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The Daily Grind: Do you prefer digital copies or boxed copies of games?
Long ago, you had one way of obtaining a new game -- you went to a store that carried video games and brought it home. The advent of digital distribution has changed that, however -- it's quite easy to pick up a new game on Steam or via download, with certain games like Global Agenda primarily seeing distribution via digital outlets. Considering that most games offer a client download and patches will frequently update the entire game anyhow, getting a box almost seems quaint. Of course, if you're used to having a hard copy on hand, it might not even be an issue of whether or not it's worth buying a boxed copy. You want a game, you go out and buy it. So when you have the option, do you head out to the mall and pick up a boxed copy to have a physical representation of the game? Or do you just download and not fuss about with what amounts to sentimental clutter? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Cryptozoic interviews Micky Neilson, James Waugh
Cryptozoic Entertainment recently began digital distribution of Blizzard's manga titles, as announced last month. This month, the company interviewed two of the big names behind the manga and its development. Micky Neilson, publishing team lead for Blizzard, and James Waugh, senior story developer for Blizzard, should be familiar to those that have read the manga, comics, and various Warcraft stories available. Most recently, they teamed up to write the five-issue comic series Curse of the Worgen, a look into the background and origins of the worgen in Warcraft. The Q&A itself delves into the behind-the-scenes of manga development; how stories are created and who develops those stories, the purpose of the manga series and how it incorporates into the overall canon lore of World of Warcraft. And for those wondering, the question of whether or not the manga series is official canon is addressed as well. The only minor disappointment with the interview is that the future of the Blizzard manga titles isn't really addressed. Whether or not any brand new titles will be published in the future wasn't touched upon, leaving the fate of the manga as a solid question mark. Regardless, the sheer enthusiasm of Neilson and Waugh during the interview is a nice reminder that those behind the story really do cherish the properties they're working with. Check out the full interview on Cryptozoic's website.
Gods & Heroes going worldwide on Steam this week
Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising is coming to Steam. The mythology-inspired MMORPG, launched yesterday by Heatwave Interactive, is now available on Valve's North American digital distribution platform and will available worldwide later this week (June 24th, to be exact). Aside from the convenience of avoiding a retail purchase, Steam customers will also receive a traditional platform-exclusive in-game item, in this case a mythical minion called a Gorpal. The Gorpal is a damage-dealing Phorcid pet that "protects players by fighting with claws and a poisonous bite," according to a Heatwave press release. Check out our Gods & Heroes launch day coverage for more on the game, and don't forget to stop by the official website as well.
NintendoWare Weekly: The eShop is open for business
Good news, folks! Nintendo's 3DS eShop is now officially open for business, and the second week of operation brings the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong to hang out with the bikers and heroes already residing in the eShop. A handful of DSiWare and WiiWare offerings are also said to be available, though as of this morning, none of the DSiWare games were actually available for purchase. Additionally, for you stalwarts still holding out for a demo of Bit.Trip Flux before dropping the $8, that's now available as well. The reward for your patience: finding out first hand that it's a great game.
Crysis 2 ditching Steam not an EA decision; Origin-exclusive titles planned
Earlier today, Crysis 2 and other notable EA titles vanished from Steam. Initially thought to be a decision involving EA's new digital platform, Origin, it turns out EA didn't really have a hand in its expulsion from Valve's service -- apparently "Crytek has an agreement with another download service" which violates some new rules imposed by Steam, resulting in the "expulsion of Crysis 2 from Steam," according to comments made by EA to Giant Bomb. Neither Valve nor EA are talking about what these "new rules" are, but all signs point to Origin. Crysis 2 is available there, as are other games pulled from Steam -- Alice: Madness Returns can only be found on Origin (until June 17, it appears), though several other notable EA titles such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Dragon Age 2 and Bulletstorm still remain on Steam. In the future, EA hopes to offer exclusive content through its Origins portal, including games. Frank Gibeau, president of EA Games, told GI.biz that "EA's going to have some of our own platform exclusives" on the new service. This includes Star Wars: The Old Republic, which will only be offered through Origin. "I think long-term you'll see we believe in reach so we will have other digital retailers for our products because we want to reach as many audiences as possible," Gibeau said. "But at the same time if we can use exclusive content or other ideas to help grow our audience then we're going to do that because we're growing a platform."
GOG.com: 'We are totally not interested in being bought by anybody'
Just minutes after Guillame Rambourg, managing director of GOG.com, made the announcement that the digital game sales platform would carry much of EA's classic back catalogue, Joystiq pulled him aside on the roof of a hotel in downtown Venice, CA to chat about the announcement. First up, we talked about GOG's other efforts lately, including releasing a dedicated downloader client for Windows, and a private messaging system. Rambourg says both have been going gangbusters. "The downloader is definitely the favorite way of getting games from GOG," he told us. "We've had up to 20 million API calls since we launched the downloader, and the peak was 2 million calls in an hour." The downloader isn't required to use the service, and Rambourg said since it doesn't support Mac or Linux users, it probably won't be for a long time, if ever.
EA's Riccitiello: Fail well and learn from it
EA CEO John Riccitiello may not have succeeded as grandly as he sought to during this generation, but he's certainly not lacking in vision. EA has seen tremendous growth in its digital business and while Riccitiello admits his company "dropped the ball" at the beginning of the cycle, he sees every failure as an opportunity. During his commencement speech at the Haas Business School at the University of California at Berkeley -- of which he is an alumni -- Riccitiello said that his many failures over the last four years have helped him to learn and grow. According to Venture Beat, he attributes the Haas school's "students always" mentality, of learning from every failure as a way to set yourself up for greater success, as a big motivator in those dark times. "Everyone falls down. Everyone loses a game or gets a bad grade," he said. "We had to do these three hard things when the press and the financial analysts told us we were crazy -- that the cutting was great, but the investment in digital was just not a good idea. It proved very hard to hear the negative drumbeat while tackling very hard challenges at work." Riccitiello said he "failed well." "We are students of our own failure," he concluded. "We used our failure to shape and impel us to a better strategy. One that we believe will ultimately succeed in ways that our previous strategy, even if perfectly executed, could never have done."
Best Buy distributing 3DS content through SpotPass
We trust that you're already carrying your 3DS around with you wherever you go -- your Nintendogs need the exercise, you know -- but you want to make doubly sure you bring it with you should you cross the threshold of a Best Buy this summer. The store has partnered with Nintendo to deliver 3DS content via the SpotPass feature starting June 7, including "exclusive offers as well as additional entertainment content such as gaming extras and movie trailers." No specific "gaming extras" or trailers were mentioned in the partnership's press release, but any reason to dust off the 3DS' SpotPass is a welcome opportunity, indeed. We haven't used a handheld gaming device's feature this infrequently since the original DS' infamous panini press mode.
Activision Blizzard banks $503 million in first quarter profits
Beneath the Southern California headquarters of Activision Blizzard there lies a zeppelin-sized vault, near-bursting with piles of gold and riches -- or at least that's how we imagine it. The company today reported its first quarter 2011 earnings, reaping a record $1.4 billion in sales revenue, an increase of $100 million over the same period last year. Net income came to $503 million, up from $381 million in Q1 2010. Not surprisingly, the publisher attributed a hefty chunk of those profits to continued sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops -- which it also confirmed is not just the best-selling game ever (in terms of revenue) in the US, but in Europe as well. In addition, the company noted that digital sales were up 30 percent over Q1 2010 and accounted for 30 percent of Activision Blizzard's revenue last quarter. Finally, although it comes second in the "Activision Blizzard" name, Blizzard was first in profit for the quarter. The unit accounted for a whopping $170 million in income, compared to Activision Publishing's $48 million.
Conde Nast brings The New Yorker to iPad, seven other magazines by month's end
Yet another print powerhouse is bringing its wares to the iPad, all lining up neatly ahead of Apple's upcoming WWDC. First it was Time, then it was Hearst, and now Condè Nast is joining the fun with very similar terms to the other two. Starting this week with The New Yorker, digital versions will be available for free to current print edition subscribers. For new subscribers it's $5.99 per month or $59.99 a year, which gets you 47 issues. Seven other magazines from the publisher are coming by the end of May, including Wired and Vanity Fair, priced at $1.99 each or $19.99 annually. That matches up perfectly with the earlier announcements, meaning Apple and the publishers seem to finally be getting along. Isn't it nice when everyone gets along?
Remedy's Myllyrinne pushing for digital future
According to Remedy head Matias Myllyrinne, the sooner the game industry switches to an entirely downloadable model, the better off it will be. Myllyrinne notes that the DLC episodes for Alan Wake were "hugely successful, and really resonated with the fans." He elaborated that current download marketplaces like Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam offer developers a unique opportunity to "directly engage with your audience." A download-driven industry, said Myllyrinne, would be "better for consumers, better for the developers and publishers," though he admitted such a shift would be "not so good for retail." That said, however, he added that given the way retailers incentivize the sale of used games, he doesn't really "feel sorry" for the potential loss they would suffer. Look, Mr. Myllyrinne, if going downloadable gets us another Alan Wake, just tell us where to sign up.
Valve keeping Steam sales data private, out of aggregated charts
Valve is deeply skeptical of any proposed "scorecard" attempting to depict digital game sales, according to biz dev director Jason Holtman, who manages Steam, the company's lucrative online distribution platform for PC and Mac. "If you look back at the way retail charts have been made, they have been proven to be telling an inaccurate story," Holtman told MCV. "They apparently had shown how the PC format was dying when it was actually thriving." Market research firms in the business of tallying such consumer-spending, like NPD and Chart-Track, have begun to acknowledge the gross inadequacy of analyzing physical media sales alone, especially on the PC platform. Last summer, NPD raised a bright red flag when it reported on 2009 findings that physical and digital PC game-related sales were reaching parity. A few months later, the firm announced it was close to refining its reports to include digital sales. Easier said than done. Some estimates suggest that more than half of all PC digital game sales are made through Steam, so clearly any outfit hoping to even begin to chart such data needs Valve on board. Seemingly shunning those requests, and those from publishers and developers, Holtman said that charting game sales is "less useful in the digital space." "The idea of a chart is old," he added. "It came from people trying to aggregate disaggregated information." In the digital space, especially, sales are spread across a vast number of disassociated retailers. Perhaps then, Valve's skepticism stems from the seeming impossibility of compiling an accurate, total figure -- or maybe, as Holtman implied, Valve just sees such a figure as an antiquated measuring stick. And really, who's business is it to know how many copies of a game have been sold? Holtman insisted that Steam's "rapid and perfected information" about sales is only relevant to its partners on a per-game basis. "The point is, it's not super important for a publisher or developer to know how well everyone is doing. What's important to know is exactly how your game is doing -- why it's climbing and why it's falling; your daily sales; your daily swing; your rewards for online campaign number three. That's what we provide."
GameStop details plans for Impulse and Spawn Labs, says it's 'becoming a technology company'
Well, it looks like GameStop's plans following its acquisition of Impulse and Spawn Labs may be even grander than we had suspected. At an investor conference today, GameStop said flat out that it is "becoming a technology company," and that it does indeed plan to introduce a cloud-based gaming service similar to OnLive as a result of the Spawn Labs acquisition, while Impulse will be used to "compete fiercely" with Steam. But that's just the start of things. According to the Dallas Morning News, GameStop also plans to expand the gaming service to a variety of mobile devices, and it's apparently even entertaining the idea of a GameStop-branded tablet, saying that "if we feel like we could do a better job of making a tablet, we'll do that." Of course, some of that is still quite a ways off, but GameStop will be taking its first steps fairly soon -- it's already showed off a demo of how the service will be integrated into its website (see above, complete with a "try it now" option), and it plans to begin a public beta sometime this year before rolling out the full service early next year.
GameStop snaps up Spawn Labs, Impulse game distribution platform
We wouldn't count on its retail business going away anytime soon, but it looks like GameStop is now also betting heavily on a digitally-distributed future. To that end, the company has just announced that it's acquiring both Spawn Labs and Steam-competitor Impulse, the latter of which it's buying out from parent company Stardock Systems. While Spawn Labs may not be the most familiar name, you might remember its HD-720 set-top box -- essentially a Slingbox for your game consoles -- which we first checked out way back in 2009 and finally started shipping in early 2010. It sounds like GameStop may have some even grander ambitions for the technology than that, however, as the company's press release says that it's now testing a "new consumer interface" that will give users "immediate access to a wide selection of high-definition video games on demand on any Internet-enabled device." As our pals at Joystiq note, that sounds an awful lot like OnLive-esque cloud-based gaming service, but GameStop unfortunately isn't offering many other hints at the moment.
Stardock's Brad Wardell talks about selling Impulse to GameStop
"Not everyone's goal in life is to run a thousand person company," said Stardock founder Brad Wardell, who just today announced that he's sold the growing digital distribution arm of his company, Impulse, to GameStop for an undisclosed sum. "Certainly the path of least resistance would have been to just grow with Impulse and become a digital retailer, but that's not what I signed up for." Impulse was originally started as a way for Stardock to distribute its own games and software digitally, and was opened up three years ago to other developers. Since then, it's grown to compete with the big player in digital distribution, Steam. Wardell, speaking with Joystiq in an interview today, said that the growth in revenue actually became a cause for concern. "When Impulse became our number one source of revenue," said Wardell, "I realized it was time for us to look at our options there."
NGP games will be downloadable day-and-date with retail releases
SCEA hasn't managed to deliver all PSP UMD releases digitally -- let alone simultaneously with retail -- and even said the likelihood of making such parity would be several years off. That doesn't appear to be the case with PSP's sucessor, the NGP, based on comments made by SCEE president Andrew House. "One thing we learnt from PSP, is that we want to have simultaneous delivery in digital and physical for NGP," House told MCV. "Just to clarify that, all games that appear physically will be made available digitally." While that's certainly positive news, we're still waiting on word about Sony filling in the gaps on downloadable PSP back-catalog games -- which will run on the NGP, some with patched-in support for the handheld's second analog stick. Then there's the matter of the system's proprietary flash storage media, needed to store downloaded games, being a bit fuzzy. In short: Sony still has a lot to explain about its powerful new portable.
Paramount Pictures, BitTorrent team up to distribute feature film (video)
In case you haven't heard, there are websites out there that will let you download movies and software using a little something called the BitTorrent protocol. And while the majority of cinematic fare available is of a non-DMCA-approved nature, filmmakers and organizations are increasingly turning to torrent sites to get the word out. For instance, in 2009 a filmmaker named Hanna Sköld worked with the folks at The Pirate Bay to distribute her film Nasty Old People. And indeed, there seem to be as many zany ways to get your work out to audiences these days as there are filmmakers. One scheme that recently piqued our interest was concocted by the folks at Distracted Media. The Australian company is crowdsourcing its latest production, The Tunnel (not to be confused with Chunnel: 32 Miles of Danger) by selling individual frames for a buck a pop. Of course, "owning" a frame gives you nothing more than the opportunity to say that you helped an indie filmmaker out, but it's a worthwhile cause. And at 135,000 frames that's a lot of dollars! When the film is done, it will be distributed via BitTorrent for free -- alongside an actual DVD release by Paramount Pictures which, when you think about how reluctant Hollywood has been to embrace the internet, is pretty wild. Check out the (NSFW) trailer after the break, and then hit the links below for more info. Tunnel should make its premiere this May.
NPD acknowledges 'confusion' during industry's 'unprecedented transformation'
The NPD has taken several hits, mostly during investment calls and meetings we've attended over the past year, about its lack of digital distribution sales reporting. This week's quote from EA that the company's data is a "misrepresentation of the entire industry" really pushed the conversation into the public. In response, the NPD reiterated its plans to include monthly digital sales data in its reporting to clients, something the company originally said it was working on in October 2010. "We continue to progress those plans but at this time we're not changing anything with regard to what we're reporting," NPD analyst Anita Frazier explained to us today. "Until we have something new to announce in terms of our reporting, we will continue to report on new physical retail sales on a monthly basis. This represents about 60-70 percent of the consumer spend on the industry. Quarterly we will release a total for our estimate on the consumer spend on content outside of traditional retail and that includes used game sales, full game and add-on content digital downloads, subscriptions, rentals, mobile apps and social network gaming." Frazier expressed that its reporting does not include revenues generated by advertising or promotional offers, but the goal is for NPD to have a comprehensive report for its clients that will cover "consumer spend" on a monthly basis.
GameStop, Sony, Ubisoft on the growth of retail in the age of downloads
"We are looking for ways to make money," Sony's senior vice president of publisher relations, Rob Dyer, said at an SXSW Interactive panel about the rise of digital distribution. "We are not looking for a system -- whether it's iPhone, Android, whatever -- that is this wonderful socialist idea that we can give things away for free. " That helps frame the discussion -- it was from a moneymaking perspective that representatives of Ubisoft, SCEA, and GameStop discussed retail and its role as downloadable content and digitally distributed games become more popular.
EA: 40% of game sales digital, NPD becoming less relevant
Digital sales have been an increasing boon for EA, a source of great profit and growth for the publishing giant, and the company now estimates 40% of games sold are bought through digital channels. Retail is becoming less of an important sector and the publisher feels NPD rankings are decreasing in relevance. Tomorrow, the latest NPD figures for the month of February will be revealed. "Overall, we think the digital growth aspect of the EA story is likely to get even stronger and to impress investors in the coming years," said Arvind Bhatia, Sterne Agee investment firm analyst, during a recent management meeting (via IndustryGamers). Globally, EA still recognizes the importance of retail product, but locally the company is looking to expand its mobile and downloadable offerings, leaning on its new EA Partners divisions to help expand its digital business.
