Changes to the Video Game Buisness Model

Great Article in this week's Economist about the Asian business model for selling video games.

http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11632829

Imagine getting a game free and just paying for upgrades.  To some extent Ace Combat 6 seemed to have an element of this with the large variety of aircraft and aircraft customizations that you could buy for the (albeit $60) game.  A number of other articles have pointed to Microsoft/Xbox having borrowed from this business model.  By the time you purchase all of the additional maps for COD X, Halo X or (even better....hint, hint...a Command and Conquer 3 Game!)...you have spent actually $70 or more (including the base $60 for the game.)

There is also a substantial amount of social pressure to spend the additional money on expansion maps because you don't want to be 'that guy who doesn't have the maps" and limits what everyone else can play.  I've seen this numerous times at the LAN parties I host when otherwise miserly and content game owners (talkin' bout you BlasterBouncer and Captain Ahax) become obsessed with first downloading expansion packs so they are not left out of the loop.

While I have never actually played an MMORPG I think that they are completely fascinating from both a study of 'virtual economies' and possibly as a way to study some human behaviors both individually and in groups.

Next time...Online Video Games as a predictive tool in a globalizing world...

QUIT YOUR JOB!!!

And just start playing Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath...

It's that good.

More Thoughts on Quake Wars

I just spent four more hours on Quake Wars (an even mix of online and offline time).  I have a few more thoughts to add to my earlier comments:

1.) I really like the game, I was (and I know this is blasphemy) getting bored of shooters - especially modern military themed shooters.  Quake Wars has enough novelty in it to interest me - you don't feel like you are playing just another shooter.  The mix of skills between the five character types and the obstacles they can each overcome made for some interesting game play.  The variety of vehicles I think also offers some real potential once they are mastered.  The end of match feedback screen is kind of fun too...but not as good as in Goldeneye (but then again - will anything ever be that cool?) 

2.) The other thing that I really like is that the game seems to have a few mechanisms by which it levels the playing field between different skilled players.  (Confession:  My motto is "I am cannon fodder"...that should give you an idea of my skill level).  It can be very frustrating to play shooters against much better players who have nothing better to do than to snipe you for no reason from across the map while jumping and remaining impossible to hit, after taking all the good weapons and mining the spawn points. (BAMTL - *ahem*)  One great player on the other team is certainly an advantage, but it doesn't matter as much because of the character classes - one person can't do everything.  The players who in the previous game were commenting on, shall we say, "my extraordinary ability to die" were very appreciative when I used an infiltrator disguise (yep -that's right you can wear a disguise) to open the main gate to the enemy's base.  It truly was a wonderful example of what my dad used to tell me when he said, "Son, old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill."

3.) This game will live and die in your collection by how many of your friends own a copy.  (Hey Lux - THIS MEANS YOU!!)  Parties of people you know will intensely magnify the experience, especially because of the aforementioned cooperative aspect.  

My earlier comparison to 'Shadowrun' - another shooter that I think did some cool stuff, but only one of my buddies bought and hence it died as a LAN party/ XBL option - illustrates Quake Wars' only foreseeable problem.  I'd suggest having a few friends rent it, play online together, and if you think it is cooler than your current default shooter (say COD4 or HALO 3...) then get it.  If not - it will probably not achieve that 'critical mass' of acceptance in your gaming circle and will become a waste of money.

That being said 2o4BS...go get a copy so we can play!!!

Quake Wars First Look Review

I bought and played Quake Wars for about 3 hours last night, I plan to give it a more thorough inspection tonight.  It is certainly a new twist on the shooter model of game.  The focus is much more on completing objectives like building a bridge, deactivating shield generators, activating mining lasers...etc...think the button for the gate in Zanzibar (Halo 3) but times 10,000 in importance.  The catch is that not all character classes can complete all tasks (only engineers can fix the bridge, only soldiers can blow up the gate, only covert ops can hack the enemy defense grid...) so teamwork becomes very important. 

Not to mention that last night I got stuck because I needed an engineer to fix a vehicle and drive it through a waypoint, but it was guarded by a weapons system that only covert ops could take out and enough bad guys that I needed some soldier support to provide cover.  So the obstacles/challenges are almost layered in complexity.  (I was playing against the computer and have not gotten good at coordinating the computer controlled members of my team - I imagine if there were three of four of us that we could solve problems like this.) 

Flying vehicles is a complete pain in the ass...but I do like the fact that your weapons are not allocated by knowing where they are on a map as much as the "class" of avatar you use.

It is definitely like Shadowrun in the sense that the "Campaign" is just a set of multiplayer map-missions meant to train you to play multiplayer. 

My one gripe is that the players can run REALLY fast and I get lost when they are up close...but I think that is necessary because the maps can be gigantic.

Best Economics and Video Games Article Ever

This is one of the coolest articles about the economics of Massively Multiplayer games. I think there is an interesting field of study here...

http://www.slate.com/id/2078053/