Partnership : Habbo, Seventeen Magazine in Online Fling [feedly]

Teen-targeted virtual world Habbo and young girl-focused Seventeen magazine announced a partnership today that will see the two heavyweight brands promote each other in their respective beats. The agreement, a short-term deal slated to run for three months (and one...

[link to original | source: Virtual Worlds News | published: 1 day ago | shared via feedly]

Analyst: Online Games Now $11B Of $44B Worldwide Game Market [feedly]

Analyst: Online Games Now $11B Of $44B Worldwide Game Market

Analyst Colin Sebastian is estimating that online game revenue has now reached $11 billion as part of a $44 billion worldwide video game market, with 2009 as the "year the pace of change accelerated."

With titles such as World Of Warcraft now bringing around $1 billion in revenue yearly to Activision Blizzard, it's easy to see why one of Sebastian's takeaways from E3, in a new analyst note, was: "Internet moving from sideshow to part of the main event."

The Lazard Capital Markets analyst particularly commented of this shift:

"With roughly one billion Internet users worldwide, the gravitational pull of the Internet is driving publishers to integrate online content and services more explicitly within and on top of traditional games.

As consumers have already demonstrated a willingness to pay to access interactive entertainment, we believe that video games are an important part of the migration of content "into the cloud."

In fact, video games account for the largest portion of paid online content, well ahead of other forms of content, such as movies/video and newsprint.

We estimate that online video games will generate more than $11 billion in revenues this year, up from $3 billion in 2005, and account for roughly 25% of industry game sales worldwide. In this respect, we continue to believe that the Internet is emerging as an important growth driver and content platform, weaving together communication, information, commerce and entertainment.

In addition, 2009 may be remembered as the year in which the pace of change in media consumption accelerated, while 2010 and 2011 may bring improved monetization and mass market adoption of web-based applications and digital content, in particularinteractive entertainment."

Elsewhere in his E3 analysis, financial analyst Sebastian also looks at what increased Internet-based operation could mean for the major publicly traded video game companies, explaining:

"For video game publishers, the Internet platform not only provides room for additional revenue streams and higher ARPU, but also greater operating leverage and economies of scale.

On one hand, the Internet offers enormous efficiency, evening the playing field in content production and distribution, and offering unlimited shelf space.

[A pictured comparison of profit margins between] U.S. and Chinese game companies [with online-only Chinese firms at much higher profit margins] partially illustrates the difference in margin profile of online, packaged goods and hybrid models.

Over time, we believe that better "Internet economics" should provide software publishers with higher growth multiples."

[link to original | source: Worlds In Motion | published: 5 days ago | shared via feedly]

TECH: NEW firefox will enhance gaming

Check the demo it speaks for its self.

MMO: Top NEWS Stories this week

MMO market grew by 22 per cent in 2008 shown in a new report by Screen Digest

Consumer spending in the sector reached $1.4bn across Europe and North America, with the ongoing success of Activision Blizzard’s World of Warcraft credited as being the driving factor."
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MMO developer Gazillion has claimed that it is working on “six or seven” titles at the moment, and that its intention is to take the currently hardcore-centric MMO genre to the mainstream.

“We're making a wide range of products, some for kids, some for the core gamers,” Gazillion’s VP of marketing Paul Baldwin told Joystiq.

“We actually think that what makes us unique is that we're going for the mass market. Much like a Pixar film not only resonates with a six-year-old kid, but a 39 year-old guy like myself the whole way through – much like Zelda works with eight-year-old kids and 35 year-old hardcore gamers in terms of the depth of gameplay.
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Marvel MMO to see 2012 release

Marvel Universe Online, the comic book superhero MMO, will be released in 2012 - shortly after a number of movie properties make their debuts in cinemas.

Simon Philips, Marvel's president of worldwide consumer products, said the MMO wouldn't be out until after the Captain America movie in 2011 and the Avengers film in 2012. He explained that time would be used to work with Gazillion to create "the next generation of storytelling".

"It sounds like a long way away, but it's not," Philips told MTV. "We've got to create, together with [game publisher] Gazillion, that environment that is going to be a totally immersive experience and a perpetual storytelling experience as well."
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Eve Online bundled with Nvidia cards

Eve Online will now be bundled with the current series of Nvidia VGA cards manufactured by Albatron Technology, alongside a one month subscription to the space-faring MMO.

Each Nvidia card comes packed with a DVD that includes the Eve client and CD key with one month of game time, worth USD 14.95.

Last year, CCP signed a deal with Atari which saw boxed copies of Eve Online distributed throughout retailers, previously the title had only been available through digital distribution.

The MMO has approximately 250,000 monthly subscribers and, earlier this year hit a peak in concurrent users of over 50,000.

RESEARCH: Thinking about cross platfrom development?

I would certainly recommend that you check out EXIT games. What has been achieved with WGT is stunning.

Take me to the SITE

NEW GAMES :Cartoon Network launch Fusion Fall

Here it is the much anticipated online MMO Fusion Fall

Check out the game here or watch the video below.



CTN will obviously leverage their position and characters to entice players to fusion fall. The key thing will be, is story engaging? and most importantly will the game be fun? Lets wait and see what the real kids think. As expected the early figures are showing above 1.5 million Unique Visits Per Month, but will that rise and can they sustain it, lets hope so.

Casual Cartoon Wars. The two bigs players going for it

THE KEY ELEMENTS

1) The big kids networks both releasing MMO's that support their own IP
2) Importance of Child protection. Remember club penguins success.
3) Browser based games
4) Avatar September 15th Launch 10 language options in over 77 countries
5) The start of cross media casual experiences
6) financing for these kind of projects announced last year at Casual Connect

Predictions Watch out for Club Penguin cartoons.

Worlds In Motion - Nickelodeon Launching Avatar MMORPG Worldwide In September: "Nickelodeon Launching Avatar MMORPG Worldwide In September

Nickelodeon has announced that it is developing a browser-based online game adaptation of its popular Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon. Titled Avatar: Legends of the Arena, the game will serve as a prequel story to the series and will be Nick.com's first 3D MMORPG.

In Avatar: Legends of the Arena, players create their own Avatar characters and challenge others to battle in several arenas. As players level up, they can unlock new content, challenges, custom character outfits, and exclusive equipment.

Said Nick.com SVP Jason Root: 'The launch of this multiplayer online game gives Avatar fans the opportunity to immerse themselves in the storylines during and beyond its tenure on-air. This property has always had a deep online connection with its audience and the game offers a natural extension of the franchise to keep fans engaged with the property indefinitely.'"

Google Reader (1000+): "Cartoon Network, Crisp Thinking Partner For Child Protection In FusionFall
from Worlds In Motion by research@gdmag.com (Eric Caoili)

Cartoon Network New Media, cable television channel Cartoon Network's online publishing division, has teamed up with Crisp Thinking to integrate the online child protection services provider's NetModerator system into its upcoming MMOG, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall.

Developed by Seoul, Korea-based studio Grigon Entertainment, FusionFall features a multitude of characters from Cartoon Network shows, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Dexter's Laboratory, and Ben 10. The MMOG has been designed primarily for kids aged 8-14 years old and is scheduled to launch in fall 2008.

Safety features built into the game include moderated character names, parental approval required for 'open chat,' chat filtering and monitoring, and forum filtering and monitoring. FusionFall will be the world's first MMOG to bear Crisp Certification, a standard indicating to parents that their children are being protected with Crisp Thinking's child safety measures.