News and Analysis

News Of The Day 10/17/2011

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Say goodbye to IPOs, hello to a new social network, and a big wet kiss for a new publishing opportunity! It's geek news time!

Economics/Geekonomics:
A gander at the level of debt of different countries, just to help keep things in perspective.

Those big IPOs? Probably gone for good.

Film:
There is probably a 4th Transformers film. Er. Yeah. Well they did make money.

Publishing:
Amazon signs authors directly. This is pretty big because it cuts out publishers (who have their own problems), gives the authors what is likely a bigger cut (which is nice), and promotes Amazon's services. This is likely a very big shift for Amazon, and may well mean they broaden their unique content offerings. Meanwhile, just what are publishers going to do . . .

Social Media:
Meet the Facebook/Twitter/Digg/etc. competitor Chime.in. Not much to say about it, but we'll see how it does – may be worth exploring for now.

Technology:
Big new for YouTube – pairing videos with a merch store for musicians. Sounds good – potentially profitable, and it transforms Youtube into something more. Probably a good move on Amazon's part – now a question here is how far this extends to smaller names and independents . . . since if anyone can eventually get into this it could be big.

RIM apologizes to its remaining customers with $100 of free apps.

Video Games:
Professor Layton no longer exclusive, gets new iOS game. This is big as this is a well-loved (and deservedly so) franchise mixing puzzles and enchanting characters. Of course this brings up the question of who else is waiting to make the leap – and if this is the breach in the damn.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How do you think publishers will react to Amazon's new deals?

– Steven Savage

News Of The Day 10/14/2011

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Classics come to iOS and Android, some coziness among people in copyright issues, and a lot more! Diverse geek news today!

Career:
Looking for a job at google? Here's the process. Enjoy.

What 8 Top CIOs look for in employees to give you some more ideas.

Economics/Geekonomics:
A very useful guide to the "why" of the anger behind Occupy Wall Street and other movements. When you look at things over time, it helps one get a picture – and understand why we'll need to pay attention to the movement. It's because of various economic conditions – and the response to it can have a significant effect on our economies.

At LayOffWatch They're convinced more layoffs are coming.

Geek Law:
The Copyright Czar had some cosy relations with hollywood, music, and ISPs. Read the whole thing – makes me mildly uncomfortable, and I'm sure we'll be hearing more of this in the future (and possibly in lawsuits).

Anime and Manga:
Sailor Moon Volume 1 goes back for a reprint. That's going pretty well – and good for Kodansha. Might encourage them to release more . . .

Comics:
My theory is DC is throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. As they're putting comics in cereal boxes I feel entirely justified in this statement. I'm going to caution working in DC or affiliated parts of Time/Warner as I really am not sure what they're up to – and I think neither are they, that's the point.

Film:
How a Reddit thread turned into a story that got optioned as a film. I can't make this up. Worth reading as it may give you ideas, as well as envy.

Mobile:
Sony Ericson plans to go all-smartphone. Good opportunity if you work in smartphones, and you might be able to take advantage of the transition. I wonder if feature phones will really die off in the next few years.

Publishing:
Ebooks may be good for books that didn't quite make 'classic status'. Thought-provoking, and exemplifies how ebooks may maintain or even give life too otherwise forgotten works.

Video:
OK, Hulu is not selling itself. Not much detail here. I still have no idea, so where they go may affect other businesses and possibilities – and needless to say they're not the best employment choice.

Video Games:
GTA III coming to iOS and Android. Big news – a big name like Rockstar moving a classic title to mobile OSes? Huge, and might indicate a path others could follow. This one will also be watched to see how classics do on new devices and if there's money in it.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What other classic games do you think would do well on mobile OSes?

– Steven Savage

Goodbye Game Systems

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At some point we're going to stop using the word "Game System."

It's barely relevant now.  The XBox in my household has long stints as a video player, and before it that was my major use for the Wii.  Social media is integrating into everything.  Even "games" are changing into other things.

On top of that, games are going everywhere, from websites to phones.  A phone is a "gaming" device now.

So at some point, I think we're going to have to ditch the term "Game System" because Game Systems won't be about games alone.

At some point they'll be "media devices" or "entertainment systems" (much as some computers are pitched).  Oh sure it may be a tablet, or a phone, or something, but it won't be thought of as primarily a "gaming" system.

Now think of what that means geekonomically:

  • When the language changes, you have to change marketing tactics.  Smart marketers that can see this shift can market the devices that replace mere "gaming systems."
  • Technologists have to figure out just what these expanded systems do and don't do – and should and shouldn't do.  The range of what a product does gets fuzzier.
  • Developers . . . well you know what you're going through.  Get ready to find decisions about graphics, SDKs, and platforms getting a might more confusing.
  • Game developers will have to further think over demographics more carefully when pitching things on a device, distributing, etc.
  • What will happen to "game" websites in their coverage?  When games are everywhere and there's no true gaming device, there's a shift in reviews, classifications, and what is appropriate coverage.
  • The social and cultural impact of games will be further caught up in other media, and thus analyzing it or reporting on it is more complex.  Maybe on the plus side it'll minimize the various outbursts of "games are evil."

Someday, probably in the next decade, there will be no more "game machines."

Are you ready?

– Steven Savage