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Submission + - Is it worth developing good games for the Web? 2

Submitted by SlashSlasher
SlashSlasher writes: A friend of mine started up a Facebook MMORTG game called "Realm of Empires" with his buddies as a personal project. Over the last couple of years I've seen it grow up from an idea into a thriving community. A lot of money and effort has been sunk into constant improvement. As a result it has become the most polished and substantial applications I've seen on Facebook. It's been quite interesting seeing the action behind the scenes without being directly entangled. Normal game play is free but certain premium features do exist. Recently after allowing an open beta of premium features the users complained vehemently that they would have to pay to keep these special features. They went so far as to start a petition to stop them from charging for premium features. People are getting up in arms about features that can be bought for less than $3 a month. I know the project hasn't broken even yet and more money is put into it every day. I had always assumed that developers would receive a chunk of the ad revenue they attract to Facebook, apparently I was wrong. Facebook only gives the developer a very small (and shrinking) piece of real estate to try and make money with. How are these people supposed to break even let alone profit? What working business models exist for the small game developer? Are people just too spoiled by free throw away games to be a target market for anything significant? Are developers who want to make any money for their work forced to move to restrictive platforms like the iPhone or the console market? Their blog details the story (http://realmofempires.blogspot.com/)
Mars

Submission + - Mars Rover Spirit Faces Circuitous Route (spacefellowship.com)

Submitted by
Matt_dk
Matt_dk writes: "Loose soil piled against the northern edge of a low plateau called "Home Plate" has blocked NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit from taking the shortest route toward its southward destinations for the upcoming Martian summer and following winter. The rover has begun a trek skirting at least partway around the plateau instead of directly over it. However, Spirit has also gotten a jump start on its summer science plans, examining a silica-rich outcrop that adds information about a long-gone environment that had hot water or steam."
Space

Submission + - Illinois declares Pluto a planet (discovermagazine.com)

Submitted by
The Bad Astronomer
The Bad Astronomer writes: "The legislators in Illinois, always on the lookout for more places to find voters, have passed a resolution declaring Pluto is a planet. I'm not sure what else can be said here, except that — besides overstepping their jurisdiction just a wee bit — they make a couple of scientific howlers in the resolution itself."

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