By Nadia Oxford on Mar 23, 2011 in Casual Games, Culture, Sony
1
Do you enjoy playing video games? Jane McGonigal, a published author and game designer, believes deep happiness and top productivity can be achieved by playing more games–lots more games. Take that, boss. Take that, mom and dad.
“Playing games is the single most productive thing we can do with our time,” McGonigal said at her PAX East panel which was reportedly branded “The Discrete Science of Why Games Make You a CONTAGIOUS VECTOR of...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 22, 2011 in Cloud Computing, Digital Distribution, Marketing
2
If you’re a betting person, now’s a good time to lay down coin on the future of the games industry. Where is games distribution headed? Which option will dominate a decade down the road? Will retail still be clinging with a bulldog grip? Will we be downloading everything to a hard drive? Will we be streaming games? Or will we be turning to a method of distribution that is a hybrid of all those options?
Zynga’s new Vice President Lou Castle thinks...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 22, 2011 in Culture, Digital Distribution, Game Design
2
Video games are awesome, but let us not forget the long-lived appeal of board games. These analogue time-passers have withstood the test of decades, and for good reason. There’s nothing like enjoying a game of Monopoly with a good glass of scotch next to the fireplace (but not too close).
Even though playing a board game is an irreplaceable tactile experience, many of those games would benefit if they were granted a digital alternative. Digital board games...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 21, 2011 in Apple, Digital Distribution, iPhone and iPad
1
Apple’s iPad 2 adds another contender to the increasingly crowded handheld gaming market. A niche that was once exclusively Nintendo’s domain is suddenly filled to the brim with palm-sized systems jostling one another and aching for the buyer’s attention.
The iPad 2, however, isn’t quite as portable as some of the available systems, nor is it as portable as some of the systems that are waiting in the wings. That doesn’t matter,...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 21, 2011 in Culture, Kinect, Motion Controls
0
When PCs and video game controllers and consoles first came home, several engineers wondered “Hey, let’s try throwing extra bits of plastic at these things and discovering if any of it enhances the gameplay experience!”
Thousands of years later, we still see extra PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii controllers, accessories and peripherals that stick to game consoles like parasites on a shark’s belly. Some serve as little more than dumpsters in which to...
read more
By Scott Steinberg on Mar 21, 2011 in Business, Console, Culture
2
Breaking into the world of video game tester jobs and earning an official game tester salary or getting a full-time job as a game developer (artist, programmer, audio/sound engineer, etc.) doesn’t require fancy degrees, insider knowledge or a well-connected ex-roommate.
Better still, anyone can do it right from home and get started overnight.
But it’s not necessarily easy. Leading game companies receive thousands of queries from eager job seekers hoping...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 18, 2011 in Apple, Business, Digital Distribution
1
Oh, the happy medium. It just keeps evading humanity and all its endeavors. At Game Developers Conference (GDC) earlier this month, Trip Hawkins, the CEO of Digital Chocolate and founder of EA, ranted a little about the industry’s inability to meet in the middle on game licensing and distribution. Nintendo’s introduction of developer licenses was hardly ideal, Hawkins says, but on the flip side, we have Apple shoveling too much content onto the App...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 18, 2011 in Business, Casual Games, Digital Distribution
11
Peter Vesterbacka, the owner of Rovio and by extension the big daddy behind Angry Birds, claims that console games are “dying.”
Automatic response: No, they’re not.
A more careful response crafted after observation of recent console sales: No, they’re not.
Vesterbacka made his declaration on a panel at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin. Innovation, Vesterbacka said, belongs to the mobile platforms, where developers can...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 17, 2011 in Facebook, Online Games, Social Games
0
The games industry and press talks a lot about “social games,” but sometimes we just go right for the brand and call them “Facebook games.” Player requests from titles like Zynga’s Mafia Wars and “Ville” series are the joy (and/or bane) of Facebook users who just want to hop online for a moment and see pictures of their drunk friends doing something regrettably stupid. Said people could feasibly switch to another social...
read more
By Nadia Oxford on Mar 17, 2011 in Business, Casual Games, Game Design
0
This time last year, many of us were snickering at Microsoft’s “Project Natal” (aka Kinect) and taking bets on the size of the crater the camera unit would leave behind when the concept inevitably bombed. Now, with ten million Kinect units sold since November, only Microsoft is laughing–not only at our sheepishly hung heads, but at Sony’s PlayStation Move. Despite seeming like a much surer thing than the Kinect a year ago, the motion...
read more
Loading ...
Scott Steinberg is the CEO of video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, and founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. Hailed as a top technology and video game expert by dozens of publications from USA Today to Forbes and NPR, he’s covered the field for 400+ outlets from Playboy to Rolling Stone. A frequent on-air analyst for networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, he’s also the author of Video Game Marketing and PR.