http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/ David Kushner, Rob Garfield, and Harry Teasley blog about the latest in gaming for IEEE Spectrum. en Copyright 2008 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:20:41 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss online and in print in the new issue of IEEE Spectrum. I've interviewed Wright many times over the years, so it was especially cool to get a behind-the-scenes look at Spore, which really is his ultimate game. The big question is: what next?]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/09/my_spore_story_now_online.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/09/my_spore_story_now_online.htm Game Development Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:20:41 -0500 There's a lot of chatter online about the future of E3: the once might vidgame expo that has recently lost its pizazz. E3 used to be suitably bombastic - with bright lights, loud music, and, most importantly, hordes of gamers (well, actually game press members...) swarming the demos. Then it all crashed. E3 kicked out the riff-raff, whittling down the convention from tens of thousands to around 5000 VIPs. And, yeah, it got really, really boring - not the word you'd associate with the medium. This of course comes at a blockbuster point in the evolution of the industry. Economic downturn? Vidgames are poised for their hugest year ever, estimated to earn around $40 billion next year - more than double the $17.9 billion of 2007. Why not have a party worthy of the success? Now rumor has it that E3 is considering opening up the show to gamers, a move that would make a lot of sense. E3 needs to bring back the fun, and those who want to do business at the show will have to find the time/place. http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/09/e3_gossip_bring_back_the_gamer.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/09/e3_gossip_bring_back_the_gamer.htm E3 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:04:07 -0500 games.]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/prison_for_gamers.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/prison_for_gamers.htm Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:34:22 -0500 feature for Spectrum magazine about Richard Thurman, a 35-year-old guy who made a lot of money in videogame gold. His business: creating auto-playing bots that would win - or "farm" - gold from massively multiplayer online games. Now comes a study (87 pages!) estimating that this gold farming business is as big as a billion dollars. That sounds high to me, but maybe not that far off. And certainly this will only get bigger in the years to come as more (all?) games move online. ]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/theres_game_gold_in_them_hills.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/theres_game_gold_in_them_hills.htm Game Business Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:51:37 -0500 here.]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/the_pirate_crackdown.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/the_pirate_crackdown.htm Game Business Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:36:41 -0500 "I think people copy games and the like is because the price is simply too much. Consider that if we paid $10-15 for the games instead of $90... The cost to produce a CD, would only be a couple of bucks, the companies that make the game would still make a heafty profit,<...>" Seriously? So, in charging for a game, we're actually just recouping the cost of the CD blanks? I had no idea.]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/ignorance_thats_a_big_part_of.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/ignorance_thats_a_big_part_of.htm Game Business Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:54:49 -0500 report via GameIndustry.biz China's game market is up 66% since last year, and shows no signs of abating. But here's other interesting thing: look at the layout of the market share. Seems the action is spread evenly across the board, unlike in, say, the U.S. * 1. Shenda: 17.9% * 2. NetEase: 12.8% * 3. Giant (formerly ZhengTu): 11.4% * 4. The 9: 10.9% * 5. Tencent: 10.5% * 6. Sohu: 7.4% * 7. Perfect World: 7.4% * 8. 9You: 5.6% * 9. NetDragon: 3.8% * 10. Kingsoft: 2.8% * 11. China.com: 1.7% ]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/china_gets_in_the_game_1.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/china_gets_in_the_game_1.htm Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:17:17 -0500 here.]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/ea_gobbles_up_the_goods.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/ea_gobbles_up_the_goods.htm Game Business Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:25:53 -0500 Spong has an interesting item about the Star Trek massively multiplayer online game. It seems the makers of the game are bullish on letting console gamers play with computer games on the same server - not an original or new idea, but a sort of Holy Grail that has always been interesting in theory, but in practice, not so much. Why does this matter? Because the Big Geek Dream in the Sky is that players could (and should) be able to get their game on anywhere/anytime - including cross-platform competition and cooperation. Hopefully, Star Trek will deliver on its promise and take some needed strides to get gamers there. ]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/star_trek_goes_where_few_game.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/star_trek_goes_where_few_game.htm PC Games Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:14:08 -0500 Spong has an interesting item about the Star Trek massively multiplayer online game. It seems the makers of the game are bullish on letting console gamers play with computer games on the same server - not an original or new idea, but a sort of Holy Grail that has always been interesting in theory, but in practice, not so much. Why does this matter? Because the Big Geek Dream in the Sky is that players could (and should) be able to get their game on anywhere/anytime - including cross-platform competition and cooperation. Hopefully, Star Trek will deliver on its promise and take some needed strides to get gamers there. ]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/star_trek_goes_where_few_game_1.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/star_trek_goes_where_few_game_1.htm PC Games Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:14:08 -0500 why do people pirate games? As a developer, he is honest about wanting to know what he can do to change the situation, to turn pirates into customers. The hoopla over the cost of Braid on XBLA, a great game by Jonathan Blow that everyone should go get, has helped inspire this quest by Harris. And I have to admit that I think I understand why folks don't pay, and it's fairly banal. People en masse behave more like a fluid than they do intelligent agents, and the Path of No Cost is often consanguineous with the Path of Least Resistance.]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/why_pirate.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/why_pirate.htm Game Business Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:49:20 -0500 blogged about for many months now. Not only do they show how fresh and future-forward games can be, they're a lot of fun. My only question (concern?) is to what degree do gamers *want* to create their own content? Both games have enough options in there so that true couch potatoes can just sit back and play. But they're both designed to come to life in equal proportion to how much time/energy you invest. After the initial "I made that!" rush, will the giddiness subside?]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/yougames_score_big.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/08/yougames_score_big.htm E3 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:19:55 -0500 talks about how he used to take outsiders to E3 to wow them - and that wow factor is gone. The Penny Arcade guys in Seattle have picked up a bunch of slack with their annual expo, but I'd still like to think that E3 - ostensibly, the industry's show - can still make one last stab at coming back. My two cents: bring back the bombast. Games are set to make more money than ever - $22 billion - and need a show that reflects that white hot power. ]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/07/e3_bring_back_the_bombast.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/07/e3_bring_back_the_bombast.htm E3 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:46:50 -0500 again, this quirky do-it-yourself side-scrolling game for the Sony Playstation 3 is the underdog to beat. Coming in October, the game lets you build, play, and share an infinitely varied crop of platform-jumping experiences. It could do for Generation Net what Donkey Kong did for the arcade crowd. Spore: Still awesome, still unreleased, Will Wright's upcoming simulation is finally landing in paws this September. Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero: Music games were everywhere (see Microsoft's karaoke title Lips) but the two champs are going head to head with new versions this fall. Even better, the Rock Band party featured a performance by the Who - and it was hilarious to hear Pete Townshend gripe about not liking the candy-colored buttons on the neck of the Rock Band guitars (though I think he was thinking of Guitar Hero, actually).]]> http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/07/e3_postmortem.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/07/e3_postmortem.htm E3 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:47:31 -0500 Today begins the E3 - Electronic Entertainment Expo - in Los Angeles. This is the videogame industry's annual soiree. Here's a few things to watch for: Bungie's new game: a new iteration of the Halo universe, rumored to be team-based. WiiMotionPlus: an add-on for Nintendo's motion sensing controller that will improve precision. QuakeLive: id Software's seminal multiplayer shooter, Quake III Arena, goes online in a free Web-based shooter. Rock Band 2: The next chapter in the hit music game packs cymbals. Stay tuned for more. http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/07/e3_circus_underway.htm http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/gizmos/2008/07/e3_circus_underway.htm Game Business Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:38:54 -0500