The guys were unable to find news for a good podcast, and instead did a Jackbox Party. Enjoy the goofing around!
Special Episode: Jackbox Party Time
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Preparing for Popcap Bejeweled Twist Launch PartyPreparing for Popcap Bejeweled Twist Launch Party
I’m here in Seattle Washington awaiting tonight’s Bejeweled Twist launch party. It was a long trip considering Chicago’s the leading city for airport traffic and the wind didn’t allow for a speedy departure. Arriving at 2:00 a.m left me cold, hungry and in dire need of sleep.
Today it’s bright and sunny, still cold as hell, but slightly well rested and awaiting the upcoming launch of Bejeweled Twist. This is by far the biggest launch for a casual game that I’ve seen in the history of casual games so the experience should be a great one. We’re not talking about Bejeweled Cookies anymore, this is the real thing. I’ve got the camera ready and I’ll get some photos and experiences later tonight.
Peggle Nights Contest UpdatePeggle Nights Contest Update
For those that haven’t posted on the forum or send us an e-mail about our Peggle Nights contest, it’s time to get in the action! The free Peggle Nights game giveaway will expire soon and we want as many contestants as possible.
We’ve got many great entries, we’ll be reading off some of the e-mails we received about our podcast contest this week along with some of the great forum posts. Those that love Peggle have a passion and desire for the title, so the next one is sure to be a hit.
For those that have already written in, sent e-mails or otherwise contacted us, we appreciate your efforts. Make sure you listen to the gaming podcast for all the details on the contest.
Future Gaming is Family GamingFuture Gaming is Family Gaming
Gaming is mainstream and growing, this is obvious to most video game enthusiasts. Even Jack Thompson has failed in taking down the industry in his efforts on video game violence and general FUD. In order to survive in a mainstream environment publishers and developers are going to target a broad demographic to make them as much money as possible.
The game industry, like other entertainment avenues, is a risky business in which publishers have to pick titles they “predict” will do well in the market while passing on other “risky” propositions. While a the good ol’ shooter title will break sales records, the market cannot rely on one genre to carry the business especially considering many of these titles are forgotten within two months from launch. Publishers are going to be forced in expanding their reach to “family games” in order to finance new blockbuster titles.
Enter family gaming.
The idea of designing a “family” game isn’t new to our industry, as a matter of fact, it’s one of the oldest cornerstones of video game entertainment. Pong, Centipede, Pac-Man, Space Invaders and many other classic titles were no doubt playable by the entire family, but things have changed. We’ve evolved from hit titles like Donkey Kong to hit titles like Halo. We migrated from 2D gaming to full 3D adventures and pixel graphics to pixel shaders, but where do we go next?
Nintendo has the correct vision for the next stage of the video game industry and it involves bringing the entire family into gaming. It’s mainstream, right? Mainstream isn’t your dad playing a video game in the basement after the kids go to bed, it’s replacing Sorry with Spore and bringing out Wii Sports and having little family tournaments. We must respect what the big titles have done for the industry in merchandising, novels, sequels and spin-offs but we should not rely on them to carry us into the next generation of gaming.