Posts Tagged ‘David Perry’

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OnLive goes Live – Gaikai signs EA

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Like any good party, some of us woke up after three days of pixel-fueled bliss and had to re-enter the ‘real’ world. It’s often easy to get distracted by the flashiest gadgets and titles on hand, but there where a bunch of other things going on at E3. Case in point: OnLive went live.

OnLive_Logo_white_backgroundCloud computing has seen a steady increase over the past few years. As SaaS platforms and downloadable content are becoming the norm rather than the exception, there are a number of gaming industry related firms trying to bridge this gap as well. Thus far, there are two main players, Palo Alto based OnLive and Los Angeles based Gaikai.

In the “First!” category, OnLive took the prize, as they announced last Thursday that the subscription-based cloud gaming service is now live and open for business. Thanks to a sponsorship from AT&T, the first year of the subscription (normally a $50 annual fee) has been waved. That’s not the price of a game purchase and/or rental, only access to the community features, including the ability to try every game in the OnLive catalogue for 30 or 60 minutes. OnLive’s games pricing structure seems in line with Steam’s, anywhere from $10 – $60 depending on the publisher. Speaking of publishers, OnLive’s managed to pack a number of hot titles into it’s debut including Splinter Cell: Conviction, Borderlands, and Just Cause 2.

On the other side of the coin is David Perry’s Gaikai. In contrast to OnLive’s glitz and glamor booth at E3, David Perry held a small get together in a cubicle, stressing that Gaikai is “the ultimate lead ever for a publisher.” Perry is positioning Gaikai as a ‘try before you buy’ service. If this sounds remotely like InstantAction, you’d be correct, however with Gaikai, all the heavy lifting is done in the cloud, ultimately giving gamers instant access to PC games. Perry says that the ultimate goal is to let publishers and eventually gaming sites to embed games directly into a browser, circumventing the norm of trailers and/or screenshots.

gaikaiLogo_blackOnTransparentBGPerry has previously said that Gaikai’s servers will “end up in rings” around OnLive’s servers. That may be the case, but OnLive’s director of media and games development Joe Bentley says that he has yet to see Gaikai working in a real world environment. Yes, Perry had a number of streaming games on display (we’ve already seen WoW on an iPad courtesy of Gaikai), but with one small hitch. Perry was demoing the technology with a server in the same room. OnLive’s servers are 400 miles to the north, and currently serving more than just one user.

With that said, Gaikai does have some pretty strong players on-board, as EA recently signed on the dotted line to go with Gaikai. Slated for availability via Gaikai are EA’s The Sims, The Battlefield: Bad Company Series, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor, and Need for Speed.

“Gaikai’s innovations open whole new experiences for both current players and new customers looking for the best of interactive entertainment. It also brings new opportunities and capabilities that will improve both our craft and products, including secure beta-testing and the ability to instantaneously bring the latest games into the hands of our waiting audience”, said Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Director for Electronic Arts.

It should now be interesting to see where these two head. Originally based on the same idea, it’s now clear that they’re both heading in two different directions. And the bigger question is – is the market big enough for both of them, considering that their services are, at the end of the day, complimentary. Who’s going to buy who first?

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HBO now available on PS3 and PSP, Gaikai receives $10M+ in series B

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Clearly something is afoot in the land of connected, online gaming platforms. Perhaps adding fuel to the ‘PSN Premium’ network features that SOE is rumored to officially announce at this year’s E3, Sony has announced that HBO titles are now available to PS3 and PSP customers in the United States.

SFM066LOGOThis Sony/HBO deal marks the first time that HBO content is available for purchase (Menu>TV Shows>Networks>HBO) on any gaming system within the U.S. And while a great step forward, it appears as though Sony is still playing catch-up with Microsoft’s Xbox, which while not offering HBO, has a massive amount of consumable entertainment available to it’s users, and of course, the massive content beast that is iTunes. No, iTunes itself is not a gaming system, but chances are, you can play games on the device that you run iTunes from.

Sony and HBO have kicked things off with some of their biggest titles including the popular “True Blood” series, “Big Love”, and “Entourage”, as well as perennial favorites, “Sex and the City”, “The Sopranos”, etc..

“The HBO library of premium original content is a perfect example of how PS3 has become the most content rich entertainment platform in the living room,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president, marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. “When you combine the iconic programming from HBO with the existing TV, film, live sports and original programming available on PlayStation Network, our customers have access to the content they want, when they want it, at home or on the go with the PSP.”

Gaikai sees $10M+ investment in Round B

6912….and in other ‘content in the cloud’ news, cloud based video game streaming service Gaikai has recently announced an influx of $10M+ from a series B investment round. TriplePoint Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, and series A leaders, Benchmark Capital have all contributed. Gaikai has also received investment funds from an un-named partner.

The new round of funding will most probably be put to use in ramping up what’s destined to be a showdown with OnLive. OnLive and Gaikai offer premium gaming services that are ‘cloud’ based, giving users the ultimate flexibility in their gaming choices.

“Gaikai is poised to take advantage of sweeping changes in how games are bought, sold, and ultimately even played brought about by the industry-wide shift to digital distribution. Benchmark is delighted to join in this round and increase our commitment to Gaikai, David Perry and the team,” says Mitch Lasky, Benchmark Capital.

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Walmart gets back in the digital delivery game – acquires VUDU

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

One of America’s largest retailers is getting back in the digital delivery game with their announcement of the acquisition of Santa Clara, CA based content delivery platform VUDU. After pulling the plug on their attempts to get into the digital TV and Movie delivery system in 2007, Walmart representatives feel that now is the right time for this strategic acquisition. Presumably, this is Walmart’s answer to Best Buy’s cooperative effort with Roxio’s CinemaNow offering.

vudu_logoThe VUDU service will allow Walmart to brand a digital delivery service providing consumers with on demand access to thousands of movies and TV shows directly to their broadband connected HD TV’s and Blu-ray players. Presumably one of the largest draws for Walmart is VUDU’s licensing deals with just about every major studio, approximately 16,000 available titles, as well as the world’s largest collection of 1080p on-demand video.

“The real winner here is the customer,” said Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman for Walmart. “Combining VUDU’s unique digital technology and service with Walmart’s retail expertise and scale will provide customers with unprecedented access to home entertainment options as they migrate to a digital environment.”

And according to Parks Associates’ VP and Principle Analyst Kurt Scherf, “Walmart is re-entering the OTT (over-the-top) market at an opportune time. Parks Associates’ consumer research of online video services indicates that usage from paying users for movie rentals, movie downloads, and TV downloads has doubled between 2008 and 2009.”

Likewise, the folks at Parks Associates project that by 2014, more than 40 percent of revenues for premium online video services will be derived from connected TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and networked digital media set-top boxes (think AppleTV for example). By adding the major online and offline retailer, Walmart could conceivably push the market even further as consumers clamor to the new offering. At least that’s Walmart’s hope.

Now some of you might be wondering why we’re talking about TV shows and Movies on demand? Look at this as a first foray into something that we believe is the next logical step in online gaming. Remember what our good friend David Perry has been preaching (and working on) for quite some time now – gaming in the cloud. If Walmart (and Best Buy) are able to develop and push this technology in such a way that Joe Average consumer ‘gets it’ and regularly consumes it, the question is – how long will it be before Mr. Average starts asking for the same delivery method, just slightly different content, i.e. games?

There’s a huge untapped market waiting to happen if today’s ‘casual’ gamer can and will want to make the swap from a desktop or laptop method of playing their favorite game to that of the living room. Walmart clearly sees the opportunity in the making, as they did in 2007, although they might have been a bit too progressive at the time, and want to cash in. Our best estimate is that this is a staging and testing ground for something much, much bigger.

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Stevie Case (aka Kill Creek) featured on Avault.com podcast

Friday, February 20th, 2009

fatfoogoo’s own Stevie Case has recently been interviewed by the Avault.com podcast team.  Speaking with Chris Micieli, Bill Bolton, and Mark Turcotte, Stevie joins the crew to talk about everything ranging from Stevie’s career as a pro gamer to micro-transaction powered games are how they are the future of gaming.

Speaking first to her role as Vice President of Business Development and Sales with fatfoogoo, Stevie lays out our technologies and how and why game development studios should be talking to fatfoogoo when they are ready to monetize their product.  Noting that microtransactions are a relatively new way to monetize gaming, Stevie goes on to explain that with the current state of the economy, combined with falling advertising rates, microtransactions are a great place to be.

“It’s a good way to get users to not only spend small amounts of money, which isn’t as intimidating, but it also makes games sticker and doesn’t really break game play,” explains Stevie.

Stevie also highlights a quintessential point of microtransactions: user generated content, “I think it’s really cool to see users be able to create their own content and then actually sell that; have it become a part of the game, and become a part of the world.”

When asked about how microtransactions and user generated content could effect the overall balance of a game (i.e. the ‘pay to pwn’ theory) Stevie comments, “It’s a valid concern; I think that the key is you’ve got to have great game design upfront, and you’ve got to take all that stuff into account.  A lot of people have tacked on this notion of a virtual economy later because it sounds like a good way to make money, but if you don’t design it in upfront, it can be challenging for those reasons.”

Coincidentally almost mirroring David Perry’s remarks at DICE 2009, Stevie says that when you create a virtual economy based game, you’re putting a large amount of power in the hands of your users, thus game design should be held to even higher standards.

Speaking briefly to microtransactions in the mobile space, specifically the iPhone, Stevie points out, “Microtransactions are prohibited within iPhone applications.”  She continues on to discuss what iMafia is doing with their unique “if you go buy our other app we will give you points in this app” approach, but “as of today microtransactions are not officially supported.”

When asked about fatfoogoo’s list of clients, Stevie talks about our European clients, our involvement with Sun Microsystems via project darkstar, and hints at our upcoming release with a major US partner, and our involvement with a European based FPS/MMO.  But more on that later….

Give the podcast a listen in it’s entirety at Avault.com (episode #20).

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Perry predicts cloud gaming, the rise of free-to-play, and the death of single player games

Friday, February 20th, 2009

This year’s DICE event which wraps up today in Las Vegas wouldn’t be complete without video games industry veteran David Perry’s take on the current state of play, and what he sees as ‘the next big thing’. We’ve covered some of Perry’s predictions in the past, but for those out there that don’t remember or know of David Perry, he’s the founder of Shiny Entertainment which was responsible for Earthworm Jim, and Messiah to name a few along with MDK, Wild 9 and Enter the Matrix.

Taking a page from his standard presentation playbook, Perry started out his DICE talk by showing some old marketing collateral from his first computer, the Sinclair ZX81, noting that at the time the mainstream consensus was that computers would be used solely as a productivity tool. “I, like everyone else, however, used it to make and play video games,” he said.

Looking forward, Perry notes how far and fast computing technology has progressed since its humble beginnings. Specifically, Perry speaks to increased storage space and read/write speeds. He foresees a future with unlimited storage media delivered via fast, ‘available everywhere’ wi-fi. Not limiting future options just to storage, Perry also predicts cloud processing, i.e. the end of in home owned single or multi-core processor platforms.

Driving this prediction, Perry explains that he’s been looking into technology that’s powered by remote storage and processing, thus removing the need for players to own powerful software or processing power. The end goal is to deliver the final rendered frames to gamers via Flash video.

“It’s like going back in time to when we had terminals instead of desktops.”

Speaking to distribution mediums, Perry didn’t waste any time aiming a canon at GameStop, who’s COO Dan DeMatteo recently stated that the era of full digital distribution is 12 to 17 years away. Perry’s thoughts consider this timeline ridiculous, and he’s quick to point out that much of the Asian market is largely dependent on digital distribution. And we all know how the Asian market is hurting in the video games department.

With perhaps his most startling statement of the day, Perry also sees the end of single-player games. Instead, he sees free-to-play, mulit-player online games as the absolute future, “I personally think the days of single-player games are numbered. Without question, our focus is entirely on multiplayer.”

Duly noted, Perry serves as Chief Creative Officer with Acclaim, a completely free-to-play, microtransactions based game developer/distributor, so it’s fair to say that his view might be slightly biased.

Using imagery of some of the greatest game designers of all time, Shigeru Miyamoto and Hideo Kojima, Perry notes that Japan has turned out some of the best games and designers the world has ever seen, and asks, “would you be willing to bet China will never produce one of those names?”

A highly relevant question, as David warns that if and when this level of talent starts popping up in China or Korea, both areas where free-to-play is rapidly becoming the de facto business model, traditional game developers with traditional business models may find themselves on the outside looking in.

Summing up his presentation, Perry says, “The key trend is that we are going to be closer to our audience than ever before. We must listen to them at every step. … Your entire executive team must speak with them, not to them.”

Amen to that statement Mr. Perry. Got anything to say to us? We’re listening. Talk to fatfoogoo on twitter.

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Acclaim set to bring free-to-play music based game to the masses

Monday, December 1st, 2008

Teaming up with WaveGroup, Warner Music, Sony, and EMI, Acclaim is set to release a music-based free-to-play on the scale of Guitar Hero/RockBand.  Based on the premise that Rockband and Guitar Hero are immensely successful, but can be a bit expensive, Acclaim set out to lower that barrier of entry.  The result?  FreeRock. (Freebird?)

Will Littlejohn, whose resume includes credits on Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II and III, Karaoke Revolution Volumes 1, 2 and 3, and Blade Runner is leading the charge via WaveGroup.  The free-to-play will feature over 40 new songs being produced for the game, along with already available three licensed songs: Iron Man, Fat Lip, and Woman.  Rockfree’s main focus isn’t that far off from those that it’s taking on: create custom avatars, open a rock club, and battle against other rockers from around the world.  This is the first music based free to play/microtransaction title we’ve seen, and are quite keen to see how Acclaim will be doling out character customizations and Les Pauls.

“Acclaim Games is excited about offering an online rock game that connects people through music and a multiplayer experience. People don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to play ROCKFREE, and because it’s free-to-play the entire world can now enjoy a music based game.” says Howard Marks CEO of Acclaim Games.

“We’ve had a simple vision for this game… Just imagine Rocking out to really GREAT music online, for FREE, on a game that you can play anywhere, anytime, where you don’t need to buy CD’s or install anything, where the music is directed by the company the Guitar Hero team went to, where we DON’T charge for extra songs, that will quickly have over 1,000 amazing songs, as users upload new tracks, that can allow EIGHT people to compete on any stage, and that’s just about hanging out with friends and having fun. That’s our long-term goal here, and here’s a sneak peek to see if were on the right track so far.” says David Perry, Chief Creative Officer.

While Acclaim has done a pretty good job of keeping this one under the radar for quite a while now, it seems like Saturday’s sneak peek was well received, as I tried to get in on 7 different occasions and had no luck.  Details are scant at this point, but I wouldn’t expect that to be the case for very long.

David Perry – where’s my beta key?

Have a view of, and keep tabs on freerock at: www.rockfree.com.

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Adding free-to-play to the DSi would change the entire industry

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Head Honcho of Acclaim and noted advocated of the Free-to-Play business model, David Perry says that by adding free-to-play games to the recently released Nintendo DSi would be an industry changer.

In a recent interview with Matt Martin of gamesindustry.biz, Perry said that his reaction to the new DSi from Nintendo is positive, but he had certainly hoped for faster innovation coming out of Kyoto.

While Nintendo has no public plans to delve into the free-to-play world, Perry did comment that the ability to download games directly to the DSi was a good start – provided that 3rd party manufacturers don’t beat Nintendo to the punch.

“The download store is good, [Free-to-play games] would have changed everything for designers. Basically it would remove the limitations of what a handheld is capable of doing, but it would require WiFi to play those games, so maybe it’s still too early,” he offered. “I think [free-to-play] would have been a game changer, but now it’s over to Sony or Microsoft to make this move.”

“The download store will help people play and try more games, it’s a great way to allow impulse playing,” he continued. “So I think that actually will help, I’m pleased Nintendo are stepping up their game as the online store they initially launched on the Wii was terrible.”

Noting the most sizable party in the download games on the go industry; Apple, Perry says that Demo versions of games made available for the DSi would provide a distinct advantage, not only to gamers, but developers and publishers as well.

“It’s certainly where they can beat Apple if they get developers to offer demos of all games. Apple fails on the demo front where you buy first, hoping you will like them. To compete with Apple, they will need to open up free-to-play gaming.”

Also up on Perry’s DSi wishlist? Both screens having touch screen sensitivity (something that all of us have been scratching out heads about ever since the release of the DS back in …), a webcam for greater interactivity (the built in camera is nice, but still not a webcam.  Perry also believes that this camera is destined to produce a number of ‘gimmicky’ games), tilt sensing (ala iPhone), a slicker design (again…iPhone), better speakers (is anyone using their DS without headphones?), and an “Xbox Live” style service for handhelds.

Thankfully, Martin asked the question that was on my mind as well while reading about the DSi, how about a “touch sensitive Wii controller”, which Perry also added to the wishlist.  Not every player is going to have both a DSi and a Wii, but the added gaming functionality might be yet another ‘hey, that’s cool’ factor to the Wii, and perhaps boost sales based on system compatibility via the controllers.

Not quite complete with the wishlist, Perry continued with a Nintendo Cloud Server

“to host server heavy games, that make the gameplay more impressive than handheld hardware could ever produce.”

I personally have yet to get my hands on a DSi, but while tons of reviews are starting to show up across the gamescape, there tends to be some mixed feelings.  Some say it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, while others clock in with a resounding, “yeah, and….?”

Either way you look at it, a free-to-play concept on handheld gaming systems could very well be an industry changer.  Clearly iPhone users don’t have a problem making microtransaction games purchases (myself included), so why not give developers and gamers both a fair shake at ‘free-to-play, microtransactions if you want to play more, extra levels, etc.’?  For years, games publishers have been introducing the free-to-play model on a PC platform.  Perhaps coming at the topic from the bottom up, and not the other way around might be a great way to get an entirely new generation of gamers interested in, and used to the free-to-play, microtransaction based concept.

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Nokia does iTunes one better; could it be the future of gaming?

Monday, October 6th, 2008

A quick search of a few various Torrent trackers turns up a surprising number of pirated, readily available video games.  I shouldn’t really be surprised I guess, as piracy in gaming has been running rampant since computer owners were able to insert disc+cntl c+ctrl v+wait a few hours and insert new 5.25 floppy when the first disk is full.

Bruce Everiss from bruceongames.com recently posted an excellent article concerning what the Nokia 5310 phone/mp3 player is doing for the music industry and what it might mean for games.

One answer that the gaming industry has come up with to fight digital piracy is the (dreaded) DRM or Digital Rights Management.  The recent EA/Spore DRM fiasco has brought to light the incredible downside of DRM – pi$$ing off customers.  While the DRM covers the ‘sales’ side of games, there’s obviously a growing number of alternative revenue models in place including microtransactions, in-game advertising, and subscriptions.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), DRM doesn’t really apply very well to the music industry, as regulating a DRM across the entire scope of the internet is relatively impossible.  Combine that with an mp3’s relatively small file size and ability to be shared across a variety of media, and any possible revenue generation is, quite literally, lost in the wind.

Bruce and I seem to agree that Apple’s solution to the problem could and should be seen as the flagship of the microtransaction industry: iTunes.  What Apple did with the introduction of iTunes is take it’s wildly successful mp3 player, the iPod, and provided users with an ultra-slick interface providing them with features and availability that they could get elsewhere for free: but didn’t.  Tack on the added usability and convenience of a mobile iTunes store, and you’ve got a winning combination.

Taking this winning philosophy a step further, Nokia has implemented the “Give it to ‘em for free for a while, get ‘em used to it, and THEN charge ‘em for it later down the road,” model.  They’ve created a music store with over 2M tracks that users can use for free.  Yes, you heard that right, users can download as much as they want, whenever they want.  For free.  The cost of said service is cleverly built into the perchase price of the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone (the world’s best selling mp3 phone).  Once your one year quasi pre-paid subscription runs out, then, and only then, must you fork over a fee.  And will users pay for the service?  Of course they will.  They’ve grown accustomed to it, and will want to continue their enjoyment with said service.  Please note, I’ve specifically NOT said music, but service.  This is the crux of the entire model; users are not paying for a product, but rather a service.

Know any other industries that specialize in digital content delivery with a growing interest in a microtransaction business model?  It’s quite easy to see how this formula could very easily be applied to the gaming industry.  As more and more publishers and operators shift towards a pure digital delivery method and ‘boxed game’ sales move more and more into the history books, perhaps a monthly/yearly subscription to one (or more than one even) games provider(s), that would allow users to download and play their game of choice.

Bruce points out that EA Chief John Riccitello has suggested this theory in the past.  Perhaps Battlefield Heroes is more than just a testing of the microtransaction waters, but also an experiement in free-to-play and just how and where EA can drive this vehicle.   Perhaps the Spore debacle could even be a driving force in EA’s further investigation into the model?

We already know that David Perry’s a big fan of free-to-play fighting piracy, Alex St John says only microtransaction based games have a future, and Riccitello has been floating the idea around; perhaps it takes a mobile phone service to actually throw a bit of ‘proof positive’ on the fire.

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Acclaim gives the green light to free-to-play Chronicles of Spellborn

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Go grab a calendar and put a big bright red circle around November 27th.  From here on out November 27th will be officially know as the North American Chronicles of Spellborn release date.

The Chronicles of Spellborn is an impressive free-to-play MMORPG in which players enter a world containing the remnants of a destroyed world.  Players delve into a fantasy world where they must collect powerful shard fragments before the forces of evil do.  Powered by the Unreal engine 2.5, Chronicles of Spellborn promises a highly developed playing environment with stunning graphics, spectacular effects, and numerous fine details.  One of Spellborn’s unique features is a rotating Skill Deck that allows players to refine and enhance their skills in real time.  In addition to a well developed Player vs. Player system, Chronicles of Spellborn also features a wide variety of nasty little creatures just waiting to be crushed, and intelligent hostile factions that can react to players abilities and known combat techniques, thereby providing a ‘smart’ battle scenario.

Naturally, coming out of the Acclaim stables in North America, Chronicles of Spellborn will be a free-to-play adventure BUT: the game will only feature a starting area that is 100% free.  The best way to think of it is as an open trial in a limited area.  If gamers like what they see, and want to continue further with their adventure, they can purchase a premium service that will unlock additional game content.  This premium service is slated to offer a wide variety of payment options.

“I’ve been playing and testing the game, and I’m having a fantastic time. The only thing that’s missing is our gamers! I can’t wait until November 27th to greet them all in the amazing world of Spellborn,” says David Perry, the US Director for Spellborn.

Acclaim is set to release details regarding the opening of Spellborn’s closed beta test in the upcoming weeks.  This closed beta is scheduled to feature several upgrades an enhancements in the class system, fame system, combat, and the quest structure.  If you’re not a resident of North America, no worries, as Acclaim is also making The Chronicles of Spellborn available in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South America.

Players can sign up for the beta at http://spellborn.acclaim.com/

Having seen and played TCoS personally at the games convention in Leipzig, I’m chomping at the bit to get my hands on this one again.  Sure, there are overtones of another MMORPG involving fantasy and classes that you might already be familiar with, but The Chronicles of Spellborn truly does have some unique features that help it to stand out from the crowd.  Think of Spellborn as a blender.  Take a dash of this MMO, a slice of that fantasy RPG, two scoops of this shooter, a pinch and a half of the Unreal Engine and blend to perfection.  The Chronicles of Spellborn features some of the best parts of a wide variety of popular MMOs, blends them all together, adds it’s own touch of originality and packs it all into an exciting new MMORPG.

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David Perry at GCDC: Free to play is the future

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

While Leipzig might be a brand new town for David Perry, video games, development, and the industry are not.  Perry, a 27 year veteran of the gaming industry lead the panel at the Games Convention Developers Conference yesterday.  His topics ranged from personal history (the PS9 spoof was outstanding), statistics on the current status quo, and important players to look at in developing markets in China, Korea, and India.

Perry’s ‘time capsule’ intro included insight to Perry’s first programming tool – a Sinclair ZX81 with 1KB of memory, right on through to today’s complex media.  He covered the landscape from old media (cassettes) to new (Blu-ray, DVD, etc.) and on to developing storage media (hard drives).  Perry firmly believes that the industry will continue to push towards a global digital distribution outlet, with hard drives being the main storage media.  He did however also highlight another possible step after storage: virtual media.  Perry envisions a world where full games and even processing power wouldn’t be sitting on your desktop or console, but rather a cloud computing scenario where games would be broadcast across the internet.  He also admits that there are problems with this theory, and that today’s internet would maxed and taxed by this scenario, and fast and strong broadband is needed.

Exploring expanding game markets, Perry launched first into China, which has seen 65.9% overall industry growth over the past year.  Perry highlighted China’s must successful publisher Shanda as a benchmark as to where companies in that market are headed.  While Perry was visiting the Shanda offices, he shared a note that lots of team members were playing western videogames in an effort to match the quality seen herein.  While Chinese and Korean titles may not match western quality, they are certainly doing their homework, and should be on par shortly.

Creativity and risk are two key factors that allow eastern publishers to florish.  The free-to-play MMO Dance! Introduced new social systems by simply adding a chat feature, along with reasons for people to keep talking – embarrassing scenarios where players are forced to dance in strange costumes and marriage systems that allow players to look each other up and play together.  While these social additions sport high numbers, Stardoll (19 million members) and Zynga (55 million members), Perry is quick to point out that they lack one crucial component: the viral factor.

Using facebook as a testing ground, Perry highlighted his new Facebook Create a potato app as a viral experiement.  He says that he hopes to identify nodes within the network that will help spread the word about the game (and future viral projects).  He also spoke to Blizzards recent testing and entry into the viral market with their aggressive ‘recruit a friend – get an exclusive mount’ program.  Perry sees this as a failure waiting to happen.

Heading into the final stretch of his presentation, Perry made it clear : Free-to-play models are the future.  This shift will be possible in part by something he calls the “money wall” – the tipping point at which certain consumers will no longer be willing to pay for entertainment.  With consoles ranking in huge entry fees, and the average game cost of $59.99, this “money wall” is already keeping a large portion of ‘potential’ gamers out of the mix.

Perry left us with two scenarios regarding the outbreak of free-to-play models in the western market.  1. A publisher decides to release a major tier 1 game (think Halo, WoW, StarCraft) as a free to play, or…2. The Korean, Indian, of Chinese market begins producing games on the level of their Japanese neighbors like Miyamoto of Hojima, creators who inevitably will realease their games under the free-to-play model which is already strongly in place in the region.  Either of these events would set the ball in motion, says Perry.

While Perry’s presentation went well over the 1 hour time he was given, he managed to present listeners with an insightful view of the gaming industry.  Certainly there will always be those that disagree and see it in 22 different ways, but a growing number of industry experts are echoing, and adding to, Perry’s vision of a free-to-play global economy.  fatfoogoo is preparing for this future today.  What are you doing?

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