game! Smooth move there, EA. Smooth.

I don’t like the Marketing Machine. Usually things go horrifically wrong when marketing is involved. I mean, wouldn’t some typical game swag (t-shirts, stickers, even tote bags) do just fine? Why weapons? That’s kind of nuts if you ask me.

Well, at least EA has requested  that the items are sent back to them. But as mentioned in the article, that most likely won’t happen.

Very weird, indeed.

Valve’s new DRM / Piriting circumvention strategy is very interesting…

Original article can be found here.

As it turns out, Apple is unsure how to handle the influx of iPhone applications, most of which are games (or decidedly game-like).  The article says that, to date, over 500 millions(!) applications have been downloaded from the app store.  That is a very large number.

In a way, it’s almost counter-intuitive to what our readings have been lately.  Almost every week, we read an article by someone who thinks that the future of games (even the future of humans) lies within this emergent virtual media.  However, the sales charts prove otherwise.  It does not seem as though most people want to live in new virtual spaces, they just want to be less bored.  There were still children last Christmas who didn’t find Wiis under their trees.

The article goes on to talk about Apple’s possible plans for the iPhone’s gaming future, but they don’t seem very sure.  Does it really matter to them at this point, anyways?  I think there’s definitely an audience for iPhone games that are more engaging, with better graphics, gameplay, story, etc.  Also, since the iPhone is much simpler to program for, it’s likely that the business sector will head that way too.  If one had the tendency to over-react, they might talk about this being the end of console/PC gaming, but I do not believe that is the case.  It’s really just opening up the gaming world to non-gamers, which will likely be good for everyone, especially those of us who want to make a living from this.

Maybe. (Sony Makes It Hard to Develop for the PS3 on Purpose)
Part of me can sympathize with the choice they’ve made. Filtering out the junk from the nuggets of gold seems to be a decent priority. Heck, Apple can do it, why can’t they?

However, the developer in me wants to scream bloody murder. I can only rationalize this for so long, because this type of exclusiveness is just begging for ridicule. You can’t keep out the junk, no matter how hard you try. Bad games are developed, no matter what. By “bad”, I mean any game with a glaring flaw that subtracts the overall value to a game. A convoluted story, horrible gameplay, and bad art could be factors to this. Sony should realize that at the end of the day, the wielder of the almighty dollar is in charge. This is a fact.

I can imagine how discuraging and frustrating this must be for some developers. Considering the CEO’s statement about how he practically thinks that if PS3 developement remain “unfiltered”, then nothing but trash will be produced. Kind of adds a vibe of, “A lot of these development houses are full of crap! Who need ‘em?” to the mix.
Why would they think that people wouldn’t want to harness the sheer power of the PS3? Why would they consider making development time more costly and longer for third-party developers? I guess there’s a bit of that “only the strongest will survive” mentality here. It’s an insane stance for Sony to take, and I hope their realize the error of their ways before it’s too late.

For those crazy women out there that don’t find themselves automatically addicted to video games we have the wonderful DS pushers from Nintendo trying to make it more appealing. I had a good laugh at this one- According to Watercoolergames.org There’s now a ‘DS Spa’ where you can go and get messages and what not but are encouraged to play DS games while recieving such spa treatments. I love my DS lite, I carry it around in my purse and it means more to me than my wallet or cell phone, so this sounds like a little slice of heaven to me. At the same time, it just seems like such a silly attempt to try and get women into gaming. It’s like giving away cosmetics with purchase of DS games. (funny enough that would probably work….) and some direct advertising is included of course

“If in-mall massage-demos weren’t enough evidence of Nintendo’s commitment to advertising their wares to women, an accompanying brochure available at the pavilion offers the following invitation:

Nintendo DS is all about moments. Those moments between class or before work. Those moments just before you head out on the town with your girlfriends. … And if you’ve always thought video games weren’t made for you, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Just like Carrie Underwood, America Ferrera, and Liv Tyler were.
The three celebrities named appear inside the brochure, playing DS games. Nintendogs, New Super Mario Bros., and Brain Age 2 are shown in particular.”

SO my thoughts are that this is some what genius, for those who enjoy a little pampering with their DS play, but a laughable attempt to get newcomers to pick up the DS at their local game stores.

http://forums.gametrailers.com/thread/527209

I think that something like this can be done two ways. One thing to notice is that this is already done if you think about it. They made Link’s Crossbrow training, pretty much just a Zelda version of Time Crisis. I don’t know if the game actually did well in terms of sales, but if it did, we might be on the verge of stuff like the Zelda Fishing Championship or Zelda Goron Races extreme. Just a few exmples of what would happen.
I used to work at best buy and Zelda Twilight Princess is still pretty pricey, around 49.99. That means that the game is still selling well and I can think of no other signal that to Nintendo that this is the way to go and that there is no reason for experimentation into other fields of Zelda.

Kid-Targeted Ad Deal Counts on “Nag Factor”

 ”On Monday, Cookie Jar announced that it has signed an agreement with youth entertainment and media network GoFish, which will be providing kid-targeted in-game ad support for the Magi-Nation game.”

In game ads? For kids? Wait what? Is that a good thing???

But we all hate nagging… From a parent’s perspective I assume this means hell. I remember whenever I went shopping with my parents or when I couldn’t  get something I saw somewhere else, I nagged. I remember when I first saw Pokemon and wanted to have my very own Pokemon. What happened next? I nagged to my parents and my mom eventually gave in (months later ) and bought me some Pokemon cards. I was one of the cool kids because I too had Pokemon cards. I used to envy my friends’ parents that gave into their nagging. They would get what they wanted whenever they wanted. I, on the other hand, was stuck with what I had. Did it piss me off back then? Very much. My jealously increased as I saw everyone else have all the cool things I wanted. Dammit I wanted that Stretch Armstrong… His arms stretched for miles in the commercials and I wanted to play with that toy. Am I pissed to this day? Absolutely not. Sure I could of had some toys. Today, however, that would have just equaled to more crap laying around that I will never touch. I’m actually kinda glad my parents didn’t buy me what I wanted, that they discouraged the latest fads. Sure I looked like an outcast as the only kid without Jordans, but it allowed me to appreciate what I had and made me see how fast these fads go by. I had to save my own money to get what I wanted, and I sure wasn’t going to waste it on an expensive pair of shoes or some cheap fad. I learned the value of things.

So should we allow advertisements to push images into our kids minds of what is deemed acceptable and what is not? On one hand a company will make a boatload of money. On the other hand children will begin to believe that what is shown is the only acceptable option.

But kids will think that no matter what. So why not take advantage of the situation and try to use the advertisements to the benefit of both the companies and the children. If they were to advertise healthy options and ideas that got a kid thinking then it wouldn’t be as bad as I had imagined. Kids believe what they see anyways, so grab onto it. Maybe we will finally be able to convince (or trick) kids into believing, “Hey, vegetables are for cool people… if we eat vegetable we’ll be cool too! But only if its the Jolly Green Giant brand. They’re the coolest!” Let’s just hopewe don’t see Joe Camel or his friends making any appearances in these ads…

(http://kotaku.com/357342/weezer-garbage-and-stone-temple-pilots-provide-next-rock-band-dlc)

There are many things that I could say regarding the subject of this particular blog, much of which I’m sure you’ve heard before. Whether or not you are a fan of “Rock Band”, you have to admit that the game is doing very well. Back in high school, DDR was the party game of choice, although even then it was not entirely popular with all of the “clicks”. These days, nearly every house party reverberates with the songs of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. And to some extent, games like that really do need constant updates with content to keep things fresh. But what about other games? DLC and the whole idea behind Micro$oft’s “MS Points” system just plain bugs me. Do people really need to be paying $2-3 for a different background on their dashboard? Or as many as 800 points (around $12?) for 3 new levels in Halo 3? I’ve heard of other games (it may have evevn been from discussions in this class) about games simply not having an ending in place so that you have to pay additionally for the end content. It just doesn’t seem right to me. If I’m paying $60 for a game, I want it to be nothing short of amazing, and unquestionably complete in every aspect. One more thing this blog reminded me of was the “Rock Band Stage Kit”. You can make your imaginary rock band slightly less imaginary by having REAL lights and smoke! (http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802828) The overall quality of the Rock Band equipment (at launch) was obviously shoddy, I’ve yet to see someone who has not encountered some issues with at least one of the pieces. I’m not knocking the game though, it is a lot of fun, assuming you have friends to play with (I was playing last night).

So what are your thoughts on the subject of DLC, MS points, and cheap “expansions” that aren’t really expansions at all?

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16590

This article is about not just how Wii is revolutionizing the industry but the progression of graphics versus game play for all the consoles. At the forefront of this issue is this question:

“One big question confronting the panel: is there a perception that great graphics and realism equals higher sales — and do games with unique graphics sell badly? Is there room for art direction for more than futuristic soldiers?”

The answer seems to be divided. In some games, especially sports, the progression of graphics seems to be a necessity. The average player expects the next generation to look better, and feel more ‘realistic.’ The real conflict in the industry now lies in determining which concepts need little improvement, games such as Mario. Others, such as Halo, follow a progressive line of improvements.

However, games simply can’t just look pretty. Due to a combination of factors, money being nears the top; game play is becoming increasingly more critical. Some of the best examples of this are Assassins Creed and Call of Duty 4. Technologically Assassins’ Creed is a marvel of engineering and ingenuity. The details, realism and environments are one of those things you just have to see. Nonetheless one of the largest criticisms remains to be the lack of depth. The game receiving high ratings not because of its game play but its looks. Call of Duty 4 has found the balance between both.

The true calling of the Wii is not a rush for the best graphics or game play but of attracting new and old generations to video games. Not only attracting, but also making them accessible and fun for entire families. It is by sticking to the basics and sticking to them well, which has deeply contributed to the Wiis’ success.

MERGER Activision Blizzard VS Electronic Arts
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16458

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16457

This Sunday a merger was announced between two industry giants. Vivendi Universal, and Activision. Most of the details have yet to be hammered out but several key things are:

“Following the completion of the transaction, Robert Kotick will be President and Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. Bruce Hack, current Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi Games, will serve as Vice-Chairman and Chief Corporate Officer of Activision Blizzard, accountable for leading the merger integration and the finance, human resources and legal functions.

Mike Griffith will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Activision Publishing, which after closing will include the Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Online and Vivendi Games Mobile divisions in addition to the Activision business.

Mike Morhaime will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Blizzard Entertainment. Thomas Tippl, currently Chief Financial Officer of Activision, will be appointed Chief Financial Officer of Activision Blizzard and Jean-François Grollemund, currently Chief Financial Officer of Vivendi Games, will be appointed Chief Accounting Officer of Activision Blizzard.”

*Vivendi will remain the majority in shareholdings (largest percentage of ownership of the two companies)

*Activision will likely remain a separate, independent division of Vivendi in much the same way as Blizzard Entertainment.

The reason for the merger, partly to better compete against EA, especially in the ever-growing online games, (including MMOs’ ) market. EA, like Vivendi has many divisions including popular BioWare/Pandemic, Mythic/Warhammer Online. Needless to say, it will be a struggle to compete with this new combined force.

Another significant reason for the merger is to be the immediate dominate force in the market, and more importantly begin to spread and develop an Asian market. They also note the many benefits in the future development of new games by the influx of experienced developers and industry professionals. Guitar Hero stands at the forefront of this as it benefits from a new relationship Universal Music Group (world’s largest music company.)

The bottom-line is that this new merger will spur a new a growth of ideas, development and possibilities to both companies. Regardless of whether you love/hate or are neutral about the deal you must respect the decision. It has the potential to powerfully influence the entertainment industry for years to come.

Mike Morhaime, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blizzard summed this up best. “From our interactions with the Activision team, it is clear we have much in common in terms of our approaches to game development and publishing. Above all, we are looking forward to continue creating great games for Blizzard gamers around the world, and we believe this new partnership will help us to do that even better than before.”