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Adobe upgrades its Digital Publishing Suite with iPhone viewer, improved social media features
Between rolling out Creative Suite 6, Creative Cloud and a new video platform for broadcasters, Adobe's been mighty busy lately. If that's not evidence enough that the outfit is making good on its promise to restructure around digital media, hear this: the company just announced a slew of enhancements to its Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), which Conde Nast and others use to format magazines for mobile devices. For starters, publishers now have a way to tailor content specifically for the iPhone, just as they can for the iPad, Kindle Fire and Android tablets. So far, we know Conde Nast will be using this tool to build a modified edition of The New Yorker, though Conde Nast hasn't announced when it will become available for download. Meanwhile, art departments used to working in InDesign can now take a single a layout and repurpose it across multiple devices. Similarly, DPS is now integrated with Adobe Edge, which means publishers can create HTML5 animations and then easily port them over to their digital editions. Moving on, SocialSharing is exactly what it sounds like: it promises to make it easier for people reading these magazines to share stories using built-in email, Twitter and Facebook functionality. Getting more granular, a new font rights policy means that once a publishing company buys rights to use a certain font, it won't have to pay additional per-usage fees every time someone downloads the app. Lastly, Adobe announced that Meredith, the company that brings you (yes, you) Better Homes and Gardens, Parents and Fitness will also begin using the platform to create digital editions. Hold onto your britches, kids.
Red 5 Studios CEO denounces consoles and publishers
"Who needs publishers any more? I certainly don't. I couldn't care less about them at this stage," said Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern. In a candid interview with Eurogamer, Kern ripped into both consoles and publisher-led models as relics on their way out the door. Kern said that the pressure that publishers put on studios are death to the industry, resulting in either "an indie game or... a massive AAA, IP-backed sequel with derivative gameplay." He thinks that there's no middle ground, and it disturbs him how many studios fire staff right after a game launches. Instead, the man behind Firefall believes that the free-to-play model puts the power back in the hands of the developers who then can concentrate on making games without having to kowtow to the publishers and distributors. "Look at Riot Games and League of Legends. They have more users than World of Warcraft does. That's crazy. And they don't have a publisher," Kern said. Citing the expense and sluggish reaction of console development, Kern also predicts that mobile and PC gaming are on their way to take over the field. "Something has to change," he concludes. "Consoles, I believe, are dead."
Comics iPad app gets Retina-friendly update, 'POW!' bubbles now much POWier
ComiXology is usually keeping up with the latest-and-greatest, and it's doing so yet again by rapidly updating its Comics app to meet the new iPad's Retina-sized needs. In addition to the CMX-HD comic books coming to the 2048 x 1536 screen, the updated application also includes novel social sharing features via Twitter, Zuck's network and email. Among other bits worth noting are a handful of nondescript bug fixes as well as stability improvements. Best of all, the refresh won't cost you a dime and it's available now in the App Store, linked just below for your convenience.
Kickstarting the future of game publishing: An interview with Brian Fargo
When I was 12 years old, my days mainly consisted of one thing: playing games on my Commodore 64. I would set my alarm early to get some gaming in before school, think about the games all day during school, then come home and play as much as I could before my parents made me stop and do homework or chores. Aside from TSR's Gold Box series, the two games that molded my childhood and my love for gaming were Wasteland and The Bard's Tale. Both of these games were made by Interplay Productions, a company founded by Brian Fargo in 1983. Fargo has always been an iconic figure to me. I regularly name my MMO characters Faran Brygo (a name he used for an NPC in the original Wasteland). I'm certainly not alone in my love for Wasteland (which I have labeled for years as my all-time-favorite RPG), but I think it's safe to say that many gamers who enjoyed Wasteland always wondered why there was no sequel. Fallout 1 and 2 were "spiritual successors" to the game, but for copyright reasons, they were never actually labeled as true sequels. Fargo tried to make a true sequel for 20 years but was always met with brick walls from publishers who weren't interested in resurrecting such an old game. Enter Kickstarter. After the wild success of Tim Schafer's Double Fine crowdfunding campaign, Fargo got the idea to try it out for himself. The timing was right with the current nostalgic gaming scene, the popularity of the post-apocalyptic genre, and the fact that most of Interplay's original fans are now in a position of making a tad more income than allowance money from childhood chores. We sat down with Brian Fargo to discuss his views on the potential of Kickstarter, the future of Big Brother game publishers, and Wasteland 2.
Apple begins defense against possible ebook antitrust case
Apple is wasting no time beginning to defend itself against the possibility of a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust action alleging that the company conspired with publishers to fix ebook prices. Last week, Apple requested that a class action suit alleging price-fixing on ebooks be thrown out. Part of the suit hinges on a comment that Steve Jobs made to the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg in January of 2010, saying that unhappy publishers might decide to withhold ebooks from Amazon. Lawyers in the class action suit think that Jobs's comment meant that Apple and publishers were conspiring to force Amazon to raise ebook prices. Apple's retort last week says that the lawyers "mischaracterized" the exchange, and that Jobs only meant that Apple had a different strategy in the ebook business than Amazon. Apple says that it wants to sell as many ebooks as possible, which is totally believable since the company is still a relative bit player in the ebook market. As a result, the company would not have an incentive to raise prices on ebooks. But Apple's argument fails to address accusations that Jobs schemed with publishers to slow Amazon's eventual move into the tablet market with the Kindle Fire. Apple's lawyers responded in their court filing last week by downplaying the threat of the Kindle Fire: But this allegation just strings together antitrust buzzwords.. Nor does this "Kindle theory" make sense on its own terms. For example, if Amazon was a "threat" that needed to be squelched by means of an illegal conspiracy, why would Apple offer Amazon's Kindle app on the iPad? Why would Apple conclude that conspiring to force Amazon to no longer lose money on eBooks would cripple Amazon's competitive fortunes? And why would Apple perceive the need for an illegal solution to the "Kindle threat" when it had an obvious and lawful one which it implemented – namely, introducing a multipurpose device (the iPad) whose marketing and sales success was not centered on eBook sales? There are rumors that some publishers are currently in settlement talks with the DOJ. These publishers might be exchanging damning information for a lesser settlement, which could spell trouble for both Apple and other publishers.
Quarrel was rejected by 'almost every games publisher,' mostly for being a word game
Bringing Quarrel to XBLA seems like a no-brainer. The game's done very well on iOS, and it was intended for Microsoft's platform in the first place. But in a post on Denki's official blog, managing director Colin Anderson says that the game (which began as the prototype above) was rejected by "almost every games publisher in the world. Sometimes twice; occasionally three times." The acquisition teams at game publishers liked it, apparently, but the finance and marketing departments ... not so much. They suggested, says Anderson, that the game was too difficult, that it was broken because you sometimes had to beat opposing players with fewer letters to make words, or because gamers in general "just don't buy word games." Obviously, the iOS version proved that untrue, and Anderson hails the release of the game on XBLA as a chance for gamers to show "the game industry" that it was wrong. The only question left is if XBLA gamers will find themselves under Quarrel's spell just as much as their iOS counterparts.
Tomorrow's Apple event to focus on digital textbook publishing tools, says Bloomberg
We've already seen some rumors about what Apple has in store for its education-minded announcement in New York City tomorrow, and now Bloomberg is out with a report of its own that backs up some of those earlier rumblings and offers a few new details. Citing two people with knowledge of the announcement, it says that the main focus of the event will be a set of tools that will "make it easier to publish interactive textbooks and other digital educational content." That not only includes tools for the big textbook publishers, but self-publishers as well -- Bloomberg gives the example of teachers preparing materials for that week's lesson, or scientists and historians who could publish professional-looking content without a publishing deal. According to Bloomberg's sources, Apple is expected to use a modified version of the ePub standard for the content, and it's main focus is said to be the K-12 market. In case you needed a reminder, we'll be there live to report on the announcement as it happens -- the event gets underway tomorrow at 10AM Eastern.
Apple and major publishers investigated for e-book price fixing in Europe
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into some of the world's largest publishers following a series of unannounced inspections back in March. Hachette Libre, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and the German owner of Macmillan are all suspected of "anti-competitive practices" in the way they've sold e-books in Europe, "possibly with the help of Apple." Read on for the full press release.
Wizardry Online launches open beta in Japan while eyeing the west
Gamepot's hardcore do-or-die Wizardry Online took a big step in its development last week as the title went into open beta in Japan. Over 100,000 players stormed the castle gates to get a peek at this permadeath MMO, and Gamepot had to add several additional servers during the first day to handle the influx of adventurers. Gamepot's Shuhei Ueda says that seducing Japanese players is just the first step in the company's plans: "For Gamepot, it is truly amazing to see so many enthusiastic fans of the Wizardry franchise participate in the open beta testing, and now live service, of Wizardry Online. Bringing this innovative and legendary series to a new platform has been a rewarding process and we're looking forward to continuing our world-wide rollout to fans around the globe." Work continues on an English version of Wizardry Online, which Gamepot hopes will make it across the Pacific sometime in 2012. The studio is also seeking out a publisher for North American and European markets. While you wait, you can read up on our first look at Wizardry Online from this past summer's E3. %Gallery-125949% [Source: Gamepot press release]
Big publishers to provide fuel for Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet?
So, word on the street is that Amazon's got an Android-based tablet in the works that looks like a PlayBook and will probably be called the Kindle Fire. But, until now, we didn't know what kind of content would be available on this new Kindle with a color screen. According to All Things D, Bezos' baby has been blessed by Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith publishers in time for the slate's unveiling later this week -- giving users access to magazines ranging from GQ and Cosmopolitan to Car and Driver and Wired. Evidently, Amazon's taking around a 30 percent cut (not unlike the competition in Cupertino) of slate-based subscriptions, with small variations depending upon the magazine. With these latest leaked tidbits, we're beginning to wonder what details are left for Amazon to reveal on Wednesday -- a little mystery adds to the anticipation, after all.
IDW releasing comics for iBooks
Most of the comic books released on the iPad and iPhone have been inside of special apps (many of which are run by ComiXology, actually), but here's another option. Comic book publisher IDW is set to release some graphic novels and comic books through iBooks, meaning that you can buy them right inside Apple's official e-reader app. 20 different graphic novels are coming out in the first round, ranging from genre stuff like Star Trek and Doctor Who, to licensed titles like Dragon Age, and older stuff like Locke & Key and Bloom County. Each should cost around $6 to $10 (which is competitive, especially compared to buying the full paper editions of these books), and should be available in the iBookstore soon, if not already. I used to be a die-hard paper book reader, but lately I've seen a lot of value in iBooks, not just in terms of price, but also in the convenience of having all the books I happen to be reading stored on my iPhone. I have a feeling that ComiXology and other apps like it will probably remain the best way to pick up day-one releases of periodical comic books (at least until NewsStand comes along in iOS 5), but for library editions and collected graphic novels, iBooks could become the best and easiest way to read those.
Codemasters website, store, and database hacked
Another day, another game publisher in a hacker's crosshairs. This time around it's Codemasters, and Eurogamer has the details on a security violation that compromised the company's website, EStore, CodeM database, and Dirt3 VIP code redemption webpage. The intrusion occurred on June 3rd, and Codemasters has sent out a letter to affected customers advising of the potential threat to their identity-related information. The article reports that no payment details or credit card info was pilfered, but encrypted passwords as well as Xbox Live gamer tags and personal data (including addresses and user names) were taken. Thus far no groups or individuals have claimed responsibility for the attack. You can read the full Codemasters letter at Eurogamer.
Apple, publishers reportedly close to completing cloud music deal
Apple's music streaming service is inching closer to launch according to industry sources. Earlier rumors suggest Apple already inked licensing agreements with three of the four major record labels, including EMI Music, Warner Music and Sony Music. The one remaining holdout is Universal Music, which is still working with the Cupertino company. Besides the record labels, Apple also needs to obtain publishing rights from the individual music publishers. Insiders claim only a small amount of cash is keeping Apple from inking these final agreements, but these negotiations can be long and messy. There is supposedly some tension between the music publishers and the record labels that has to be ironed out before Apple can launch its online streaming service. The record labels are not happy that publishers are getting the bulk of the cash Apple has put on the table for its cloud service. Wisely, the Cupertino company is reportedly playing the two music entities against each other and letting them duke it out. Apple hopes this money problem can be resolved and negotiations will wrap up in time for a WWDC announcement.
Half of iPad subscribers willing to share information
At first, publishers were wary of the terms of publishing for Apple's iPad that would require them to ask consumers whether or not they could use their information. In traditional magazine publishing, magazines would get access to their subscribers' information, and publishers worried that they wouldn't under this new deal. But it turns out those worries were unfounded. According to Forbes, Apple has confirmed that 50 percent of subscribers are providing their information anyway. Mark Edmiston of Nomad Editions says, "what was an insurmountable obstacle no longer is." Go figure. 50 percent is still less than 100 percent, which is what publishers had with their original paper subscription plans. But it's also better than nothing, which is what publishers were worried they would end up with. With a little tweaking, offering things like free content or other incentives to share that information, publishers could get a great rate of return. Just goes to show that while there are certainly obstacles for publishers to overcome in this new age of digital publishing to tablets, not all of them are "insurmountable."
E-book sales triple year-over-year, paper books decline in every category
We're sure there are still scores of lifelong book lovers whose paper tomes we can pry from their cold, dead fingers, but the evidence strongly suggests that plenty of others are rapidly warming to their shiny new e-readers. US sales of e-books generated about $90.3 million in revenue in February -- roughly triple the sales reported in the same month last year. To boot, they were the dominant format for trade titles, a category that includes adult and children's works. Meanwhile, printed books declined 34 percent and 16 percent in those respective areas, with gentler, single-digit drops for education and religious titles. That follows strong January sales and echoes what Amazon said about e-books outselling print versions two to one. To be fair, of course, February is a time of year when people who received e-readers during the holidays load 'em up with bestsellers -- you know, to keep them entertained during spring break.
Publisher starts annual e-book licensing for libraries, attempts blood extraction from stone
Public libraries are en vogue again now that e-readers and e-books are so popular, and publishers are wary of the trend. To the dismay of many and the surprise of few, HarperCollins Publishers has set its e-books to expire after 26 rentals -- effectively giving them around a one-year shelf life (assuming 2 weeks per rental x 26 = 52 weeks). So now cash-strapped public libraries have to pony up license fees on an annual basis because the publisher is concerned that "selling e-books to libraries in perpetuity, if left unchanged, would undermine the emerging e-book ecosystem." In other words, HarperCollins thinks lending e-books is costing the company money it could make selling them. The publisher is the first to treat library e-books differently from hard copies, and the policy change has caused some librarians to stop purchasing HarperCollins e-books. Should the new licensing scheme become a trend, we shall see if libraries are forced to stop the electronic lending party. [Thanks, Scott]
Google may introduce in-app purchasing to compete with Apple's model (Updated)
Google may debut its new in-app purchasing and subscription system to compete with Apple's controversial model. Similar to Apple, the Google system would let users purchase upgrades and other digital content within an application using Android's built-in payment system, Google Checkout. The new system for Android would give developers a 90 percent cut, while Google would grab the remaining 10 percent. This revenue split is more attractive than Apple's current 70:30. Google is reportedly rolling out this system as soon as today and is possibly introducing it early to capitalize on the dissatisfaction that is brewing over Apple's recent changes to its subscription and in-app purchasing policy. These changes now require content providers like Amazon to offer in-app purchases of content that is offered for sale via another channel. Application developers have until June 30 to comply with this new requirement or risk having their application removed from the App Store. This change would affect a wide variety of applications including the Kindle app, Hulu, Rhapsody and others. Rhapsody has already responded negatively to these changes, and other developers may follow suit. Will Google's Android model be enticing enough to get developers to jump ship or is everyone blowing this out of proportion? [Update: The original rumor is slightly incorrect. It is not Google's in-app purchasing model that is rolling out today. Instead, Google announced its One Pass subscription service for publishers. The service lets publishers set their own rates for content, which will be accessible via the web, tablets and smartphones. In-app purchasing will be available but only through mobile applications that can process an in-app purchase outside of the app store (i.e., probably not iOS). Revenue sharing is set at 90:10, and the service provides direct access to subscriber's data. It is designed to help publishers promote and distribute digital content.]
Apple's subscription model is boon to consumers, bad for publishers
As we reported earlier, Apple announced the arrival of new subscription services for apps in the App Store today. According to the press release, subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will utilize the same billing system currently employed for app and in-app purchases. Publishers are free to set the length and price of the subscriptions, which can be weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly. Then with one click, customers choose the length of their subscription and are immediately charged for it. The great thing about these digital subscriptions for customers is that they can cancel their subscription at any time with very little hassle. They simply need to go to their personal account page to stop re-billing or cancel a current subscription. Anyone who has ever dealt with the headache of getting out of a magazine subscription will recognize this as a huge benefit of Apple's subscription model. However, as we've already seen, many content-based app publishers might not like all the new terms that Apple has laid out. All publishers of content-based apps (like Netflix, Hulu, etc.) must comply with Apple's new subscription service guidelines by June 30 or risk removal of their app from the App Store. The guideline compliance was originally rumored to go into effect March 31, but it seems that app publishers have four more months to make their apps compliant. Content-based app publishers are still free to sell content outside of the apps (like buying a Kindle magazine subscription from Amazon.com), but they now must offer the same content available for purchase directly within the app itself at the same or better price.
European newspaper publishers unhappy with Apple's publication requirements
A few European publishers have heard from Apple about subscription arrangements on the App Store, and they're not happy at all. The agreement isn't that surprising -- just as with the current setup in iTunes for software developers, Apple is asking that all subscriptions go through them, and that they take their usual 30 percent cut. But that has European publishers quite angry -- not only is the price higher than they want to pay, but they say it's because Apple will cut them out of access to things like subscriber demographics and other inside information that they'd have if they ran subscriptions themselves. All fair points. Apple definitely doesn't want to "lose control" of any possible in-app subscriptions, and since it already controls access to the App Store, these publishers are at Apple's whims anyway. If publishers try to run a subscription scheme Apple doesn't agree with, their apps likely won't stay on the App Store for long. Of course, the real meter here is The Daily -- while it got a nice reaction at launch, if that model doesn't prove itself to be profitable or workable, publications may not bother with the App Store anyway. Even if they don't run apps through Apple's subscription channels, there's still Mobile Safari and conventional paywalls. [via App Advice]
Periodicals on App Store must offer in-app subscriptions by March 31
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple will require any subscription-based periodical apps on the App Store to offer an in-app purchase option by March 31 or else face rejection. While that may sound like a fairly draconian demand on Apple's part, the Journal also notes (albeit way down in the article) that Apple is still allowing publishers to offer subscription purchasing options outside the App Store so long as in-app purchasing is offered, too. While the Journal says Apple hasn't commented on what this means for e-book apps like Amazon's Kindle reader, I'll go out on a limb and say that Sony's recent "the sky is falling" media frenzy following the rejection of its Reader app was likely much ado about nothing. So long as Apple still allows content purchased outside of the app's in-app purchase mechanism, there doesn't seem to be anything untoward going on here. The road ahead still looks slightly bumpy, however; while in-app subscription purchasing is a potential boon to users, there's no indication that Apple's giving up its 30 percent cut of in-app purchase sales. That might be more than some companies are willing to swallow, Amazon in particular, so it's unclear how certain publishers will react to the mandatory in-app purchasing rules even if off-app purchasing is still allowed. We'll be watching very carefully how Apple's relationship with publishers plays out over the next couple of months [via Engadget]
