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A few years back, I read an article in the Utne Reader where an economist analyzed the game Everquest. His conclusion was that based on the value of Everquest gold (in USD - apparently people sell resources online) Everquest could be a nation with a fully thriving economy.
It looks like World of Warcraft is heading the same way.
Last week, VideoGamesBlogger wrote:
Blizzard Entertainment announced today that World of Warcraft, its subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), is now played by more than 9 million gamers around the world.
That’s half a million more than the number of monthly players WoW had back in March five months ago. And all this before the release of the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion pack in mainland China, which Blizzard expects to give a huge increase in gold farmers, no wait they didn’t say that, they said an increase in new and returning subscribers.
It’s interesting to note that if the World of Warcraft were a nation, CIA’s World Factbook says that out of 236 listed countries it would be the 90th most populated country on Earth above Haiti, but behind Sweden.
[Hat tip to Slashdot for the article tip.]
I would really love to see a demographics study on World of Warcraft - with so many gamers, I would love to see how people identify themselves and their backgrounds.
GameDailyBiz published some interesting findings from Nielsen last week, which provided a direct correlation between income level and console purchases:
Nielsen today released its first round of data from its new GamePlay Metrics service used to measure PC and console video game usage. There were a number of interesting findings and tidbits, but perhaps the most interesting was that despite all the hype surrounding the new consoles, the PS2 remains the most played system today. Sony’s aging console accounted for 42 percent of video game console usage during June. This was followed by the original Xbox at 17 percent, the 360 at 8 percent, GameCube at 5.8 percent, Wii at 4 percent, and PS3 at 1.5 percent. Nielsen also found from a demographics standpoint that Wii households are typically “upscale” with incomes of $100,000 or more – ironic, considering that Nintendo’s console is the cheapest of the new systems.
I would call that way ironic. How is the cheapest system the one who lands in the most affluent households?
However, thinking about it a bit more, the Wii is breaking records in terms of usage. Maybe affluent people who do not recognize themselves as gamers want to use and play the Wii. The diverse line of titles and the lower dollar investment to play is enticing to many people. Maybe the affluent are just more money savvy and want a console system that will not break the bank?
Suddenly, the findings do not look so strange after all.
The recently embattled Rockstar Games is going to develop an exclusive title for the PlayStation 3.
Wired Magazine’s Joystiq column has the scoop:
When Sony passed on the exclusive rights to Grand Theft Auto 4, many saw it as a sign of insanity from the leadership camp. The latest episode of Spike TV’s Game Head, however, reveals that perhaps they had a plan all along. SCEA president Jack Tretton pulled that curtain back for host Geoff Keighley, casually mentioning that Rockstar has made an exclusive agreement to bring “their next big franchise” to the PlayStation 3 and no, he’s not talking about L.A. Noire.
Shortly before the show hit the tubes, SCEA’s director of 3rd party relations, Michael Shorrock, confirmed this statement on the official US PlayStation blog adding, “Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of CELL and Blu-ray disc and this deal lets them do just that.. This is really a win-win situation for both companies.”
So what is it exactly? Sony has made an agreement with Rockstar to say no more concerning the deal nor the title involved. From a developer that has tackled everything from gang violence to ping pong, your guess is as good as ours.
Two quick news bytes from Sony [props to BBC for the news breaks] -
Sony up Despite PlayStation Woes
BCC reports:
Sony profits for the April to June period have more than doubled as robust demand for its cameras and a weak yen offset losses at its games unit.
Net earnings for the first quarter at the electronics giant rose to 66.5bn yen ($552m; £269m), up from 32.3bn yen last year.
The fall in the Japanese currency against the US dollar and euro helped boost the firm’s overseas earnings.
But its Playstation 3 console continued to struggle in a tough games market.
A nice piece of news, but I spotted this item a couple days ago…
PlayStation 3 Sales Boost in the US
Also from BBC:
Tracking firm NPD Group reported that 98,500 PS3s were sold, compared to 198,400 Xbox 360s (up 28%) and 381,800 Wiis (up 13%).
Sony said that the $100 (£50) price cut to the 60GB PS3 led to a 135% sales rise over the last two weeks.
Independent figures for sales of the cheaper PS3 are not yet available.
“This jump in sales bodes very well for us heading into the fall as we launch an impressive arsenal of hardware and software,” Jack Tretton, head of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said in a statement.
So…which one is it Sony?
Switched.com posted an interesting story about a kidnapping in Brazil.
The twist? The victim was a gamer, kidnapped for his password.
Brazilian authorities have arrested four men in Sao Paulo after the gang kidnapped a man and held him at gunpoint for his password to a video game account.
The victim is reportedly one of the world’s top players of ‘GunBound,’ an appropriately named role-playing game, which is incredibly popular in Brazil. In the game, the better you perform in battle, the more skills and experience you earn, as well as money to buy in-game items such as armor and weapons. Apparently, the victim’s character is so built up with skills, experience and extra weapons that the kidnappers believed they’d be able to sell the character on the black market for as much as $8,000.
The kidnapping began when the victim was approached by the girlfriend of one of the criminals on Oukrut, Google’s social networking site, which is also very popular in Brazil. The two made plans to meet offline at a shopping mall. But, instead of meeting a date, the victim met the business end of a gun barrel. He was taken away and held hostage at gunpoint for five hours as the gang tried to pry the account password out of him. Amazingly (and perhaps, idiotically), the man didn’t squeal and the criminals eventually gave up and released him. They were apprehended shortly after.
[Hat tip to Geeksugar.]
More girly goodness in the game-o-sphere.
Video Games Get a Fashion Upgrade
Geeksugar [Tagline: Geek is chic] posted about the Sims new partnership with H & M fashion. Geeksugar writes:
Your Sims characters can choose from FabSugar-approved H&M? fashions, then play with retail-themed items like mannequins, clothing racks, cash registers and even walk the runway. It’s a real makeover from the days of plain Jane Sims clothing and adds a fun, girlie touch to the game. I dare you to not get addicted.
While some gamers are most likely affronted by the addition of product placement to video games, most of the Geeksugar posters seemed enthusiastic about the addition to the game and the style upgrade for the admittedly fashion-challenged Sim world. For the fashion inclined, this news gets even better - the official press release indicates that players will be able to design their own clothes and showcase them using an online virtual runway.
Nintendo: Altering the Course of Your Life
Geeksugar posts about the new crop of DS games targeted to women in Japan:
Female Power Emergency Up! DS, which promises to “Change your destiny in three months!” by measuring skills in love, fashion, beauty, diet, and fortune-telling. Even more touchy-feely is Mainichi Kokorobics DS Therapy, which offers sessions with a digital psychiatrist. Need help with your waistline instead of your subconscious? There’s always Yoga Anywhere, which is like having a personal trainer and tips on daily workouts in your pockets.”
Maybe I’m just gullible (or maybe my yoga addiction has reached new heights) but this news almost made me buy a DS. I do not use portables, preferring to sneak reading time in on my morning commute - but if the DS can help me manage yoga and my life, it might be worth a purchase.
Some random news about women in gaming from around the web:
According to Geeksugar, popular R & B group Destiny’s Child is adding video games to the list of pop culture licensing:
Square-Enix just announced a new cell phone game called ‘Destiny’s Child Groove,” that will apparently keep us jumpin’, jumpin’, jumpin’ all day. Showcased on CrunchGear the game will feature photos of Beyoncé, Kelly and Michelle and include songs like “Survivor,” “Bug A Boo,” and “Lose My Breath” and my personal favorite, “Say My Name.” In “Destiny’s Child Groove,” you’ll be able to audition to become a backup singer for the group. To play the game you press arrows on the screen which are synchronized to the beat of certain songs.
It will be interesting to see how this video game-DC tie-in will be received.
Is Geeky the New Sexy?
Speaking of Destiny’s Child, Geeksugar reports that both Kelly Rowland and Amerie are both fans of the Sims:
In my defense, geek is chic people. My evidence? R&B superstar Amerie recently confessed she is hooked on The Sims. She is quoted in Contact Music as saying: “I am addicted to The Sims. I live out a virtual life online. I think it’s seriously cool, but I guess it’s kind of dorky. I’ve got Kelly Rowland into it too, and now we hook up in the game. Beyonce tried to join us, but she wasn’t into it. Also I love to read science magazines. It’s not very R&B I know.” I say anyone who can rock the mic and stage like these two need not worry. Chic indeed.
Nintendo Down Under - Australia Provides A Wii-Sponsored Model Call
Kotaku has decided that Nintendo is for girls. In a June 19th post, the guys announced:
Sorry boys. Nintendo? Not for you. Not anymore. This Touch Generations business, it’s taken the company from your sweaty, fumbling hands and given it over to image-obsessed, whiny, teenage girls. Read. And know that I, too, thought this was two separate press releases:
Nintendo have teamed up with Girlfriend [Australian teen girl mag], so you can sample the Nintendo DS and Wii at the Girlfriend Model Search and play some of the latest and greatest games!Make sure you get down to the 2007 Girlfriend Schwarzkopf LiveColour Model Search roadshow in your capital city for your chance to get discovered and become Australia’s next international modelling sensation! Bring all your mates, enter the model search and treat yourself to a full day of fun, glamour and pampering. Check out the locations and be sure to lock away the date in your dairy!
Aspiring models and Nintendo? I never thought it would come to this. —Luke Plunkett
I’m loving the random pic from Mean Girls, used by Kotaku to illustrate the post - but does a product association really mean that you can pigeonhole a product into a gender?
If Nintendo partnered with someone like Bawls or Yorkie, would that be used as proof that Nintendo is for boys?
The Diffusion Group recently issued a press release about the Multimedia Future of Next Generation Consoles.
According to Diffusion Group:
[...] though 80% of game console households own a console capable of some form of DVD playback or online download, only 13% have used their game console for movie viewing purposes (some eight million U.S. households). Among this small segment, the vast majority (74%) use only DVD for movie viewing, while approximately one-fourth have also ventured online to purchase or rent a digital movie download.
“Today’s next-generation games consoles such as the Xbox 360 or Sony PS3 are true digital multimedia powerhouses,” said Dale Gilliam III, director of primary research and author of the report. “Yet very few of these devices are connected to the Internet and, even though these same platforms may feature a high-definition DVD playback system, very few consumers are using them for non-gaming media applications.”
Other key findings of TDG’s new report include the following:
- Approximately half of U.S. broadband households have at least one game console (GC) in the home with 15% having two or more game consoles;
- Among broadband households that own a game console, 52% have a console in their family or living room, compared to 24% with a GC in the second bedroom, and 21% with a GC in the den or game room;
- Though the majority (80%) own a console capable of playing DVDs, only 30% stated that they owned a console that it actually enabled DVD playback – a fact that demonstrates how poorly many consumers understand the capabilities of today’s game consoles and a major barrier to persuading consumers to start using these platforms for non-gaming media consumption.
- Among those that own a game console connected to the Internet, 42% have used their game console to watch watched an Internet-based movie on their TV.
I truly hope that console designers (*cough cough Microsoft and Sony cough*) pay attention to this study. I am one of the 13% that uses the movie viewing capabilities, and I felt that the DVD viewing feature was a good compliment to the PlayStation’s abilities.
But all of this extra fighting about capacity and Blu-Ray and HD? Not quite necessary.
As we can see from the success of the Wii, most people buy gaming consoles to play games - not to have an all in one machine. (Remember the lens read issues with the 1st and 2nd generation PS2s? Or Microsoft’s XBox 360 hardware failures? It may be better to keep game consoles and multimedia items separate, at least until they work out the tech bugs.)
The best part about gaming is the games - all the extras (storage space, processor speed, etc) are all second to that.
This will be a semi-regular feature post considering that gaming seems to be a convenient scapegoat for the many ills of society.
Here are the two most recent gems in the gaming gallery of the absurd.
Raging Gamers Addicted to MMORPGS!
In late June, Geeksugar posted a quick blurb about a push from some doctors to categorize video game behavior as a psychiatric disorder.
Geeksugar writes:
The group prepared a report for the American Medical Association’s annual policy meeting which is being held this week in Chicago and hopes to lobby for the disorder to be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. The report says that 90 percent of American youth play video games and as many as 15 percent of them, which is more than 5 million kids, may be addicted.
According to the AP, that addiction translates into gamers yelling, ignoring their friends and family, not showering, not eating properly and letting their responsibilities and school work slide. The story also references a kid who went from being an “outgoing, academically gifted teen” to a “reclusive manipulator who flunked two 10th grade classes and spent several hours day and night playing World of Warcraft.”
The writers for Geeksugar called bullshit, and I totally agree - I mean, come on. Yes, video games can be addictive - but so is anything pleasurable. Food, sex, drugs (for some), cell phone texting, shuffling through your Ipod…are we going to label all those psychiatric disorders?
It seems to me that this is another way to push more medication.
No Taxation Without Virtual Representation!
I work in DC. I fork out almost a fourth of my take-home pay (not to mention 51% of my freelance money) in taxes, as well as paying 10% DC sales tax on everything I purchase. So when Slashdot posted about congress revisiting the virtual goods tax, I felt a little part of me die inside.
I’m hoping that Congress does not come to an agreement on any kind of virtual taxation. It’s bad enough they are allowing the RIAA to kill internet radio…now they want to tax my SecondLife purchases?
The brave new net world is starting to look a bit grim…
Uh-oh…something is up at Microsoft.
According to GameDailyBiz, Microsoft’s Robbie Bach - President of the Entertainment and Devices Division - has sold a whopping $6.2 Million dollars of Microsoft stock in the last few months.
GameDailyBiz explains:
According to a story in Dow Jones, the President of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, Robbie Bach, recently sold $6.2 million worth of company stock. This is notable because the company recently offered to extend warranties on all Xbox 360s to three years and take a $1.15 billion hit to its fourth-quarter earnings to account for the system failures.
“In the last couple of months, we started to see significant increases in repair requests … and significant attention from people,” said Robbie Bach during a conference call last week. “So we geared up to respond to that.”
A review with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that Bach’s stock sales amounting to $6.2 million happened between May 2 and last Thursday’s announcement. The filings showed that the most recent sales happened between May 25 and May 30. The announcement made Microsoft’s stock drop only a little, roughly $0.50.
…
Ben Silverman, director of research at Indie Research, doesn’t think there’s any foul play involved, however. “It doesn’t necessarily mean [insiders] think that there will be a bad event; it could just be financial planning. But sometimes it just looks bad that an insider has sold stock,” said Silverman. “I’d give [Bach] the benefit of the doubt here, especially because the stock didn’t move very much [after last week's announcement].”
Okay, so it could have been a personal reason. Maybe he just needed six and a half million dollars for something: repayment of debts, purchasing a new home. But isn’t it just a little strange to see that kind of sale from the head of Entertainment & Devices?
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Copyright © 2007 - July 5, 2008 Iris Gaming Network.
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