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donniebaseball23 writes:
Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Jack Tretton has come out swinging to defend the lackluster response the games industry has seen with the PS Vita. He deemed the sales level for the portable as "acceptable" so far, and he brushed off any notion that social and free-to-play games are putting huge pressure on the portable and dedicated consoles market. "I think the opportunity to be in the console business is greater than ever before," he told GamesIndustry International. "[Social and free-to-play] is a business I think a lot of companies are learning is difficult to sustain for the long term. It's an adjunct or it's an add-on, but it's not where gaming is headed. It's an additive diversion. There's a place for social and freemium, but it's not going to replace the business models that are out there."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Video game publisher Electronic Arts has not only had to defend itself against "worst company in America" labels, but GamesIndustry International has revealed that EA's been receiving thousands of letters protesting the inclusion of same-sex relationship content in games like Mass Effect and Star Wars: The Old Republic. The campaign against EA appears to be led by Florida Family Association and the Family Research Council. The letters threaten to boycott purchase of EA games if the company won't remove the LGBT content, and many allege that EA was pressured by LGBT activists to include the content, which they say is forcing LGBT themes on children playing the games. "This isn't about protecting children, it's about political harassment," said Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications.
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Microsoft recently confirmed that it's not going to be talking at all about its next Xbox, codenamed Durango, at this year's E3, instead keeping the focus on Xbox 360. Forbes columnist Chris Morris explains that Microsoft likely doesn't have games to show for the system yet, and why should they take the focus off Xbox 360, which has a lot of momentum currently? Ultimately, though, the decision not to show the next system "could have a ripple effect on the rest of the industry," he says. And by pushing Durango's unveiling back a year, "Microsoft could find itself going head to head with Sony in a battle of features, even if the machines don't hit shelves at the same time."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Game budgets continue to rise with each successive console generation, and with the Wii U launching later this year, the industry is on the cusp of yet another costly transition. Publishers started regularly charging $60 for games this generation, but that's a model that simply cannot survive, Nexon America CEO Daniel Kim told GamesIndustry International. "I think at some point the console makers have to make a decision about how closed or open they're going to be to the different models that are going to be emerging," Kim remarked. "Today it's free-to-play, and I'm convinced that that one is going to continue to flourish and expand into other genres and other categories, but there may be something else completely and entirely different that comes out that again changes the industry." He cautioned, "If your mind is just set on keeping the current model of buy a game for $60, play for 40 hours, buy another game for $60, play for 40 hours, that model I think is eventually going to change. It's going to have to change."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
As a follow-up to his piece on Xbox 720, veteran games journalist Chris Morris has put together some thoughtful advice on what Sony needs to do (and needs to avoid) to ensure that the next generation PlayStation is a success. In particular, Morris notes that Sony must "look beyond games" to create a fully fledged entertainment hub: "Nintendo has been pretty adamant that it has little interest in content beyond games. Microsoft seems to be rushing to embrace the set top box world. Sony, though, seems a bit confused about what it wants..."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Amazon's entry into the tablets market has gone probably even better than they expected. And now the Kindle Fire is quickly becoming a viable games platform. Developers have come out in force to lavish praise on the Fire for its price and ease of use. “People are fired up about Fire because they know it's part of a service they already use and trust,” said Josh Tsui, president of Robomodo. “It becomes effortless to buy and use because it does not make them break their usual buying patterns. It enhances it.” Added Igor Pusenjak, president of Lima Sky: “In many ways, the best thing about Fire is that you barely feel it's an Android device. Amazon built its own closed-system OS on top of Android."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Xbox 360 just came off a record November, with more than 1.7 million units sold in the US, but behind closed doors Microsoft is planning its next move for the successor to the popular console. Plenty of Xbox 720 rumors have surfaced in recent months, but veteran games journalist Chris Morris has filtered through them to provide a realistic take on what Microsoft should and shouldn't do with Xbox 360's successor. In particular, he notes that Microsoft should adopt the Blu-ray format from Sony. "A DVD drive as a medium for storing larger and larger games is outdated – and it steps on the toes of a system that bills itself as the high definition leader," Morris writes. "Microsoft resisted the move to Blu-ray this generation without any ill effects. It even survived picking the losing side in the format battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, but it can't rely on the DVD to take it into the next generation."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
The top one percent in America may control most of the wealth, and it would appear that there's a similar disparity in the iOS ecosystem, as the top one percent of iOS game developers earn over a third of the digital revenue, while the top 20 percent are earning approximately 97 percent of all the game revenue made on the Apple App Store, according to a new survey of iOS developers. The survey, set up by Canadian indie developer Owen Goss, found that the bottom 80 percent of iOS developers are splitting a mere 3 percent of all App Store game revenue between one another.
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Google's new games offering on Google+ has only been around a few weeks, and it's been getting mixed reactions. According to veteran game designer Ed Del Castillo, the potential is there to beat Facebook at its own game, if Google improves in the right areas, which he outlines as evolved content, player discovery and a push for HTML5. "Overall, the quality of Google+ gaming isn’t bad. It’s just another Facebook with fewer games and fewer friends. It’s a baby step in a time where successful companies, like Apple, are taking huge strides. The good news is that they didn’t blow it. They have a good base to build on," he said.
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Sony's virtual world, PlayStation Home, has seen over 23 million users since launching in December 2008, and now the service is about to undergo its biggest change yet. Jack Buser, director of PlayStation Home, told IndustryGamers that Sony is planning a "total redesign of the heart of PlayStation Home" for this Fall. The idea is to put games (particularly free-to-play games) front and center on Home, utilizing a central with a theme park design. The Hub will "integrate games, quests, community events and user-generated content, while providing players with additional navigation, shopping, socialization and entertainment options."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Sony, after nearly two years on standing firm on PS3's price, dropped the console to $249, and it's been having an immediate impact. IndustryGamers reports that GameStop has already noted a "significant" increase in PS3 sales, while big box retailer Target confirmed an "immediate lift" in sales and recommended PS3 as a "great option" for its customers. Not only that, but leading e-tailer Amazon saw PS3 sales explode by 400% in the days after the price cut. All told, in the months ahead, analysts are expecting Sony to see as much as a 30% sales bump for PS3 this holiday season.
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Xbox 360 has been having an incredible year so far in 2011, but on a global scale Sony's PS3 is still gaining ground. In fact, this year PS3 has outpaced Xbox 360 by 10% worldwide, analysts have pointed out. While the Wii has clearly won the race for this console generation, the battle for second place is neck and neck, and PS3 has a good shot of overtaking Xbox 360. "As for second place, as far as the hardcore market is concerned, I'd say PS3 is a strong contender for that position," commented M2 Research analyst Billy Pidgeon.
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donniebaseball23 writes:
id Software co-founder John Carmack defended the creativity of first-person shooter games in a new interview with IndustryGamers. The legendary programmer, who was a pioneer in the shooter genre with Doom and Quake, said he doesn't like hearing from developers that shooters aren't good because they're not reinventing the wheel. "I am pretty down on people who take the sort of creative auteurs' perspective. It's like 'Oh, we’re not being creative.' But we're creating value for people — that’s our job! It’s not to do something that nobody’s ever seen before. It’s to do something that people love so much they’re willing to give us money for... you see some of the indie developers that really take a snooty attitude about this," he lamented.
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donniebaseball23 writes:
Weeks ago, rumors were that Electronic Arts had stepped up to the plate to buy mobile/casual gaming publisher PopCap, developer of titles such as Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies. Today, EA has confirmed that it has purchased PopCap for a final sum of $650 million and $100 million in shares of EA common stock. There's also the possibility for up to $550 million in earn-outs for hitting 2013 financial milestones. That would bring the price to a whopping $1.3 billion. "We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games," said David Roberts, CEO of PopCap. "By working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience."
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donniebaseball23 writes:
The rate at which hardware iterates in the smartphone and tablet space has allowed the technology to nearly catch up with consoles. It won't be long before we're all carrying small devices more powerful than the PS3, says Doom creator and id Software programming genius John Carmack. Speaking to IndustryGamers, he commented, "It’s unquestionable that within a very short time, we’re going to have portable cell phones that are more powerful than the current-gen consoles."
