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by Published on April 4th, 2012 00:41- Categories:
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ngmoco's Ben Cousins describes the breadth and depth of the free-to-play future
ngmoco
www.ngmoco.com
Ben Cousins has had a busy month. As a veteran of free-to-play projects at Sony, EA and DICE, and now head of ngmoco's AAA mobile studio in Sweden, Cousins is well placed to comment on emerging platforms and business models, and in the last four weeks that's precisely what he has done.
He delivered one of the more rousing sessions at this year's GDC, arguing thatconsole hardware is already on an inexorable path towards obsolescence. If you're trying to stir up the debate it's not a bad way to start, but, faced with another speaking engagement at London's inaugural Free-2-Play Summit, Cousins resisted the temptation to simply retread old ground.
"When you've had 140,000 views on SlideShare you think, 'maybe I need to back away from that subject,'" he says, but Cousins' new line of argument is every bit as provocative.
In an hour-long keynote address, Cousins dissected the origins of the free-to-play business model in the cafe-culture of South Korea and China, its explosion throughout the world following the rise of mobile and social gaming, and its future as the pricing strategy for games of all types, on all platforms. It is laden with the sort of bold statements that help journalists pay the bills, but every sound-bite is backed by data and detail.
Team Fortress 2 went free-to-play, it didn't upset anyone, and now Valve is making loads of money from it. I mean, everyone follows Valve
"If you look at [the growth of free-to-play in Asia] with the non-racist view of these people aren't special, they're not weird - they're just ahead, or they have a different infrastructure to us, and when we get that infrastructure we'll behave the same way - then it feels inevitable," he says. "And if you talk to an economist, he'll say it's obviously going to win."
Throughout his talk, and during the course of our conversation immediately after, it becomes clear that, to some extent, Cousins regards free-to-play as an economic imperative. As soon as one competitor in a specific field drops the price to zero, he argues, it becomes very difficult for others to continue charging. It happened to mobile games in the space of a few years, and the touch-paper that will spark the same transition in PC and, ultimately, console gaming has already been lit.
"I'm a massive fan of Valve's games, and when Valve went free-to-play with Team Fortress, for me that was like, 'Okay, that's the vindication,'" he says. "Valve doesn't do something unless it feels it can be tremendously successful. That was a big deal for me. It wasn't social games taking off or anything like that - if you're engaging a more casual audience, if it's free it's going to be more popular. But Team Fortress 2 went free-to-play, it didn't upset anyone, and now Valve is making loads of money from it. I mean, everyone follows Valve."
The focus here is the spread of free-to-play to core games. The idea that social networks, smartphones and MMOs will be dominated by free-to-play is now widely accepted, but the notion that AAA console and PC titles will also succumb is still met with resistance. During is talk, Cousins predicted that there would be an epic, lavish single-player RPG in the vein of Skyrim that implements the freemium model within a few years.
Such statements are impossible to substantiate, and so are open to criticism, but when questioned on the subject Cousins remains confident. Indeed, he believes that forthcoming games like CCP's Dust 514, Crytek's Warface and Blizzard's DoTA will prove that the sort of production values expected from pay-to-play console and PC games can be successful in freemium products.
"In every other platform - whether arcades, consoles or PCs - there's been a gradual increase in production values as everyone tries to get the next big hit," he says. "If you look at Zynga's games, FarmVille is very basic compared to something like CastleVille, so we're already seeing that transition over a couple of years.
"When you get companies making hundreds of millions of dollars from their games, they're going to invest that in their sequels. They need to maintain that position. Just look at Angry Birds Space; that cost a lot more money than Angry Birds - I'd bet five times as much - and that's because they had the money and they wanted to maintain that positions. That's how you end up in an arms race.
"I think it's inevitable. If that's where the money is then there will be intense competition from very big companies willing to make very big bets... The next generation of freemium PC games will be indistinguishable from AAA games."
Cousins readily admits that the transition to free-to-play will be more difficult on consoles, but the forces he described in his GDC talk are the very same ones that will force Sony and Microsoft to embrace new models. Regardless of how popular the next generation of consoles become, their manufacturers cannot ignore the reach of the more open platforms that have emerged in the last five years. ...by Published on April 2nd, 2012 22:51- Categories:
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FIFA Street is the UK all-formats number one for a third successive week.
EA's five-a-side football game retains top spot despite sales falling 44 per cent, ahead of Mass Effect 3, which rises one place to number two. Another EA title, the newly released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, debuts in third.
EA's golf game is just about the lone bright spot in a busy week for new releases, most of which performed poorly. Namco Bandai will be happy enough with a sixth place debut for Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Storm Generations, but less so with Ridge Racer Unbounded; Bugbear's excellent arcade racer enters the chart in a lowly 21st place.
Silent Hill: HD Collection debuts at number 12, with the latest in Konami's revered survival horror series, Downpour, in at number 15. It was, admittedly, a rather disrupted week for UK videogame sales, with Game Group, the UK's largest specialist retailer, slipping into administration - though the company was saved over the weekend by private equity firm OpCapita.
01. FIFA Street (EA)
02. Mass Effect 3 (EA)
03. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (EA)
04. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Capcom)
05. FIFA 12 (EA)
06. Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Storm Generations (Namco Bandai)
07. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)
08. Battlefield 3 (EA)
09. Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
10. SSX (EA)
http://www.edge-online.com/news/fifa...art-third-week
...by Published on April 2nd, 2012 21:32- Categories:
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Warren Spector, creator of Deus Ex and the upcoming Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two, says that a new round of consoles won't help solve the most common videogame problems.
Spector is a late arrival to the current generation of HD consoles, with the sequel to Wii exclusive Epic Mickey to be his first game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. In an interview, he tells us he's far from salivating at the prospect of new hardware from Microsoft and Sony.
"If it comes, it comes; when it comes, it comes," he tells us. "I'm not a tech guy, particularly. I'm a design, story, character guy. I think most of the problems we have to solve are creative ones, not technical ones.
"Obviously we make software, so there's always a technical element to what we do, but I will make games that do whatever I want them to do at the end of the day, and I will use whatever technology [is] available."
It's an interesting take on the need for a new generation of hardware. While Spector is on the same side of the fence as David Jaffe, he's there for different reasons; Jaffe told us last month he had simply been around the block so many times that the prospect of greater graphical horsepower was no longer a thrill.
Whether devs want it or not, of course, the next generation looms on the horizon. While Microsoft has distanced itself from claims it is to unveil an Xbox 360 successor at E3 this year - insisting "2012 is all about Xbox 360" - rumours continue to circulate about its next-gen plans.
Recently, attention has been focused on Sony. Latest reports claim that the PS3 successor is codenamed Orbis, which will launch in 2013 and prevent second-hand games from being played - something Microsoft is also rumoured to be exploring in development of its next Xbox.
Spector's latest project, Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two, was announced last month and is in development at his Junction Point studio. A musical with two-player co-op, it's due this autumn for Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/spec...s-arent-answer ...by Published on April 1st, 2012 22:12- Categories:
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Corporation attempting to control losses with digital shift, portfolio trimming
SEGA Corporation
SEGA Sammy Holdings
www.sega.com
SEGA has announced that it will be streamlining its EU and US operations, resulting in job losses and the cancellation of some titles.
The move comes in response to increased loss predictions for the forthcoming year-end financials, with net income projections slashed by almost 50 per cent to ¥18 billion from ¥38 billion for the year ending March 31, 2012.
For the same period in the year previous, SEGA Sammy recorded profits of ¥41.5 billion.
No indication of how many jobs will be lost at the publisher, but it seems that those which are cut will be taken from areas of the business focused predominantly on the EU and US market. The changes, intended to "create a smaller company positioned for sustained profitability," have been blamed on unfavourable market conditions in the West.
"Consumer Business centered on SEGA Corporation is expected to post operating loss in the year ending March 2012, due to the challenging economic climate and significant changes in the home video game software market environment in the U.S. and Europe," reads a SEGA press release.
"It is essential to streamline organizations in the field of home video game software in the U.S. and European markets, while shifting to a structure that corresponds to change in environment, including strengthening development in the field of digital content."
SEGA Press Release
"Given this circumstance, the companies determined that in order to actualize earnings recovery of the Consumer Business in the following period and after and return to a growth path, it is essential to streamline organizations in the field of home video game software in the U.S. and European markets, while shifting to a structure that corresponds to change in environment, including strengthening development in the field of digital content."
Games which are designed to appeal to European and American customers will be reduced, also, with only proven IP seeing continued development.
"We conducted detailed reviews of earnings projections for titles targeted toward the U.S. and European markets and decided to narrow down sales titles from the following period and after to strong IPs, such as 'Sonic the Hedgehog,' 'Football Manager', 'Total War' and 'Aliens' which are expected to continue posting solid earnings," continues the release.
"In accordance with this, we are canceling the development of some game software titles."
Although SEGA is still predicting a small profit for the year total, it does expect an "extraordinary loss" of ¥7.1 billion for the period as a result of the adverse conditions, of which ¥4.9 billion will be costs from the restructuring itself.
SEGA has been contacted for further details on how many jobs may be lost and which titles have been cancelled.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ern-operations
...by Published on April 1st, 2012 22:03- Categories:
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In a new no-holds-bar advertising campaign, supermarket Tesco has declared itself “The Home of Gaming”.
The ad, carried by CVG, features a picture of a PS3 controller and carries the following claims:
“The largest number of gaming stores in the UK”
“393 stores open at midnight for new game releases”
“Over 10,000 games available online”
“Free UK delivery or Click & Collect instore”
“Pre-order to get your game on the day of release and get our pre-order price promise”
Whatever you think of the ad, it's clear that someone at Tesco has been doing their homework – it paints the picture of a compelling offer.
Earlier this week Sainsbury's positioned itself as a serious option for gamers while Blockbuster has also beenstepping up its gaming activity.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/tesco...-gaming/093663 ...by Published on April 1st, 2012 21:59- Categories:
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Retailer GAME has announced its exit from administration following a successful bid by Comet owners OpCapita.
Private investment firm OpCapita has secured a sale of GAME's UK assets to Baker Acquisitions Limited.
Under the terms of the deal Baker has bought the UK arm of GAME Group out of administration and will provide it with the required capital to resume trading on a normalised basis. There are no plans for future store closures.
Baker, which is based in London, was founded in November 2011.
More importantly, the agreement safeguard the remaining 333 UK stores and secures the jobs of nearly 3,200 GAME employees. All of these staff are now employed by Baker.
Crucially, this will also mean Baker is not responsible for those who lost their jobs with The GAME Group – bad news for those currently trying to fight for their unpaid notice and redundancy pay.
It's also bad news for investors. With the UK assets now owned by Baker, GAME Group remains suspended on the stock exchange. Investors' only hope now is that enough money can be raised from the sale of the international business for them to recoup their investment.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Administrator,” OpCapita managing partner Henry Jackson stated. “We strongly believe there is a place on the high street for a video gaming specialist and GAME is the leading brand in a £2.8bn market in the UK.
“We have assembled a strong team of experienced industry operators to implement the programme of operational change that is needed. There is a huge amount to do but we look forward to the challenge of restoring GAME’s fortunes in partnership with its employees and suppliers.”
PwC administrator Mike Jervis added: "We are delighted to be able to secure this business sale and provide some much needed stability for customers, suppliers and employees alike in these uncertain times. The support of these stakeholders has been crucial over the last week and I would like to thank them for their support throughout this difficult period.
"This means that the GAME brand will not be another one of the retail names disappearing from the high street in the current difficult climate."
GAME Group's non-UK operations remain up for sale,http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/offic...tration/093722 ...by Published on April 1st, 2012 20:47- Categories:
- DCEmu
It is no secret that the MPAA was a main facilitator of the criminal investigation against Megaupload. While the movie studios have praised the actions of the U.S. Government, they are not satisfied yet. Paramount Pictures' vice president for worldwide content protection identified Fileserve, MediaFire, Wupload, Putlocker and Depositfiles as prime targets that should be shuttered next."
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/04/...aring-services ...by Published on March 29th, 2012 23:13- Categories:
- DCEmu
HMV says its market share on new games has more than doubled.
The firm is now getting the support it needs from suppliers. And as a result the latest blockbusters – namely products not stocked by GAME – have been flying off its shelves.
But far from feeling triumphant, HMV’s new games boss Ewan Pinder tells MCV that the loss of GAME would be a blow to the UK High Street.
“Unsurprisingly we’ve seen quite a few extra customers coming in or pre-ordering online recently – mainly to pick up the likes of Mass Effect 3, FIFA Street, Street Fighter X Tekken, Mario Party 9 and other new releases,” said Pinder.
“And by concentrating on our own positive message about these releases we’ve actually seen our share on quite a few titles more than double compared to their usual levels.
“Although GAME is clearly facing a difficult situation, all sorts of permutations are still possible and we wish them and their staff in particular the very best.”
HMV lost market share in games last year. And as a result CEO Simon Fox told MCV that the firm will
reduce space given to games in-store.
But Pinder suggests that this could still change.
“Simon also said that we would look to respond to developments in the market, and if there were to be any increased demand from games customers – as we’ve seen recently, then we would obviously look to cater to this and reflect it in our offer – both in-store and online,” he added.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/new-g...-at-hmv/093569 ...by Published on March 28th, 2012 23:45- Categories:
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Amazon has been on a roll with discounts on digitally distributed titles for PC, but for a "limited time" the online retailer has physical games in a "buy two, get one free" promotion. The eligible titles cover a large selection, including very recent titles like Mass Effect 3, SSX, Ninja Gaiden 3 and Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
Now, please divert the cost of that third game into inventing a machine to slow time, so we can all get through the dramatic backlog of games already building in 2012.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...pf_rd_i=507846 ...by Published on March 28th, 2012 23:27- Categories:
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Amazon has started pushing out an over-the-air update that'll bring a slew of new features to its budgetKindle Fire tablet. Topping the list of upgrades is new sharing functionality that makes it possible for readers to send passages and notes from within the comfort of a book via social networks like Facebook and Twitter by highlighting and clicking "Share." Also on the slate is supplemental material powered by Shelfari, letting users find character descriptions, glossaries of of common terms, locations and author information from the comfort of a text. Version 6.3 also brings "print replicas" of textbooks, which include linked tables of contents and Whipsersyncing of notes and highlights. For a full rundown of the new features, check out the source link below.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200790620 ...- Search DCEmu
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