The journal Psychological Science has an article on game addiction based on real research. This is a good thing as we need to know what is really going on. The challenge reward cycle of video gaming is obviously very compelling, it is why people play them. This can slip over to addiction in some, that is just human nature and I have written about it on here before. There are far worse common addictions out there, tobacco, alcohol, gambling and crack cocaine, for instance. This doesn’t mean that the industry should ignore the problem, but most of all responsibility lies with parents.
UK game publisher Empire in trouble. Very sad as they have been a part of the industry for a very long time. However they are just too small in an industry that has massive competitive advantages of scale for plastic and cardboard publishers. It is interesting that conventional physically distributed publishing is consolidating down to just a handful of global players whilst the number of online game publishers is exploding. The industry is changing a lot faster than most people think.
Yoichi Wada of Square Enix complains that it takes too long to make games. This is because our industry persists in repetitively re-inventing the wheel. We need to have more industry standard tools and libraries and to recycle in game assets many times. The movie industry learned this a long, long time ago.
Texas state government acts to support the video game industry, which they have quite a lot of. Britain is at increasing odds with the rest of the world and doesn’t even give games the same support that it gives films. Hence our share of this massive and rapidly growing industry is a small fraction of what it could be. Britain has huge competitive disadvantage as a place to do business in the video game industry.
Konami cancel Six Days in Fallujah, presumably because of misguided and ignorant outside criticism. If this had been a book or a film there would have been none of this, the double standards people have when it comes to games are a disgrace. More than three dozen marines, who were actually involved in the real battle, had contributed to the development of this game. It would have stood as a testament of what happened there and would have brought the true realities of modern warfare home to a huge audience. So it is a massive shame that Konami have given in to noisy ignorance. Video games are an art and it is a job of art to take people where they would otherwise not go. Atomic Games, the developer, are now looking for a new publisher. Let’s hope that they succeed, this would be ideal for Take Two!
Apple have 84% of mobile app market. A percentage that Nokia could have easily achieved if they had got their nGage act together. And a percentage that will be rapidly eroded by Android as handsets come on stream.
So we are at the beginnings of what looks like a very virulent pandemic. The 1918 flu reached everyone on earth including remote Eskimos and jungle tribes so expect this one to do the same, at the speed of a Boeing. Mexico is the most advanced country for cases followed by the United States, the rest of the world is some way behind. But we will catch up so it is worth looking at the social consequence in these lead nations.
In Mexico football matches are taking place with zero spectators and all restaurants are closed in Mexico City. In the USA many schools have sent their students home. Expect these and similar measures to be implemented worldwide. Basically people will be discouraged from congregating in crowds and will be encouraged to stay at home.
So a huge percentage of the population will be spending far more time at home. This is going to greatly increase the playing of games to occupy time. But people won’t want to visit the shops, so plastic and cardboard games will be bought over the web. But it is the pure online games that will benefit most, delivered instantly to your computer or console with no need to leave the house and no need to handle a potentially infected parcel.
So when things return to normal the whole shape of the industry could be different. There could be a step change away from traditional plastic and cardboard games with casual games and MMOs being the biggest winners. And gaming as a whole will increasingly be seen as a valid leisure activity for all.
I expect Keith Vaz and the Daily Mail to lead the ban campaign here in the UK and Jack Thompson and Fox News to lead it in the USA. We mustn’t let issues like swine flu distract us from this crusade. Ban all movies, immediately.
I am taking a week off to revisit one of the greatest cities on earth, Istanbul. It was the capital of the world under the Romans and again under the Ottomans. The layers of history, heritage and culture make many other great cities seem like villages in comparison.
So I am giving you all a week off from reading my diatribes. Normal service could well resume in about ten days.
The conference seeks to bring together industry leaders, game developers, professors and students from leading MBA institutions such as MIT and Harvard to discuss the future of the gaming industry.
The theme for this year’s event: “Marketing and Distribution in the Digital Age”, explores the current evolution of the gaming industry as it is set to exceed those of both the music and movie industries. Now especially, when the economy is slowing down, we will examine innovative ways to market and distribute games cheaply but effectively through the digital media.
The conference will include keynotes and panel discussions, which will provide an engaging and interactive forum for industry professionals and student leaders to share their views on these highly relevant topics.
