Game industry pundits have developed a peculiar malady over the last few years. Analysts (both professional and amateur) continue to proclaim the death of the PC gaming market, pointing to tumbling NPD sales numbers, shrinking shelf space at retailers, and announcements by major development houses that they are moving to console only. Contradictory enthusiasts, fan boys and apologists alike quickly rise to the bait, pointing to major titles like the Sims or World of Warcraft expansions, which co… Continue

This post is meant to explain the differences between all the moving parts of what a publisher needs to monetize a game.

Let's start with DEFINITIONS:

Markets:
Primary Market - publisher to gamer
Secondary Market - gamer to gamer

Virtual Item Trading Companies - entities that provide the platform for trading/selling/managing virtual items in a storefront.
Examples (alpha order):
- Fat Foogoo (www.fatfoogoo.com)
- Live Gamer (www.livegamer.com)
- Play Span (www.playspan.com)
- Ve… Continue

Just like any other industry, the game industry is a fluid and moving target that changes from year to year, even month to month in many cases. Over the years we’ve seen several notable shifts occurring. Those who play computer games have shifted to a much younger population, games have been blessed with 3D graphics and 30” LCD monitors, the Internet has given us a key way to share our experiences, and porn has largely been removed from the industry's advertisement toolbox (unfortunately).… Continue

I was recently asked if the LOGIN Conference was just for MMO developers. It's a valid question, but it is illustrative of what I believe to be a significant hurdle for those in the online games industry. I'll answer the question first, and then talk a bit more about the proble… Continue