Video Gaming

Card Sharking: Forward Into The Past of The Future

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So this week, people waited with baited breath to hear about the new game from Blizzard.  World of Warcraft 2?  Something Else?  Something new?  What would it be . . .

. . . it was Hearthstone, a free-to-play online collectable card game where you can purchase new cards.

I can’t say I’m overwhelmed.  I’m not even sure I’m whelmed.*  There is some positive impression though.

It’s not as if I don’t like CCGs.  I still have my old Magic Cards** in fact, quite enjoyed the game, and of course as I move in Anime Circles, I’m used to people with so many CCG cards they can make clothes out of them.

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The Toy-Game Interface: It’s A Trend.

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OK, it’s a trend.

Yes, after weeks of me ranting about what’s going on in gaming, what it means for your career, and why I’m still confused half the time, there is a trend I distinctly want to call out.

Merchandise-game integration.  Let’s call it MGI so we have a cool acronym.

Awhile ago at NerdCaliber I called out that we were on a cusp of a trend where games were integrated heavily with merchandise. and marketing.  My example was Disney Infinity, which was pretty much “Skylanders” with Jack Sparrow and a sandbox mode.*  I felt this was one to watch because I could see a lot of properties done MGI style, and transcending some of the previous attempts out there.

(Disney is so confident, they don’t mind a delay – that may mean selling more)

Ironically, of the many properties I discussed where heavy MGI possibilities lay, I missed one, and of course some smart guys and girls ended up creating the most obvious MGI I could have seen, only I didn’t see it.

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Home Theater PC Speculations

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So last week I detailed my experiences with a sort-of Home Theater PC (HTPC), namely a laptop where I got experimental.  I noted that I would discuss their place in the economy and the career implications.  This of course, is that column because hey, I promised.

And here’s the answer: Not yet because there are way, way too many possible use cases and no real settled technologies, and what comes eventually will be gradual.

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