By Nadia Oxford on Jun 15, 2011 in Business, PlayStation Vita, Sony
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Some might argue that the smartphone market is strangling the portable gaming market, but Nintendo and Sony are having none of it. Both companies are pushing against Apple’s advances with immense strength.
At E3 2011, Sony familiarized us with its latest soldier in the fight: The PlayStation Vita, or, if you like, the PS Vita. The portable handheld system, which will probably be available near the end of 2011, will come in two flavors: One with 3G and Wi-Fi...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 15, 2011 in Business, Culture, Disruptive Tech
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The unveiling of the Wii U at E3 2011 confirmed a point that’s been illustrated since the home console industry was resurrected in the ’80s: Nintendo does its own thing. After all, Nintendo’s independence is what brought motion controls to living rooms across America–and spawned a “casual/core gamer” divide in its wake.
Since other concerns mushroomed on top of the Wii’s success, including Nintendo’s hesitation to...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 13, 2011 in Disruptive Tech, Nintendo, Video Games
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If you’re a longtime fan of video games, then you’ve doubtlessly said, “Oh God, what is Nintendo doing?” at least once through your gaming career. When it comes to unveiling seemingly crazy ideas, Nintendo is king–and the company has surprised us once again with the introduction of the Wii U at E3 2011.
Though Nintendo could have engineered an HD follow up to the Wii that snuggled into a safe crevice by implementing a traditional...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 13, 2011 in Culture, E3
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E3 2011 was the usual flurry of meetings, previews, and press conferences. Handshakes were exchanged, controllers were gripped and music blared until June 9, when the proprietors of the Los Angeles Convention Center flicked off the lights and said, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”
Attendance for E 2011 was healthy: Early numbers indicate that over 46,000 exhibitors, developers, publishers, retailers, and members of the...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 10, 2011 in Business, Digital Distribution, Game Development
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If you’re amongst the growing number of gamers who are unhappy about the gradual dissipation of the single-player experience, Silicon Knights’ boss, Denis Dyack, has someone you can blame: GameStop.
Last month, Dyack told IndustryGamers that developers are being forced to build their games around multiplayer options because the used game trade–which GameStop more or less owns–is putting a serious hurt on game studios.
Dyack said,...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 10, 2011 in Business, Digital Distribution, iPhone and iPad
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GameStop already has command over retail game distribution, and is particularly interested in the sale and trade of used games. Recently, the chain has made public its plans to offer widespread digitally downloadable games and streaming. Is there any game retail territory left for GameStop to jab its flag into? You bet, and that’s the next stop: GameStop is testing out a trade-in market for Apple iOS devices like iPod Touch digital music players, iPhone...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 9, 2011 in Business, Game Development, Marketing
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Dreaming of Sony’s PlayStation 4 already? Then consider. When the PlayStation 3 hit the market in 2006, it was the best bit of console hardware available at the time. In other words, it was very impressive and shiny. Its initial price tag was impressive, too: $599 U.S. dollars (a price quotation from Sony CEO Kaz Hirai that will live in infamy). Some price drops have since helped cash-strapped families find room in their entertainment centers for the PS3, but...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 9, 2011 in Business, Microsoft, Sony
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The PlayStation 4 is in its embryonic stage, if it’s even gotten that far, so we won’t know much about it for quite some time. But one fact that has been confirmed by Sony is that the company won’t be investing as heavily into the PS4′s specs as it did for the PlayStation 3. Not a huge surprise: It took over four years for the PS3 to turn a profit, and that’s not a bath Sony can afford to take again.
IndustryGamers asked industry...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 8, 2011 in Business, Casual Games, Online Games
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The mainstream’s unflattering portrait of the stereotypical “gamer” is finally starting to loosen its crocodile grip: No longer are video games supposedly the domain of socially awkward male teens with an insatiable appetite for pizza and a revulsion for physical activity. Unfortunately, a new stereotype is pouring into the void: The portrait of the “casual gamer” who, we are told, is a 40-year-old housewife obsessed with FarmVille, or...
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By Nadia Oxford on Jun 8, 2011 in Business, Culture, Publishing
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Sitting around and talking about death is a morbid thing to do, and we humans are admittedly good at doing it. So when Chris Carvalho of the social games studio Kabam predicted the death of a major Western video game publisher last month, it was hard to resist making guesses with the enthusiasm of slumber party patrons dabbling with Ouija boards and wax drippings in bowls of water
In fact, Industry Gamers followed up Carvalho’s prediction with a poll of its...
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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.