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The Wrap www.thewrap.com - New Media for New Hollywood

LA Observed: The Wrap launches, names its editors New kid in town! It's called The Wrap
The Wrap - New Media for New Hollywood

FEAR 2 DEMO

I got mine on Steam.

Option ARM for the WIN!

Option ARMs originating in 2006 make up about $140 billion of the $350 billion of outstanding option ARMs, and 45% to 50% of them are expected to default, according to an analysis this past summer by Lehman Brothers. The 2007 option ARMs, which were originated just as home prices began falling, were expected to perform similarly badly.

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/dec2008/bw20081223_927689_...

How can game publishers capitalize on second hand sales?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249378212700025.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=...

The used-game business is very profitable, too. GameStop's gross profit margin was a hefty 48% for used products in the quarter ended Nov. 1. In contrast, gross margins for new consoles and games are 7% to 20%, according to analysts.

Epic Games Inc., creators of the "Gears of War 2" game for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 console, has begun including codes with their games that unlock extra content, but can only be used once -- an effort to diminish the appeal of buying a used game. Other hit games from Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Inc. also provide extra content that users can access only if they have the actual game.

It appears that offering compelling content that is only unlocked for the initial purchaser of a game might persuade more users to buy your game first hand, but how can we make money off the users that decide to buy the game second hand?

DLC seems like an easy answer, but the development costs and time can make that route appear less appealing. For a while discussions of "micro transactions" was all the buzz in the development community, but over the past year or so I have not heard much talk along those lines. What if you offer the initial game at a discount, say $45, but the user needs to buy a $10 DLC package to complete the game, or you offer Multi-player as a $15 add-on.

A discounted initial sales price will help the Best Buy's and Wal-Marts of the world compete with GameStop's second hand business, and the $10 - $15 DLC component helps with the publishers bottom line. If the content is compelling enough, each owner of the game (assuming it is sold more then once) can bring new revenue.

Imagine if 50% of games are sold one time in the secondary market and the title is sold initially for $45 with a $15 DLC, the publisher could reap $75 per title as opposed to $60. Now consider that the last $30 is distributed through entirely digital means. It would potentially be a good early start to a pure digital distribution model for full size retail games. Steam has proven this is a viable means of game sales, it's just a matter of bridging that gap from todays disk based consoles to the streaming consoles of the future.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, a game I am working on right now at WBGames, has a demo going up this week. The demo certainly worth the download, and I am sure that it will make you want the full game on February 10th.

There is also a cool viral website for the F.E.A.R. franchise that you can play around with. It centers around the shady "Armacham" corporation. Defiantly worth a couple of minutes of playing around.

http://www.armacham.com/

Alice in Wonderland remix

A Letter

Dear Bob,

I personally do not have money to offer, but I can send you this email. Of course, if this is all a viral deal for a small developer, simply delete my email and accept my kudos for a job well done.

I do not believe that Nintendo considers it acceptable to use non-Nintendo certified hardware to develop on. This may not be the only factor that has blocked you from obtaining the Nitro debugger, but it is probably not an insignificant one. Posting on your website that you are in talks with companies who's business is to produce "homebrew" hardware may have put the nail in the big Nintendo coffin. I can assure you that Nintendo is in the business of making money, and after running a P&L on your RPG, they could not justify providing their hardware to an individual.

That being said, why go through official channels anyhow?

You will soon see how much of your game can become lost to publisher requests, marketing strategy, ESRB, PEGI, etc, etc. If you truly want to maintain your vision of a one man game, I recommend going with the "homebrew" manufacture. I imagine it will put some cash in your pocket to fund development of your next project and allow consumers to purchase your game. If your game is indeed of an appreciable quality, you can build and audience and continue to develop future games, without the constrains of a publishing deal, or the requirements of working at a Dev studio.

Or move your dev over to the iPhone and iPod, or Andriod. Both systems are open, portable, and starved for quality games.

Sincerely,
Geoff

Nerderizer!

Carter 2.0

I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy... I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might...

The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.

In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning.

I'm asking you for your good and for your nation's security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel... I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for an energy-secure nation.

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