As its Need for Speed racing franchise reaches 100 million units sold, gaming giant Electronic Arts reveals its move onto the Internet next year with Need for Speed World Online. "As we see gamers' habits in the online space, it was just a natural move. We have millions of fans that have moved into casual gaming," said Keith Munro, vice president of Global Marketing for the franchise.
With two titles this holiday season, Need for Speed Shift (seen above, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) for the simulation-lovers and the coming Need for Speed Nitro (on Nintendo DS and Wii) for arcade-gamers, there was room for a third pillar in the franchise. Munro said, "The action pillar is still critical, and that's where Online comes in." According to the company, it will be the largest Need for Speed ever. There will be several modes, including a pursuit mode with police. Munro said that it will pack "a huge amount of upgrades, with the building up of your car, your reputation, your territory, etc. And not just upgrade possibilities, but self-expression opportunities, customization opportunities." Need for Speed World Online will debut in the second-half of 2010, after a closed beta.
This will not be EA's first franchise to make the jump to the cloud. Since May, Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online has been in closed beta. Allowing gamers to play rounds of golf anywhere, it reveals EA's new strategy to reach a more casual audience on the PC. When it launches for the public in January, Tour Online will be supported by a hybrid of a subscription-freemium model. Players will have a monthly free, reduced for bulk buys, and a pro shop to buy gear to customize their avatar. But, there will also be content available to everyone, "We will always have some type of free to play experience--maybe you get to play 9 holes," said Craig Evans, Director of Marketing for EA Sports.
With Tour Online, EA has learned a lot. Evans said, "We are taking community feedback and making sure we have something that players want to play on an ongoing basis." He shared one example, "When we first put St. Andrews up we got several complaints that the grass wasn't mowed properly--that it was more like an American course." Within a day the course was corrected. The Beta's 50,000 players have played over 130,000 thousand rounds of golf--hours upon hours of user behavior to study and learn from, to improve Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, and Need for Speed World Online. Munro said, "There's a definite sharing of best practices."
First with the company's casual gaming site Pogo, and then with this initiative to take the major franchises online, EA is expanding its reach--and diversifying its revenue. "Gaming companies aren't only making money from people paying $40 a game, but with 200 million users in a freemium model," says Anu Shukla, CEO of virtual currency provider Offerpal. But for Munro, the move online was about more than dollars, "It really involves online connectivity, acknowledging that's where our fans are comfortable connecting with friends and playing games."
And how far will EA go with this migration online? Will other AAA franchises like Rock Band and Madden NFL evolve into a PC subscription model? Evans said, "I definitely think you will see it continue to expand. This is something that is definitely a priority, not only for EA Sports, but for EA as a whole."
By all appearances, Electronic Arts (EA), one of the biggest gaming companies in the world, is going guns-a-blazin' into an online gaming realm dominated by Mafia Wars.
Currently, EA's casual gaming division, Pogo, offers only a handful of Pogo games on Facebook. Pogo.com recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, but according to QuantCast,
its U.S. traffic is down
from about 10.1 million to 8.5 million in the last six months. A bevy
of social games could help revitalize the brand. And according to The Business Insider, that's exactly the move EA is making, acquiring Playfish, a maker of Facebook games, for $250 million.
"The move shows that the big game companies are paying are paying attention to social gaming as a viable market," says Anu Shukla, CEO of virtual currency provider Offerpal. "You don't have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to bring out a World of Warcraft. The initial investment is low, the development is quick, and the monetization is high."
But can EA catch up to Facebook-phenom Zynga? With such popular titles as FarmVille and Mafia Wars, that company now has 130 million players on its various titles. And it's only likely to grow faster with a cash influx expected from its coming IPO.
When given a chance to confirm and discuss the purchase of Playfish, a spokesperson for EA replied, "EA doesn't comment on speculation about our acquisition strategy."
"Unless real and deep-rooted change is made in American policy toward recognizing the rights of the Palestinian people I would think such a prize would be useless."
- Ismail Haniyya, Prime Minister of Hamas
"We congratulate Obama for winning the Nobel. His hard work and his new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at global level and global peace make him the appropriate recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize."
- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai
"The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?' It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."
- Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee
"We have no objection if this prize is an incentive to reverse the warmongering and unilateral policies of the previous US administration and if this encourages a policy based on just peace."
- Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki
"I can't divine all their intentions, but I think part of their decision-making was expectations. And I'm sure the president understands that he now has even more to live up to. I think all of us were surprised at the decision, but I think Americans are always pleased when their president is recognized by something on this order."
- Sen. John McCain(R-AZ)
"I'm delighted at this recognition of President Obama's work to strengthen international cooperation. It validates the president's approach to tough transnational challenges such as global warming and the spread of nuclear arms. And it celebrates his steady efforts to improve America's standing around the world."
- Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
"Congratulations to President Obama on his prize. I'm not sure what the international community loved best; his waffling on Afghanistan, pulling defense missiles out of Eastern Europe, turning his back on freedom fighters in Honduras, coddling Castro, siding with Palestinians against Israel, or almost getting tough on Iran."
- Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC)
"The Nobel prize for peace? Obama should have won the 'Nobel prize for escalating violence and killing civilians'."
- Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman
PUNDITS & EXPERTS
"It seems premature to me. I think the committee should be very careful with the integrity of the prize, and in this case I don't think we are in a position to really evaluate the full impact of what this candidate has achieved."
"It would have been been better to give it to Sen. John McCain for having the guts to push through the surge in Iraq, which has brought relative peace to that country."
- Bill Kristol, editor, The Weekly Standard
"If President Obama is to be a true Nobel Peace laureate, he must engage personally to reverse his country's current blocking role in the climate negotiations to secure a fair, ambitious and binding deal for the climate this December."
- Gerd Leipold, executive director, Greenpeace International
Gaming interfaces have seen a renaissance of late thanks to the Nintendo Wii and touch screen controls. But Scribblenauts may be the first game to use your vocabulary as the interface.
Jeremiah Slaczka, the Lead Designer at the title's developer 5th Cell, describes the game as, "An action puzzle game where you can literally write anything to solve the puzzle. You can write ladder and it will appear, or flamethrower and use that." The user handwrites the name of an object and it appears on screen. But words can't do justice to the concept:
The unusual premise for the title came from studying the market for the Nintendo DS, which has grown to include such a wide variety of concepts that appeal to people that usually don't play games. Slaczka said, "We looked at Nintendogs, Brain Age, and Wario Ware. I didn't want to make another puppy simulator, or brain trainer, but I wanted to make something for everyone."
How did they go about creating the objects? "Five or six people went through the dictionary, encyclopedia, wikipedia. Nothing could be too ridiculous or too niche to not include. Just no copyrights or obscenity." All of the objects, from people and animals to everyday and not-so-everyday things, went into a database. And from there? "We took these words, attached the art and the properties to it. A ladder you can climb. It is made of wood so it is buoyant." And this is how the developer dictated how tens of thousands of things interact with one another. The onus is on the player to imagine what can help in a situation, with few limits.
Of course, some people will always want to know boundaries: over the weekend someone posted a list of what was supposedly the 22,802 objects in the game. "That was leaked by a hacker who does not know anything. It's more than that," Slaczka said. There is something wonderful about discovering what obscurities can be found in the title. Slaczka said the last item he squeezed in was Low Rider. And the inclusions of niche objects such as Rick Astley, Cthulhu, and Molecule fosters that sense of inclusiveness.
Ultimately, the way 5th Cell embraced such open gameplay may be Scribblenauts's biggest innovation, "At the launch event, on line were children and parents, but also guys that were the hardest of the hardcore. You have an imagination? You should play it."
The first half of the year was not kind to the makers of music games, according to Anita Frazier of research firm NPD Group. "Of all genres, the music/dance genre has suffered the greatest declines this year, with nearly $390 million less revenues than the
same time period last year." Shrinking sales mean that the publishers of these two franchises will have to fight hard for market share.
The battle started this week, with MTV Games' release of The Beatles: Rock Band. It's competing against Activision Blizzard's Guitar Hero 5, the latest installment in the franchise that first made plastic axes cool. Both companies share a common goal: To appeal beyond their base and reach a more mainstream "casual" audience. In Guitar Hero 5, along with the usual finger-numbing songs for expert shredders, there is a musical jukebox mode and social challenges that players of any skill level will enjoy. And with The Beatles: Rock Band, is expected to attract fans of the Fab 4 who may never have touched a video game.
But this is only the beginning of the video game music war. Both companies are fortifying their lineup with additional titles due later this year. Activision Blizzard is offering Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Band Hero, and DJ Hero; while MTV is preparing Lego Rock Band and Rock Band Unplugged (for the PlayStation Portable) for the holidays. Why another Rock Band? "Lego lets us go to a slightly younger demographic with the music," says Chris Foster, the lead designer at Harmonix, which created the game. "But it's also the use of Lego--it has fun and humor, and storytelling that is unique."
A similar strategy is behind Band Hero. "Guitar Hero 5 is all about rock. Band Hero is focused on a younger demographic, more focused on pop music; for example, Taylor Swift and Maroon 5," said Guitar Hero creator Kai Huang. And DJ Hero? "DJ Hero's objective is to bring in a whole new audience: dance, electronica, hip-hop."
An additional factor in the outcome of this battle is the landscape--in this case, the rough economy. Most of these games require the player to buy a pricey instrument set. The Beatles: Rock Band bundle retails for a wallet-busting $250. "The instruments exist for Beatles fans that want the gear," says Foster. "It's very important for us to work with past Rock Band and Guitar Hero instruments, and the Lips or Sing Star Microphones. We don't want to hit them up for more money."
Activision Blizzard's strategy to counter the downturn is to provide more value. Only Band Hero requires a full bundle with drums and microphone ($199); Guitar Hero 5 has a $99 guitar bundle, but Van Halen can be bought as a stand alone game--and players who purchase GH5 in September will be able to get the Van Halen game for free when it arrives in December. "In tough economics time consumers are spending less money," says Huang. "You have to provide value to your consumer." It remains to be seen if either franchises' volley of games will grab the fickle attention of the masses and slow the decline of the music genre.
But do not lament the musical genre--both franchises have found plenty of success so far. Guitar Hero has become a dynasty since its release, selling 32 million units in the last 4 years. Rock Band, the newer of the two franchises and the one that expanded the genre to include drumming and singing, has sold an impressive 13 million units worldwide in its two years on the market. In the digital arena, the numbers are equally astounding: with over 50 million song downloads for Rock Band, and another 25 million for Guitar Hero. Both of this year's flagship titles are being geared toward downloadable content. GH5 comes with 85 songs, but there are over 150 additional songs currently available. The Beatles: Rock Band may only have 45 songs, but there will be monthly album releases including Abbey Road on October 20, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in November, and Rubber Soul coming in December.
And beyond the holiday season? How bright can the future be for a music genre that has already released The Beatles, what many considered the holy grail of music games? "Where I see it going is classical and country," says Huang. Foster added that Rock Band's Country track pack was there most successful ever, "It speaks to an untapped market." He added, "People ask about more instruments. And we talk about making an easier music creator for non-musicians." Guitar Hero had a public space for user creator songs first, GH Tunes currently has half-a-million songs, and Harmonix has followed suit with the Rock Band Network. Foster said, "With the Rock Band Network, the platform is open to whatever new music genres. And we are excited to see what happens there."
Whatever new genres or new instruments come in 2010, with two huge releases and additional supporting titles, this back half of 2009 is definitely going to be a crescendo for music games. So whether you want to play with your friends in competing renditions of Cold Play's "In My Place," or harmonize with them during "With A Little Help From My Friends", you will be doing your part as a faux rock star to help the genre rock on.
Guitar Hero Franchise
Published and distributed by Activision Blizzard.
Guitar Hero 5 developer by Neversoft - $99 guitar bundle, $59 game - 9/1 DJ Hero developer by FreeStyleGames - $119 turntable bundle - 10/27 Band Hero developed by Neversoft, $199 band kit, $59 game - 11/3 Guitar Hero: Van Halen developed by Neversoft, $59 game - 12/22
Rock Band Franchise
Published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts. Rock Band Unplugged developed by Backbone Entertainment - $39 game - 6/9 The Beatles: Rock Band developed by Harmonix - $249 band kit, $59 game - 9/9 Lego Rock Band developed by TT Games - $49 game - 11/3
Disney hired Alex Seropian, one of the founders of Bungie Studios, to oversee Disney's video game development houses. Seropian worked on the first two games of the hugely successful Halo franchise, before leaving to create a new studio, Wideload Games. As part of the move, Disney bought Wideload.
Since 2007, Disney has grown its video game investment and acquiring Seropian and his company is part of that strategy. While this is much smaller than the company's recent move to purchase Marvel Comics, it shows that Disney hopes to continue diversifying its media offerings.
What might this mean for gamers? With a creative director overlooking Disney's game development, titles coming out from now on may see additional polish. Longer term, we could see a slew of Marvel-based games in two or three years--though current publishing deals would prohibit the use of certain characters until the rights expire. Who wouldn't want an Iron Man or Punisher shooter from some of the folks that brought us Halo?
If you don't think a massively multiplayer online role-playing game can be sexy, then you've never seen Felicia Day sing "Do You Want to Date My Avatar." The music video--which is a promotion for the new season of the online sitcom The Guild--hit number one on iTunes after its debut last week, and has accumulated over 2 million views on YouTube.
So what is the show about? The Guild follows a woman's virtual life with a group of friends in an MMO similar to World of Warcraft and how it spills into her personal life. The series manages to tightrope walk the fine line between making fun of people who live their social lives inside of video games, and making their lives actually look like fun. The Guild has garnered almost 6 million downloads on Xbox Live, another 2.5 million on MSN, and 3 million on Zune. Add the 2 million from official site WatchTheGuild.com, and about 12 million views on YouTube, and you're over 25 million views. The DVDs for each of the two seasons continue to rank in the top 20 comedies on Amazon.
Felicia Day, besides playing the protagonist, is the creator of the show, producing and writing every episode. "I work as an actor in Hollywood and I got to the point where I was kind of bored of the opportunities I was getting," she says. "I decided I wanted to write something." Why that particular subject matter? "They always say the first thing you should do is write what you know. All of my life I've been a gamer, since I was like six years old. And I just recently had come off of a bad addiction to World of Warcraft. So I wrote a half hour pilot."
Friends in the industry told her that the subject matter was too niche for Hollywood. A friend convinced her to do it for the Web, "because that's where the people you're talking about are, where the people who would like your show are." The first couple of episodes were funded out of Day's pocket. The story would've ended there, if not for the fans. "We put a PayPal button up and people actually donated for nine months to keep the show going and finish season one."
The fans did more than donate a few bucks, "The community started forming around us because we couldn't do everything ourselves," says Day. "We needed some art done so we would just post on the Web site, 'Hey does anybody want to help us out and do some art for us? Help us out and do some special effects that Felicia Day wrote that we can't afford to do.' And we still do that." It is hard to imagine a network television series creating such a symbiotic relationship; imagine fans of CSI paying for the show, and pitching-in on the production as well. The Guild's initial success, and thus it's survival, was directly tied to the act of creating a sitcom on the Web.
The show's popularity was also helped by one (very influential) traditional television creator, Joss Whedon. "We started putting up videos in July 2007," says Day. "And Joss Whedon was on my email list. That fall, the writers' strike happened. We had a strike day when we were on the strike line together and I asked, 'Hey, did you watch my show?' He had seen all the episodes and was like, 'That's awesome what you're doing. I've been thinking about doing an Internet video myself.' Four months later, after the strike was over, he emailed me, 'Can you sing?'"
The result was the Internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, which became a hit, proving digital distribution was a viable ecosystem for video entertainment. "I don't want to take a lot of credit for it, but Joss has said that The Guild was one of the inspirations to make Dr. Horrible," says Day. He could've made it under a studio, but the point was he wanted to make it outside of the writer's strike and show you can make something successfully outside the system. I gave him my thoughts on the Internet, but he took it to another level. I am just happy he cast me in that because it was amazing, and it definitely helped my show a lot." The Guild, gained exposure though Day's role in Dr. Horrible, and that help take The Guild out of the garage.
Well, almost. "We are still doing this in our garage," she says. "But we partnered with Microsoft and Xbox, and Sprint is our overall sponsor." Instead of fan-based funding drives to support each episode, she can now pay production expenses up front. And she still owns intellectual property she created--her desire to keep ownership caused her to turn down "dozens of deals with prominent producers and networks last year."
The subject matter of the show appealed to Microsoft right away. Christina DeRosa, General Manager of Xbox Live, said, "We just loved the tonality and perspective of the show and just knew our audience would eat it up." For Microsoft, getting Felicia and The Guild on Xbox is crucial to the console and its online service; DeRosa said, "It's about repositioning the platform from a gaming platform to an entertainment platform; original programming has been able to give us a talking point for that initiative." In exchange, The Guild is in the same lineup as network shows such as Fringe and The Family Guy. "They are our network," says Day. "We're in the Independent Video marketplace, but we are just one click away from mainstream shows that you can purchase, and Netflix streaming movies."
So what lies in the future for The Guild? Season 3 premieres on Xbox Live this Tuesday, August 25, and on MSN a week later. Felicia is also writing a Guild comic book for Dark Horse Comics. And the relationship with the fan community continues to grow. "You're going to see some introductions, though our partnership with Sprint, of interactivity for our users" says Microsoft's DeRosa. "They are going to be able to send in questions to the cast and we will post the answers; we're going to have downloads to their mobile phone."
The Guild is thriving because of its grassroots online following, a fact that Day keep top of mind. "You can't just put a widget up and expect people to enjoy the experience," says Day. "That's why I like the way we release our show; Xbox has a community and we continue our community online, and it all crosses together."
Microsoft and Sony both have plans to provide live television on their respective gaming machines this fall in Europe. Sony announced at GamesCom on Tuesday that it will bring BBC to U.K gamers, and other channels to various European countries. Similarly, Microsoft has announced it will be featuring Sky on Xbox Live in the U.K and Canal Plus in France. What are the plans for these services? And when are they coming to the U.S.?
Nestled amongst the PS3 slim and motion control excitement at Sony's press event for the GamesCom convention in Germany, revealed that BBC and other, undisclosed channels were coming to PSN in the U.K., as well as RTVE, ANTENA 3, and LA SEXTA to Spain, ZDF Mediathek to Germany, NOS to (Netherlands), and the Australian Broadcasting Cooporation in Australia. While Sony released a DVR attachment, PlayTV, in the U.K. last year, that worked with your existing TV signal; this service will provide television over the Internet.
Microsoft has its own TV developments, with partnerships with British Sky Broadcasting in the U.K. and Canal Plus in France. Xbox Live will feature live television from the many channels in those respective networks, including interactive functionality. In a recent Fast Company interview Shane Kim, Microsoft's VP of Strategy and Business Development for Interactive Entertainment, said, "We will be delivering live video, and we get to surround it with the social and entertainment experience that's only possible on Xbox Live." Friends will be able to sit in a virtual theater, texting or talking while watching together.
But the question remains, when will such live TV support come to the U.S.? "We don't have a live video partnership to announce in the U.S. at this point," said Kim. And Sony PR reps have also told me that there are no U.S. announcements. Yet television on consoles in America seems inevitable: Xbox 360 and PS3 are ready-made to serve as DVRs.
So what's holding Microsoft and Sony back from carrying live TV in the U.S.?
At a press event at the GamesCom convention in Germany today, Sony announced that the long-rumored slimmer PS3 will be released September 1 for $299, a $100 price drop from its current PlayStation 3. The console will have a 120 GB hard drive, be 33% smaller and 36% lighter, consuming 34% less power.
Sony needs to increase sales to compete. In the last 3 months, according to sales numbers from the NPD Group, Sony PS3 sold about 200,000 less units than Microsoft's Xbox 360 and almost 500,000 less units than the Wii. Sales of both the PS2 and PSP have helped mitigate the differences, but it is hard to deny that Sony is losing this generation's console war.
Also at the event, Sony showed the new version of the PlayStation's OS and the PlayStation Network. Firmware 3.0 will have animated themes and some interfaces changes. The PSP will get Digital Reader software, including digital comics through a partnership with Marvel. More important to the future of the PSP was the announcement of Minis, smaller downloadable games for the portable that launches October 1--including perennial favorite Tetris. Sony showed a teaser video for the Motion Controllers and more info will be coming at the Tokyo Game Show, September 24.
How will Nintendo and Microsoft respond to this news? In the short term, many expect Nintendo to drop the price of the Wii from $249 to $199, as it hasn't had a price cut since it launched almost three years ago. Microsoft seems to be discontinuing the current Xbox 360 Pro, and lowering the 360 Elite version to the Pro's former price of $299--basically giving gamers more hard drive space for their buck. And if past holidays are any indication, expect a new Xbox SKU bundled with some games.
In the long term though, the next stage of this console war is brewing. Microsoft will launch Project Natal, and most likely a slimmer Xbox 360, later in 2010. And the rumored Wii HD will launch in 2011. Sony will release their motion control solution in 2010.
Will Sony's new PS3 and Motion Controllers be enough for it to surge out of third place? Stay tuned.
Yesterday, along with a slew of new functions in its Xbox 360 system update, Microsoft launched its Games on Demand store with full Xbox 360 titles for download. Is this move a game-changer or just business as usual?
The store launched with 24 titles, a mix of games from several companies. And while Sony has offered a handful of full games for download, Warhawk, Siren, and SOCOM, Microsoft has taken it a step further in launching a full store. Shane Kim, Microsoft's VP of Strategy and Business Development for Interactive Entertainment, said, "It's a natural evolution, not only of the capabilities of the service, but the expansion of the business model that we offer, not only internally, but to our business partners."
All of the games were priced at either $20 or $30, a markdown from the usual $60 due to the lack of packaging or a physical disk. And while those prices seem reasonable, is it really remarkable? Many of the titles are from the first year of the Xbox 360, and few are less than two years old. Those prices may seem low, but used copies of the same games probably run for about the same price or less. Compared to the Xbox Live Arcade games running from $5 to $15, a $30 download is hardly an impulse buy.
While price may not be the differential for the service, the convenience of not having to leave the house may be enough to hook gamers. Downloading Call of Duty 2, a 5.27 GB title, took about two hours and 20 minutes on my cable modem--fortunately, the 360 can download in standby with the power off. By the time I finished watching a Blu-ray film on the PS3, ironically, the download was done--an acceptable alternative to a trip to the game store, even without the retail experience. Jack Tretton, President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, isn't worried about retail, "Digital content is going to have an impact, but it's not going to eliminate the retailer. I still think there's a place where consumers want to go, see packaged media, experience it and really get a feel for the brand and the presentation."
So while the price and convenience competes with retail's used offerings, the true benefits of full downloads are for publishers. Unlike used titles at Gamestop, developers and publishers will earn profit on these sales, rather than retail pocketing the entirety of the wide margin of profit on used games. And since most of the titles are sequels or franchise titles, Games on Demand provides marketing for upcoming releases in their respective franchises: Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect, for instance. Ubisoft's Andy Swanson, Senior Director of Strategic Sales & Partnerships, said, "The long term exposure or the 'long tail' of being in the digital space extends the life of our brands and provides consumers with an additional distribution channel to obtain Ubisoft content."
So what is the real benefit to players? They can access older games that may be hard to find used. They are financially supporting the game makers. And they can do all this from their living room. But until newer titles are sold at prices lower than retail's used games, this digital strategy will not be a revolution. Swanson is hopeful, "If the technology allows for it and there is enough consumer demand, we will determine opportunities to release titles simultaneously via Games on Demand."
According to Microsoft, that will not happen anytime soon. As Kim said, "When it comes to us saying we want Games on Demand to enable day-and-date release of new titles, then there's certainly a lot of work we would need to go through. We're not anywhere close to that world today. We have great relationships with the retail channel--they're important partners. We sell a lot of hardware and software through retail."
With Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo beholden to retail to sell hardware, day-and-date digital releases will never become standard. But perhaps the three hardware manufacturers can push an industry standard of providing games as downloads 6 months after release--not unlike the home video market--and gamers can truly experience a digital revolution. Until then, as cool and cutting-edge as Games on Demand is, it is business as usual.
With two titles this holiday season, Need for Speed Shift (seen above, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) for the simulation-lovers and the coming Need for Speed Nitro (on Nintendo DS and Wii) for arcade-gamers, there was room for a third pillar in the franchise. Munro said, "The action pillar is still critical, and that's where Online comes in." According to the company, it will be the largest Need for Speed ever. There will be several modes, including a pursuit mode with police. Munro said that it will pack "a huge amount of upgrades, with the building up of your car, your reputation, your territory, etc. And not just upgrade possibilities, but self-expression opportunities, customization opportunities." Need for Speed World Online will debut in the second-half of 2010, after a closed beta. 
Currently, EA's casual gaming division, Pogo, offers only a handful of Pogo games on Facebook. Pogo.com recently celebrated its 
Though 
Gaming interfaces have seen a renaissance of late thanks to the Nintendo Wii and touch screen controls. But Scribblenauts may be the first game to use your vocabulary as the interface.
How did they go about creating the objects? "Five or six people went through the dictionary, encyclopedia, wikipedia. Nothing could be too ridiculous or too niche to not include. Just no copyrights or obscenity." All of the objects, from people and animals to everyday and not-so-everyday things, went into a database. And from there? "We took these words, attached the art and the properties to it. A ladder you can climb. It is made of wood so it is buoyant." And this is how the developer dictated how tens of thousands of things interact with one another. The onus is on the player to imagine what can help in a situation, with few limits. 
The battle started this week, with MTV Games' release of The Beatles: Rock Band. It's competing against Activision Blizzard's Guitar Hero 5, the latest installment in the franchise that first made plastic axes cool. Both companies share a common goal: To appeal beyond their base and reach a more mainstream "casual" audience. In Guitar Hero 5, along with the usual finger-numbing songs for expert shredders, there is a musical jukebox mode and social challenges that players of any skill level will enjoy. And with The Beatles: Rock Band, is expected to attract fans of the Fab 4 who may never have touched a video game.
Activision Blizzard's strategy to counter the downturn is to provide more value. Only Band Hero requires a full bundle with drums and microphone ($199); Guitar Hero 5 has a $99 guitar bundle, but Van Halen can be bought as a stand alone game--and players who purchase GH5 in September will be able to get the Van Halen game for free when it arrives in December. "In tough economics time consumers are spending less money," says Huang. "You have to provide value to your consumer." It remains to be seen if either franchises' volley of games will grab the fickle attention of the masses and slow the decline of the music genre. 
And beyond the holiday season? How bright can the future be for a music genre that has already released The Beatles, what many considered the holy grail of music games? "Where I see it going is classical and country," says Huang. Foster added that Rock Band's Country track pack was there most successful ever, "It speaks to an untapped market." He added, "People ask about more instruments. And we talk about making an easier music creator for non-musicians." Guitar Hero had a public space for user creator songs first, GH Tunes currently has half-a-million songs, and Harmonix has followed suit with the Rock Band Network. Foster said, "With the Rock Band Network, the platform is open to whatever new music genres. And we are excited to see what happens there." 
Disney hired Alex Seropian, one of the founders of Bungie Studios, to oversee Disney's video game development houses. Seropian worked on the first two games of the hugely successful Halo franchise, before leaving to create a new studio, Wideload Games. As part of the move, Disney bought Wideload.
What might this mean for gamers? With a creative director overlooking Disney's game development, titles coming out from now on may see additional polish. Longer term, we could see a slew of Marvel-based games in two or three years--though 
If you don't think a massively multiplayer online role-playing game can be sexy, then you've never seen Felicia Day sing "
Friends in the industry told her that the subject matter was too niche for Hollywood. A friend convinced her to do it for the Web, "because that's where the people you're talking about are, where the people who would like your show are." The first couple of episodes were funded out of Day's pocket. The story would've ended there, if not for the fans. "We put a PayPal button up and people actually donated for nine months to keep the show going and finish season one." 
Well, almost. "We are still doing this in our garage," she says. "But we partnered with Microsoft and Xbox, and Sprint is our overall sponsor." Instead of fan-based funding drives to support each episode, she can now pay production expenses up front. And she still owns intellectual property she created--her desire to keep ownership caused her to turn down "dozens of deals with prominent producers and networks last year." 
Microsoft and Sony both have plans to provide live television on their respective gaming machines this fall in Europe. Sony announced at GamesCom on Tuesday that it will bring BBC to U.K gamers, and other channels to various European countries. Similarly, Microsoft has announced it will be featuring Sky on Xbox Live in the U.K and Canal Plus in France. What are the plans for these services? And when are they coming to the U.S.?
Microsoft has its own TV developments, with partnerships with British Sky Broadcasting in the U.K. and Canal Plus in France. Xbox Live will feature live television from the many channels in those respective networks, including interactive functionality. In a recent Fast Company interview 
At a press event at the GamesCom convention in Germany today, Sony announced that 
The store launched with 24 titles, a mix of games from several companies. And while Sony has offered a handful of full games for download, Warhawk, Siren, and SOCOM, Microsoft has taken it a step further in launching a full store. 
While price may not be the differential for the service, the convenience of not having to leave the house may be enough to hook gamers. Downloading Call of Duty 2, a 5.27 GB title, took about two hours and 20 minutes on my cable modem--fortunately, the 360 can download in standby with the power off. By the time I finished watching a Blu-ray film on the PS3, ironically, the download was done--an acceptable alternative to a trip to the game store, even without the retail experience. 
So while the price and convenience competes with retail's used offerings, the true benefits of full downloads are for publishers. Unlike used titles at 
