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[1.Local]: I can haz in-jokes
Reader comments -- ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.The green-eyed loot monster contemplating readers from the top of this week's We Have a Tabard appeared to be the source of some agitation for one reader. "I wish each and every person who ever used an 'I can haz' joke was firebombed into oblivion, including the author of this story who posted that braindead image," complained Preston. "Internet memes are some of the dumbest trends on the planet."Readers seemed to feel otherwise, peppering this week's comments with insider jokes, geek references, internet memes and a generally wry outlook on WoW and life. Join hands around the bonfire, boys and girls, and let us indulge in an entire post's worth of internet memes and dumb trends ... courtesy of our very own readers.
Which class gets invited as what?
Veritable Avarice, a new blog on moneymaking in WoW, took a break from financial discussion and looked at class representation in tank, DPS, and healing roles by filtering and comparing data available from WoW Popular. Spec population was then checked against class population data available from Warcraft Realm's census and three live realms. Data differences, according to VA, weren't statistically relevant, and he/she is pretty sure that the numbers are at least a ballpark representation of which class is most likely to be filling a particular role within a group. I play a Druid, so that's really what I feel comfortable commenting on here. While I can't speak to the ultimate accuracy of the numbers, I do a lot of pugging and have to admit that VA's data seems pretty close to what I've seen on my own server. The tank numbers are also consistent with a few things Ghostcrawler's mentioned recently concerning the overwhelming population advantage still held by Warrior tanks, although I wonder whether the Feral statistics are somewhat inflated here by the overlap between Bear and Cat specs. Feral tanks have all but vanished from 5-mans on my server, and it's not uncommon for me to get comments from healers that I'm the first Bear they've healed in months. Less surprising is the representation advantage held by Druid healers. Trees are insanely good in Ulduar, and between this, the rise of the Death Knight, and the de-suckaging of the Protection Warrior spec, that probably accounts for the gradual disappearance of the Bear. Also thought-provoking is just how few Druids hold a share of the DPS pie.I'd love to hear from members of other classes on the data and how closely it dovetails into their own experience. There's a quick note for Warrior players (or anyone interested in the DPS graph) past the cut, as there's a small mistake on the relevant graph.
World of Warcraft trends big on Twitter video games
TweetMyGaming is a site started up by our friends over at gamerDNA (they routinely contribute to our sister site Massively, including sharing some great information on WoW's demographics), and while the site is designed to track all mentions of video games on Twitter, one game has more or less dominated the discussion since the site debuted about a month ago. Well, actually, it was The Sims 3 -- apparently as big as World of Warcraft is, it still can't stop EA's Sims series for sheer popularity (or top the series in sales). But still, WoW is sitting at a respectable number two in tweets, and watching the feed go by over on the game's page lets you in on all the different slices of the game's community, from the hardcore raiders to the folks just trying to grab some time to play.Of course, all of the values on the site are constantly changing, and we're sure they're still tweaking the formula of how games move up and down the list -- The Sims 3 is coming hot off of its release a few weeks ago, and while WoW has a vibrant twitter community for sure, the news about mounts and the new patch 3.2 information last week probably helped keep it up on the radar (just wait and see what happens over BlizzCon -- I wouldn't be surprised to see WoW-related topics trending over Twitter at large).But WoW is definitely a game that people talk about no matter what's in the news lately. Interesting, but not surprising, that it's holding its own even among the trendiest games on Twitter.
Ten things WoW players should know from E3
Blizzard, as you probably already know, was not at E3 this year (officially, anyway -- they did have at least a few folks wandering the exhibit halls). But that doesn't mean there wasn't anything for you WoW fans: both Elizabeth Harper and I were there from WoW.com working with our sister sites Joystiq and Massively, and as WoW fans, we saw plenty of awesome games and demos that you should know about.So even if you haven't been paying attention to E3 information on other sites, here's a quick wrapup of ten different things you should know from last week's big convention if you're a WoW player. There were no big expansion announcements or hints at future Blizzard releases -- they're saving all of that for BlizzCon this year. But there were a few games to watch, a few booths to marvel at, and a few trends to notice that you'll want to be aware of even if you're spending most or all of your gaming time in Azeroth. Hit the break for the first four.
The rise and fall of class popularity
While writing the most recent Shifting Perspectives column and browsing old records on Druid population statistics, I started to wonder about the various factors that play a role in how popular a class becomes. While Blizzard and Blizzard alone has the exact numbers on who's playing what, various fan sites have honed data collection strategies over the years and amassed a pretty impressive pile of numbers. This only got easier when the Armory launched in spring 2007, and by now I'd be surprised if players weren't at least broadly accurate about overall trends. If we can trust what we see, how we do best explain fluctuations in class popularity? Has Arena success (or the lack thereof) been as influential as we think? Is class population an accurate, albeit crude, guide to the overall "quality" of a class at any given moment -- or just a guide to the perceived "quality?" I'd be interested to hear what people think.Having played a Druid since the beginning of Burning Crusade and observed it going from the second least-played class at 60 to the third or fourth most-played class at 80, I have my own theories about what's influenced Druid population numbers particularly, but I need to do a little more digging before I can be sure. However, I don't know whether any of it really applies to other classes, and the meteoric rise of the Death Knight is a thought-provoking (and somewhat troubling) trend.
The keys to App Store success, courtesy of Pinch Media
Just about every conversation I have with an iPhone developer who's had any level of App Store success eventually (usually sooner rather than later) includes the question, "what worked for you?" I've been trying to distill some kind of pattern -- a sure-fire marketing tactic -- but there are just too many variables. There are the ones which developers can control (to some extent): the general timing of a release (give or take a month), pricing, quality, external promotion, and certain aspects of the marketing process. There are also variables beyond the developer's control, such as the review process, being featured on an App Store list, the existence and tactics of competitors, duplication and an array of shifting circumstances and bad behavior. What we need is more data, right?Pinch Media's Jesse Rohland & Greg Yardley, the gracious providers of some great App Store RSS feeds and developers of tools for iPhone app metrics, just published a slideshow (you can see it in the 2nd half of this post) which was presented at the New York iPhone Developers Meetup, sharing analysis of the data and trends they've been observing. Snazzy charts? Witty banter? Sound advice? Check, check and check. Whether you're curious about the effects of price drops, various usage stats for free versus paid apps or the mathematics of breaking even (maybe turning a profit?), statistical analysis could be your friend. I know, real friends are nicer and more helpful on moving day, but that's what you get for spending all your time writing iPhone applications in dimly-lit rooms. I kid, of course: enjoy the show ...
Tracking the iPhone hype generator
Fortune's Apple 2.0 got a nice little graph up of just where and when the iPhone's hype machine went into overdrive. There's no question it was a gigantic brand last year, but what's interesting is just how manufactured and "by design" each of those spikes are. B on the chart above is the actual iPhone launch, and E and F are the 3G debut and store launch. Fortune relates point A to the Cisco lawsuit against Apple over the "iPhone" name, but let's be real: that was just part of the story of the gigantic iPhone reveal (which took place one day before, not two). So the real story here isn't necessarily that Apple masterfully created a smartphone that revolutionized the industry and made tons of money doing it, but that they coordinated a hype machine that marched to their tune whenever they wanted. The red line above, as you can see, is Palm, and while there are a few spikes along that line (probably interest in various new products and releases), there's nothing like the excitement and hype that shoots up around a big Apple event. The iPhone is a feat of engineering in itself, but the hype machine behind it is pretty well-built, too.
A look at the most significant MMO trends of 2008
As we get more involved in what makes an MMO player tick, development studios are trying their hardest to keep up with the trends. Ten years ago, we were happy to have any environment in which to socialize and experience a gaming world with our friends, or meet other gamers with the same interests. Now though, if a lightsaber looks "too big", there will be riots in the streets... or at least the forums.Over at Gamasutra, our own Michael Zenke takes a look at the hottest MMO trends in 2008, and what we should watch in regards to how they'll evolve into 2009. Some of these include microtransactions in the West, user-created content and the fact that the Triple A fantasy genre has been solved. Check out the entire article, and whether you agree or disagree, let us know what you think in the comments below.
Pascal's thoughts on multiplayer games
Pascal Luban at Gamasutra is now up to part three in his series on the multiplayer megatrend in the game industry. Part one explored how game creators use multiplayer modes, online distribution, and downloadable content to increase the life span of the game. Microtransactions are also used to increase the money-making potential and also increase the speed at which "fast games" can be consumed. Finally, he explored how more interactive, believable environments enhance the gaming experience and will continue to do so as rendering abilities increase over time.The second article explored the accessibility of games and the need to play them in smaller bursts rather than long marathon sessions. This stems mainly from the types of players (meaning more casual and older players). The latest discussion is around cooperative games, quality control, mobile gaming. And then, buried on page 4 of the article, is the bit that hits us hard - asking once again if MMOs are a public health risk. There have been claims for years now that gaming addiction is a very real problem - and there have been many answers over that time. For us, we just know that we love the games and are going to continue playing them... and looking forward to the last part of this article series.
Research shows HDMI climbing, DVI slipping
It was already made clear that both HDMI and DVI have a struggle on their hands with DisplayPort entering the picture, but new research from In-Stat asserts that HDMI is still on the up and up while DVI is slowing fading away. The report found that HDMI sockets were included on a staggering 95% of all digital televisions shipped worldwide in 2008, which unsurprisingly goes down as "the greatest volume for HDMI in any product." It also found that the "vast majority" of DVI shipments occurred in PC and PC peripheral markets, noting that DVI-enabled product shipments would decline at an annual rate of 30% through 2012; in the same breath, we're told that HDMI-enabled product shipments would increase at an annual clip of 23% over the same period. Now, if only this research would have included DisplayPort, we'd really have ourselves a showdown.[Via CNET]
Global HDTV shipments exceed SDTVs for first time
The times, they are a-changin'. Back in February, we found that LCD TV shipments had surpassed CRTs for the first time in history. Now, an iSuppli report on HDTV growth has shown that HDTVs overtook standard-definition televisions "as the leading TV shipped globally" in 2008. Sure, the current economic environment may put a damper on HDTV sales for the moment, but the previously mentioned research sees no sign of growth slowing in the long-term. In fact, it forecasts that HDTV unit shipments will surge to 241.2 million by 2012, up from 97.1 million units in 2007; in comparison, it reckons that just 23.1 million SDTVs will ship out in 2012. Oh, and if you're eager for even more smile-worthy news, the report also suggests that HD set-top-boxes will represent 50% of the overall STB market in under four years. Time will tell.[Via InformationWeek, image courtesy of ThePoolSide]
Is WoW hitting a plateau?
Seems like a silly question with the imminent release of their second expansion just within our grasp, but over at Dailygame.net, they've speculated a bit on when that plateau might finally hit World of Warcraft. According to this article, based on information from MMOGchart.com and warcraftrealms.com, the rise in WoW's subscription numbers has traditionally peaked around the holiday seasons and expansion releases. This should come as no surprise to anyone, but it also points out that we're not seeing as gradual an increase in subscriptions throughout each peak season. The last sentence of the article sums it all up fairly well: "If at the end of 2009 WoW's total subscription numbers are less than 10 percent higher than they were when 2009 started, I will submit that WoW will have officially entered its plateau phase. But even if that transpires, and if after four to five years WoW has declined and leveled-off into a steady state of a mere three or four million worldwide subscribers, it will still be a cash cow." One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
How important is the $199 Xbox 360?
Microsoft has long acknowledged that it considers $200 the "sweet spot" of console price points. Now that the manufacturer has finally hit that sweet spot with the new $199 Xbox 360 Arcade, we've been wondering exactly what kind of impact Microsoft can expect, historically, in its bottom line. Luckily, Matt Matthews over at Edge Online did all the heavy lifting for us over a year ago, looking at the effect of system pricing on sales numbers in the last generation of the console wars.The results, as you can see above, are pretty clear. Only 13% of original Xbox systems sold at the $300 price point, and a plurality of sales came at an eventual floor of $150. Sony's PS2 similarly only sold a quarter of its eventual installed base at a price greater than $200 (Nintendo's Gamecube never sold for greater than $200).Of course, history is an imprecise guide here. The original Xbox dropped under $200 within six months of its initial release, while the Xbox 360 went nearly three years (exactly 1018 days) before hitting the sweet spot. And while the original Xbox also had competition from Sony and Nintendo, it didn't have to compete with "premium" configurations offered by Microsoft itself. Still, we can't imagine being the first current-gen system to be available for under two Benjamins will hurt sales of the system. For now, the unanswerable question remains: Exactly how much will it not hurt?
In a hardware sales photo finish, it's a Sony Nintendo tie!
It's a race that won't be finished until 2011, according to Chris Deering (former head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe), but he's already calling it a tie between Sony and Nintendo. Keep in mind, this was after week ending numbers came out showing over 40,000 Wii units sold in Japan, with the PS3 a distant 9,500 units sold. So, clearly there's a lot to do in three years.Deering arrived at these figures "by triangulating Screen Digest and IDG data. He also took into account factors such as the growth of hi-def and the grey gamer market, the emergence of new game engines and increasing ubiquity of wi-fi access" and we imagine he probably tried out runestones, tarot cards, and a ouija board just to be safe.What's impressive are the sheer numbers alone. He predicts that by 2011 both Sony and Nintendo will have sold 230 million total machines each (Sony: PS3 + PS2 + PSP; Nintendo: Wii + DS), and that the Xbox 360 will have reached a user base of 40 million. The only thing is, the 360 has already reached the 20 million mark, so he thinks it'll continue on that track for the next three years at exactly the same pace, due to the "set-top box hi-def phenomenon."He also concludes that the number of potential gamers will reach 2.5 billion due to the amounts of consoles, computers, and mobile phones sold, to which we say... isn't everyone a potential gamer?
Spotting celebs with the iPhone
Obama and Lindsay Lohan are far from the only people rocking the iPhone lately -- a new site called "Coolspotters" claims to track brands and the celebrities that use them, and the iPhone is pretty cool lately. 32 celebrities have been spotted -- everyone from Mike Tyson to Heidi Klum to Rose McGowan (pictured, though that really could be anyone, couldn't it?). In fact, the Apple iPhone is actually the most popular product on the site right now -- one spot above something called the Omnipeace t-shirt (yes, but does it have a multitouch screen?), and two spots above the MacBook Air.Because everyone knows you need a site to tell you that what you own is cool, right? Of course, they are cheating a little bit -- I don't think the fact that Steve Jobs is using something necessarily makes it cool. Otherwise, we'd all have seen celebs toting around Newtons.Still, if seeing celebs use the same product you have is your thing, the iPhone's got you covered there, too. Can't say it influenced my purchase much, but good to see that the rich and famous are catching on to what's been TUAW's favorite tech-cessory for a while.[via Kottke]
MMOGology: Gamerz is speshul
Gamers have always taken a degree of flack about their hobby of choice. Some people call gaming a waste of time (whereas watching TV is completely productive), some people bash it as anti-social escapism (whereas reading a book is akin to attending a gala), some people deride it for its focus on violent content (whereas Hollywood blockbusters, boxing, and the nightly news are G-rated and chock full of joy), and some people despise it for its potentially addictive properties (cigarettes are a far safer alternative). I could go on. As a result, gamers are often seen as grumpy, antisocial slackers. But of all the labels associated with gamers one of the latest is just plain retarded - literally.At a recent British Psychological Society convention it was announced that, "hard core gamers can mirror certain aspects of Asperger's Syndrome." For those of you who don't know, Asperger's Syndrome is a psychiatric disorder on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum of psychiatric disorders. Asperger's is typically characterized by impairments in social interactions and repetitive behavior patterns. Dr. Charlton, one of the researchers on the study states that, "Our research supports the idea that people who are heavily involved in game playing may be nearer to autistic spectrum disorders than people who have no interest in gaming."
Shocker: consumers are buying larger screen HDTVs
We've heard some pretty outlandish claims about the recommended screen size for the "average" American den, but a new writeup over at Channel4 is suggesting that even Europeans are gravitating towards larger sets. Reportedly, Sharp is estimating that "the average size of TVs bought across Europe will increase to 60-inches by 2015," and moreover, retailer Comet has stated that the "average size of its TV screens has increased to 30-inches from 25-inches two years ago." Of course, it's not like this is all that surprising -- after all, the general rule of thumb (for better or worse) in TV buying is that bigger is always better. Couple that with the tanking prices across the HDTV board and you've got a recipe for big-screen upgrade fever. Notably, Comet also proclaimed that it had seen a 7,000-percent (yes, that's correct) uptick in sales of 50-inch sets over the past two years, and needless to say, that category has become the outfit's fastest growing. Hey, who needs 32-inches when that 80-incher is within budget?
DVD player sales sinking, no one surprised
Earlier this year, we saw reports that hinted at "flat" DVD sales for the remainder of 2007, so it follows logic to hear that standalone DVD players are seeing a similar fate. Reportedly, around 80-percent of US consumers have a DVD player somewhere in their domicile, which reinforces the fact that the market is pretty well saturated. Furthermore, sales of the aforementioned units have "declined 15-percent for the 12 months ending September 2007," and that's coming off of a 24-percent slide the year before. As for DVD recorders, things aren't look too much brighter; sales of these gizmos were also down 15-percent during the year ending September 2007, which is quite a change from the 50-percent uptick it saw during the same window last year. Still, none of this should come as a surprise to anyone remotely paying attention, as the age of HD films has officially arrived -- even though we've yet to choose a single format to lead us down glory road. Nevertheless, we still foresee quite a few people picking up incredibly inexpensive DVD players as gifts this holiday season, but we highly doubt you'll need to throw down on anyone in aisle five this year to get your hands on one.[Image courtesy of NY Times]
A new round of funny guild names
Adam on the WoW LJ pulled some funny guild names from the new Wowhead forums, and while I was pretty sure that funny guild names had become the oldest joke in the WoW humor book (c'mon, who hasn't heard of a guild called "Riders of Lohan" or "Gnomeland Security" by now?), there are actually some new good ones here.RPness is RisingThe Coming of ArwangThrobbing GronnFat Kids Are Hard To KidnapGET OFF MY LAWNShe Said She was Lvl 18Dont Daze Me BroSome of them just tend towards a more offensive taste (I've excluded a few from the list that aren't super appropriate, but there are a few still on there that might rub those with strong sensibilities the wrong way), but there is an interesting trend here-- not only are there new Outland references, but there are new references to pop culture floating around.And that's super interesting to me-- funny guild names as indicators of cultural trends. So I guess it's about time we took another look-- in the past few months since we last listed funny guild names, what new ones have you heard? Are there any that have come about recently, due to either new WoW content, or real-world happenings?
Harrison: 35 million US Wiis by 2012
The success of the Wii has Nintendo feeling pretty confident about themselves. They've sold about 2.5 million units since launch, and probably would have sold more if there had been more.Naturally, the six months following launch are completely representative of the console's whole life cycle, which is why Nintendo of America VP George Harrison, in a statement to Bloomberg, was confident enough to predict that the United States would have an install base of 35 million Wiis by 2012.We aren't business experts, but we think Harrison might be committing a Disco Stu Fallacy here. "Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976? If these trends continue...ayyyyy!"
