By admin, on July 8th, 2010
A number of “famous” indie developers have gotten together and formed a fund with the aim of providing backing to unkown developers, who have good ideas that would otherwise be trampled into oblivion by the entrenched industry behemoths.
We’ve opened up our submission process and are looking forward to seeing all the weird, amazing, surprising, silly, scary, titillating games you’re willing to throw at us.
They’re also going to see plus plenty of bad ideas from genuine people and probably quite a few scammers trying to weasel a few dollars out of them.
Of course, there will be gems amongst this lot and at least these guys have real world experience in selecting a good idea (unlike many corporate executives), but I imagine it’s going to be quite a time consuming job.
Good luck guys!
By admin, on July 8th, 2010
According to Gamespot, Activision wants PCs to replace consoles.
Isn’t that a shocking statement? Of course second rate publishers would prefer not to have to play in the closed, walled gardens constructed by Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and now Apple.
Unfortunately for Activitision and others, PC’s aren’t the solution to their problems. Poor quality and no real idea of what makes a good game is what’s really killing the big publishers. They’ve reached the point where the wow factor from throwing ever increasing wads of cash at yet another iteration of a first-person shooter or a racer isn’t a sure fire ticket for a big profit. This is the point where a game that fails to meet expectations is enough to seriously hurt or even kill an otherwise profitable company.
The real solution is innovation, and the big guys aren’t good at that.
By admin, on July 6th, 2010
Slashdot today posed the sensational question: “Is PC gaming set for a comeback?”
I think the real question is: “Have consoles reached their peak?”.
The Wii and Nintendo DS have, through console domination, demonstrated that the average consumer neither needs, nor cares for top of the line graphics when it comes to enjoying games.
At the same time, over the past few years, PC hardware that was once considered high performance has filtered down to the mainstream, and is now making the jump into portable devices such as phones and tablets.
It makes me think that console hardware has gone as far as it needs to, which is backed up again by Nintendo’s sales and the fact that the normal five or so year console cycle looks like it’s going to be extended for quite a number of years, perhaps indefinitely in the case of the PS3 and 360?
So, what happens next?
If you ask me (and I’m sure you do), traditional PC’s, in the shape of a fixed screen and keyboard located at a desk, aren’t going anywhere, they just won’t see as much use as they once did. Many people will no longer need to own a PC, just as many people today are having their land lines disconnected, relying on mobile phones instead.
This means that over time, the role of consoles will gradually be absorbed by the native processing power in portable or display devices. There will simply no longer be a need for separate hardware to game on.
It will take time, but I think in the long run PCs will outlive consoles.
By admin, on July 3rd, 2010
Thinq has an interesting article about a report from IPSOS, discussing gamers preference for owning physical media versus downloading a game digitally.
Based on the results of the survey, 36% of console gamers are quite happy giving up their ownership rights for their online game purchases, with the XBox 360 and PS3 leading the charge, presumably because they are more focused on the online experience.
I have in the past purchased DRM-free games for use on my desktop computer, but I am reluctant purchase games (or movies) for use on my consoles because they then become tied to the platform. If something were to happen to my internet connection, my account, my hardware or even the platform vendor itself, then some or all of my so called “purchases” can simply cease to exist.
Admittedly there is a (supposed) cost benefit and convenience factor for downloadable content, but I have to wonder if the one third of gamers that preferred digital content understand the long term effects of giving up their ownership rights?
