News and Analysis

Trouble in the gaming industry, some interesting demographics, cool cleantech! Let's get to the job news for fans, geeks, and otaku!

Branding:
Seth Godin is at it again, noting Brands Can Be Mythology in a brilliant insight. Read and contemplate.

Demographics:
Where foreigners are buying US property, which may give you clues to areas where foreign and multinational business may be going – and where stuff is just cheap. I didn't know Florida was number one.  Might give some people pause (and wonder how this will change and what is being bought)

Economics:
Housing still isn't promising. The author notes that housing usually helps a recovery – but with the huge shadow inventory it's not happening. That's another blow against the economy, and another reason housing prices aren't recovering for a long time – to ever.

Is the double-dip recession just a scare? Well one expert that has the ear of Naked Capitalism thinks, so, but he seems more pessimistic as of late. Still he did call the summer slowdown.

Anyone seen Nouriel Robuni lately . . .

We may have a man-made debt ceiling crisis in the US, but at least it has a rap song.  Yes, of this posting, no resolution.

Green Tech:
Enerkem raises $30 million for their trash-to-fuel business, and they have a LOT more money and loans lined up. They're in Canada and the US. It may not sound glamorous, but these people sound business savvy, have TWO governments to work with, and are raising loads of cash. People, if you're a biotech, tech-head, or green enthusiast, they need your resume.

Publishing:
Thanks to e-books, publishers move paperbacks into production earlier. Looks like the cycle of hardcover-to-paperback is accelerated, perhaps by 50%. At some point this suggests it'll all come out at the same time – and that means hardcover/paperback is going to have only one winner.  I'm wondering if the hardcover is going to be the looser here.

Remakes:
Remakes enough to make you scream? Tales from the Crypt may be back – but as a continuing series not an anthology. No I don't quite get it either, it sounds like a branding effort more than anything else.

Technology:
Asus is doing an ultrathin netbook and boy do I get MacBook Air vibes. It's running an OS more meant for mobile (MeeGo). Curious device, but it tells me everyone things ultrathin is the big thing for netbook/latops/anything not a desktop or tablet.

Video Games:
The DS price gets slashed to $169.99. It hasn't been selling to well, so I'm not surprised, but also it's a peculiarly tame act. I think Nintendo is fully investing in the Wii U next – and we still don't know where the DS is going to end up (so if you develop DS and Wii titles, really stay alert).

In fact, Nintendo is doing worse than many thought. I'm still bullish on their plans, but not so sure about opportunities in the short-term.

Sony's gaming business revenue drops, with PS3's declining sales as part of it. Probably a note of caution for potential job opportunities.

(Also note the above two companies had headquarters in a country hit by a massive quake, which doesn't help.)

For your information: Big Fish brings out a hidden-object game onKindle. Yes, Kindle has games (the Scrabble one outsold all e-books in fact). It's a curiosity, mostly, but it may mean Big Fish has further interactions with Amazon that could be profitable.

The Red Faction franchise is dead, so if you were one of the five people who dreamed of working on it, it probably isn't going to happen.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How is the publishing cycle of hardcover-paperback-ebook going to come out in the future?

– Steven Savage

A lot of EA plans revealed quite obviously, some demographic changes in LA are intriuging, and a look at the comic industry! Let's get to the news!

Career:
Yep, companies are discriminating against the unemployed when hiring. My personal HR crush object Laurie Ruettimann is on the case. Monster notes it's a legal gray area, but I bloody well argue it's not a gray ethical one.

Still, remember this happens so try and get something on your resume to get around the unethical types.

Economics/Geekonomics:
No, no Debt Ceiling agreement for the US.

Italy is having problems and Greece may need a restructuring. Note if the US defaults this is gonna make things worse for the Eurozone. Oh, and do NOT expect the Eurozone to be forgiving on it.

Demographics:
Well I admit L.A. is not exactly a place I want to move, but there's good reason to think it's going to become more of a high-Tech mecca – and it sounds like it need talent. Might be time for those of us who don't love L.A. to rethink our relationship . . .

Anime and Manga:
Crunchyroll just has tons of stuff. Not exactly news, but hey, we didn't want to leave them out.

This intrigues me, A Dragon Quest-like new Live TV show in Japan. Why does it intrigue me? Because it hearkens back to the goofier aspects of Japanese fantasy-adventure (Slayers, natch), which seems to have faded in recent years. I'm thinking this could represent a demographic/media shift of focus.

Comics:
A fascinating discussion on the future of comics at Comic Con. Well, well worth reading for all it points out – declining sales, loss leaders, and more.

Warren Ellis sounds off on how Comic writers get selected by the big houses and notes the 'footraces' of the 90's seem to be back. His statements would fit the recent shakeups we've seen, and don't necessarily bode well for future writers.

These two articles, must read for any current or future comic pros, also point out vast changes to onboarding and business models. It's sounding like starting on your own, at a loss, may be your best bet . . .

Publishing:
A look at Randall Smith, a relatively unknown man buying up newspaper companies. He's been doing it for awhile, so I don't think it's tied to any other major events. Still you want to follow this for what may happen with him – and as we've learned from the News Corp scandal, big media empires can wield influence – and that could affect you.

Plus as this guy gets more well known, other media moguls will pay attention.

Remakes:
K. Thorn Jensen of UGO encourages us NOT to make these cartoons into movies. He has a point, though I think these are so bad they won't get made. Except Jabberjaw.

Tablets:
Must Read: the market looks very good for an Amazon tablet. Since they're making one, if you're a developer, you are researching how to get apps on it . . . right?

Side note – the article notes the Kindle established confidence. A good strategy to note – establishing confidence with devices and then adding more – sorta half of what Apple did.

Technology:
Groupon may delay their IPO due to SEC questioning. I think their time is passing quickly, and this is just another contributor.

Video:
Netflix adds more to Canada and Latin America. Side thought here with their recent price increase (and no, I still subscribe), are they betting future expansions will be so DVD free it won't matter? They may be thinking pretty global (which also gives you the possibility careers with them may go more global – and I'm still bullish on Netflix as an employer).

Video Games:
Mobile game prices down – in app purchase revenue up. Entirely unsurprising, but also shows that the low/no-price, in-app purchase model is becoming the norm – so you'll need to adjust.

OK it's pretty much on: EA's CEO wants their 'Origin' distribution service to be like 'HBO meets Netflix' of gaming. That shows a lot of ambition, calling out competitors (which is what they call Steam now), and some serious plans. More at Gamasutra where he notes the traditional console cycle is dead (first public admission by someone of his level I've seen), his plan to make IP's year-round efforts, and new job oppos.

The latter makes me think – that they want Origin not just as a platform for delivery, but they want to make games like shows one watches with episodes, updates, extras, and more. I think EA may be changing their game dev model.

End result – keep watching EA for what they're doing, how they compete, and how one may get on Origin.

Writing:
The winners of the Bulwer Lytton contest for 2011 are up.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: So where do you think EA is going with Origin?

– Steven Savage