NYU just annouced the launch of the NYU Game Center, which will offer long-term undergraduate and graduate degrees in the research, design and development of digital games. In the fall of 2009, NYU will become the first New York City college to offer a degree in video games.
This is awesome on so many levels.
First, applying to NYU’s MBA program just got ten times more attractive! I can take classes in finance, accounting and marketing and pursue game design courses during my second year when I have the freedom to take more electiives. I understand that this is a purely selfish reason.
Second, this raises the profile of New York as a gaming mecca. I wouldn’t call New York THE place for games (most developers are based out of California) but it’s a great place to start. If we get aspriing game developers to pursue degrees here maybe developers will follow suit by coming here to recuit and hire people.
Third, this marks gaming as a rising media platform. NYU is a leading educational instition. The creation of this center is an acknowlegment of the billion dollar industry and NYU’s intention to be a part of it.
Microsoft’s involvement also shows off their dedication to gaming from education to development.
So for both selfish and practical reasons this is a good day for gaming.
Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it’s the
best way to create ground-breaking products that make a difference to people’s lives. But we’ve also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off.
It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritise our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business. Lively.com will be discontinued at the end of December, and everyone who has worked on the project will then move on to other teams.
For the past few months Google has made bold moves into gaming by acquiring in-game ad firm, Adscape for $23 million. and releasing Lively. Google had big plans for Lively, hoping to turn it into an online gaming platform with an API for developers to create their own games.
Why Did It Fail?
Bruce thinks this is a failure of marketing. And I agree with him to an extent. But the virtual gaming market is crowded with Second Life and IMVU. To break through the noise Google had to develop a superior product. And they didn’t. I never got a chance to play Lively myself because it crashed my computer. But I watched Adam Broitman play the game this past summer. It wasn’t remarkable.
But then again, Lively has only been around for about five months. Did Google think that was enough time for the game to take off? In a good economy a project like Lively would’ve been given more time to take off. In this economy it makes more sense for them to focus their gaming efforts around their ad and search business. They’ve alreadly accomplished that by acquiring Adscape.
Do you think this was the right decision? And how will the members of Lively react? Is anyone still playing it?
It’s been a long time coming. Tomb Raider Underworld, the next game in the Tomb Raider series drops tomorrow! Eidos saved the best for last. This launch trailer is a must see. If you recognize the track from the trailer let me know in the comments!
UPDATE: Found the song through some creative googling. Gorecki by Lamb
Google has taken bold steps to get into gaming. First, they acquired the in-game ad firm, Adscape for $23 million. Then Google released Lively, an answer to Second Life. Now Google reps are showing up at gaming conferences like GDC. But where is Google going with this? How will they impact gaming in the future?
Google as an Online Games Platform
At GDC Austin,Kevin Hanna revealed that Google plans on releasing an API for Lively. The long term effects of such a move would make Lively available as an online ‘gaming platform’.
Integration with Google Services
Most importantly, Hanna quietly announced that while you can currently embed any Google Gadget into Lively’s world – such as YouTube videos or weather reports running on virtual TVs - the company will soon be providing an API for developers to create new interactive gadgets to run in the space. [Via - GameIndustry.Biz]
So now we can embed Youtube videos into gaming environments. That’s really cool. It doesn’t make me want to risk crashing my PC trying to play Lively again. It’s a nice development nonetheless.
I’d imagine that soon players will be able to interact with their Google Chat friends within the Lively interface too. Again, a cool development. But why wouldn’t I just do that in the real world? What kind of added benefit would I get?
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment here, on facebook, or twitter to discuss.
The Institute for the Future is launching an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) to save the world. Superstruct aims to “address real-world problems by harnessing the wisdom of the crowds.” The game’s release comes on the heels of the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. With many people feeling powerless against the tide of changing times, SuperStruct offers the chance to collaborate with others to address the culmination of the human race’s folly in 2019.
An MMO that lives in Social Media
Superstruct is played on forums, blogs, videos, wikis, and perhaps even twitter. Players are presented with bleak scenarios of the future and react. I know this might be difficult for some to wrap their heads around (I’m still figuring this out myself) so I’ve developed a quick guide on how to play the game when it launches on October 6, 2008.
How to Play
1. Read the Scenario (Living life 10 years from now)
Put on your imagination cap. It is the year 2019. A computer called the Global Extinction Awareness System (GEAS) is now live and has delivered a forecast on the threats facing the human race. The initial report lists five main threats to humanity: Quarantine, Ravenous, Power Struggle, Outlaw Planet, and Generation Exile. The forecast predicts that these will culminate in our eventual extinction in 2040.
Ok you can take off your imagination cap now. Notice how the threats listed could all conceivably happen. The scenarios are defined by a unique set of “future parameters” taken from the IFTF’s forecast research. Wars over energy resources and global hunger issues are real and could worsen in the future. The IFTF hopes that this game will get people thinking about how we could deal with these threats in the coming years.
Now its time to play! Put your cap back on. Imagine yourself living life within these parameters. The Ravenous Scenario foresees the collapse of the food supply chain in 2019. We are inventing new ways to feed ourselves. The video below describes this Superthreat.
Mexico, China, Middle East and the processed food industry are the hardest hit. In Austria over 100 university students have mounted trains with hatchets and bio hazard bags. The students are calling for the slaughter of the region’s chickens after the birds were diagnosed with the Avian Flu.
Would you travel to Austria to participate in the University student riot? Would you take similar actions if you found out your local food supply had been contaminated and were faced with government inaction? How has life changed for your family, friends and community? Document your journey. Set up a video blog, twitter account or join a forum to discuss solutions to these problems.
3. Stay tuned for more information on SuperStruct.
The game is set to launch on October 6, 2008. More information on the game can be found here. You can also connect to over 700 people on the SuperStruct Facebook group here.
Some of the bags (pictured here) retail for over $1000 a pop. I think it makes more sense to drop that money on a new gaming system and 10 games . It makes even more sense to save that money given our current economic crisis.
But if you’re still yearning for one of these bags you can try FromBagsToRiches. Female gamers with a handbag addiction will love their current promotion. The company says that a Nintendo DS would be a stylish addition to any woman’s purse. And I have to admit that the Black DS looks awesome with that Prada purse. That’s why the high end handbag rental service is offering a complimentary Nintendo DS and game along with some of their handbag rentals. Some of the games available include, Nintendogs, Brain Age and New Super Mario Bros.
According to a study released yesterday almost every kid in the U.S. is a gamer.
In total 97% of kids polled said they plkay video games.
99% of boys games
94% of girls games (oh look we’re catching up!)
Parents Fail to Follow ESRB Ratings
Again, we find that parents could work on being more vigilant when it comes to monitoring the games their children play. Three-quarters of parents who were surveyed said they “always” or “sometimes” check the ratings on their kids’ games. And yet, half of boys surveyed said a game rated M or AO was among one of their favorite games. Parents can make some inroads here by not buying mature games for their children.
Games are Inherently Social
In a previous post, I discussed how games have a social history and continue to be a way for people to stay in touch with friends and to meet new people. The findings of the study reinforce this idea.
Nearly two-thirds play video games to socialize face-to-face with friends and family, while just over a quarter said they play with Internet friends. “It shows that gamers are social people,” says Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew who led the report on the survey. “They communicate just as much. They spend time face-to-face, just as much as other kids. They e-mail and text.”
Women are Becoming a Massive Market
The next generation of gamers will likely include a larger block of women. As people become more aware of our presence I expect companies to take more steps to reach out to female players. Will we see more trite girly games that insult our intelligence? Or will we see games that consider both men and women in the game development process?
Every gaming forum has a thread devoted to Hating EA for ‘ruining’ Spore. The reviews on Amazon.com are just the tip of the iceberg. EA’s addition of DRM to its recent release of Spore is a hot button topic. Some folks are laying all of the blame on pirates. I lay most of the blame on EA’s doorstep and their lackluster reaction to the backlash.
Annoying Statements regarding Spore’s DRM
EA’s press releases are becoming such a chore to read.
“EA has not changed our basic DRM copy protection system,” says corporate communications manager Mariam Sughayer. “We simply changed the copy protection method from using the physical media, which requires authentication every time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to one which uses a one-time online authentication.”[via Forbes]
Um. No. That thing about a ‘one-time online authentication process’ isn’t the whole story. EA also limited the number of installations you can perform. PC Gamers often re-install games that they’ve purchased because our PCs break down, we get new ones or we decide to start fresh and re-install everything. You wouldn’t know that from what EA has been saying. They continue to think that three installations is generous.
Of 453,048 activations of the Spore Creature Creator alone, Sughayer says, 77 percent activated on only one machine, 23 percent activated more than one, and only 1 percent of users tried to activate on more than three machines. [via Gamasutra]
I love how the rep from EA fails to note that Spore Creature Creator came out back in June of 2008. The release is only about 90 days old. What about the folks that want to re-install the game one year from purchase or two years out? The percentage of users re-activating the game would likely go up. How short-sighted can you be EA?
And don’t talk to me about being able to call up customer service for another install. A paying customer shouldn’t have to beg for an installation on a game they paid for. EA isn’t obligated to grant me a ‘fourth’ installation after I purchase the game. Notice how they fail to mention that in their press releases.
And how do I know that EA will even be a viable business in 5 years? Who will I call for my ‘extra’ installation then?
EA: We’re the New itunes!
No you’re not. Comparing music consumption to gaming is like comparing apples to oranges.
Sughayer compared Spore’s authentication to iTunes, which allows players to install and use their music on a limited number of multiple computers.
I can’t fathom how comparing Spore to an online music distribution service would make sense.
itunes is an online music distribution service. Spore is sold on a CD.
Listening to music and playing a video game are completely different experiences. This comment feeds into the perception that the management executives at EA know nothing about their audience.
The price points are completely different. Therefore, customers have different expectations. So don’t compare dropping 99 cents on a song to spending 60 dollars on a game. You’re making yourself look foolish.
I would post a piece on how EA should respond to this problem but it would just be a waste of time. It would involve this misguided company taking responsibility for its actions and recognizing that DRM hurts customers who legally purchased the game. But the problem is deeper than that. EA is clinging to a product delivery system that irks the core gaming community. Now that Spore is the #1 pirated game on the interwebs we can finally kill the idea that DRM works. It doesn’t stop pirates.
EA’s free petrol stunt worked a little too well. EA was forced to abandon the promotion for Mercenaries 2: World in Flames after it caused gridlock in Finsbury Park, north London. In Mercenaries 2 you play a mercenary in Venezuela where fuel is used as a currency. The promotion was meant to hint at elements of the game’s design. EA had planned on giving away the petrol to celebrate the game’s release last Friday. The free petrol line opened up at 6:30am, but ended around 11am after outrage from the local community. I’m sure some folks had a hard time getting to work in the midst of the traffic. I still think this was an awesome idea for a marketing campaign. Maybe next time EA will choose a better location.
