NEWS: Casual games used to help Aids prevention

I think we will see more and more of this over time, using games to educate and tell stories is an important part of the gaming industry.

The US government has teamed up with Warner Bros to make a free multiplayer casual PC game designed to spread awareness of HIV prevention across Africa.

Variety reports that the game, called ‘Pamoja Mtaani’ (which translated means ‘Together in the Hood’) has been developed by Virtual Heroes. It follows the stories of five separate characters whose stories are designed to explore the issues of behaviour that leads to the spread of AIDS, and subsequently help in their prevention.

The game also features music by Kenyan hip hop artists. Pamoja Mtaani is set to be rolled out in youth centres in Nairobi, which will all be kitted out with suitable LAN networks.

NEWS: Time puts casual games in its TOP 10

Time has included several casual games in its top 10 for 08

Hunted forever is very cool check it out

Field Runners and many people say its a great game on the I-POD even if its a tower defense rip-off. see it hear

I would say that LBP, Rockband and Spore are also casual i.e Accessible and For everyone.

1. GTA IV
2. Braid
3. LittleBigPlanet
4. RockBand
5. Gears of War 2
6. Dead Space
7. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
8. Hunted Forever
9. Fieldrunners
10. Spore

EVENTS: Sdforum interview with Bernie Stolar

In case you don't know Bernie he is one of the industries veterans having been CEO at Mattel, President at SEGA and EVP at Sony Playstation for the launches of PS1 & PS2 and of course that other small company Atari, who did not play much of a roll in games....

For years I have felt the presence of Bernie in my living room so I have to admit getting to meet him was a pleasure. He had tonnes of stories and in particular I loved the one about launching the PS2. He told me that they did not have game to drive sales, in the past they had a sonic and in Nintendo case they had Mario but PS2 had nothing.....until he found Crash Bandicoot. In short that game drove unit sales.

So here is a synopsis of the what people said at the event.


Less big publishers, similar to what happened in the music and film industry
Companies that run with lower costs and are quicker to market will be stronger
Episodic content will be the new way to distribute console games
The end of retail boxed games for $60 (unless of course you do it well like GTA)
Casual gaming will continue to grow and companies with original I.P will become stronger
MMO's will shift to online
Funding is becoming harder to get, so you better make it last as there may not be a second round
Make sure you make a good game "there is a lot of crap out there" Is it fun??
Microtransactions will become a standard in the US, but so far many companies have just shoehorned the model in and its not quite right yet.
Advertising in games will grow and be delivered in context for greatest impact
I-phone games catalog is easy to access and a good distribution channel
The likes of Kongregate will help find the next great talent
You really need to know your market and understand your consumers

MMO NEWS: Registration numbers

Zomg hits 500K players, while Franktown and Youwalk top 100k


I love the concept of youwalk and I think the way we surf the web will involve visualization techniques but this takes longer to find what you want....

It does not solve a problem it creates one.

The walking thing is pointless until you get in the room.

BUSINESS: EA buys J2Msoft

Digital game developer Electronic Arts (EA) announced its second move into Asia's online game market on Tuesday, by buying South Korean online game developer J2MSoft Inc.

"This is a significant step in EA's strategic plan for developing and publishing online games in Asia," said Jon Niermann, president of EA Asia, in a statement.

To see what J2M does Click ME

Earlier this week, EA announced a tie-up with Chinese game developer NetDragon Websoft to create three-dimensional MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role playing games) based on EA's Dungeon Keeper series of digital games.

EA has already launched some of its popular sports titles as online games in Asia, including EA Sports FIFA Online and NBA Street Online). The company is already creating online version of other titles for Asia, including Warhammer, Age of Reckoning, Need For Speed and Battlefield Heroes.

EVENTS: Casual games MMO & Virtual worlds funding

Just a reminder if your in the UK and involved in investments then go to The Funding & Investment Summit for Casual Online Games, MMOs & Virtual Worlds

PICK ME PICK ME

MMO CASE STUDY: Are F2P MMO's profitable

An interview with Josh from K2 Network on the sadly now closed Gigom Show.

Key points from K2

16m accounts
10% monthly active accounts
99% are free players for 3 to 6 months
200 staff
Asian MMO revs are 2.5 billion USD
Suggests checking out War Rock




Remember this data is NOT for Casual MMO's so the conversion rates will differ, but its a good guide.