Convergence

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 problem and how to overcome it.

LOGIN is about online games. If you like acronyms, you could think of it this way: Leaders + Online Games + International + Networking. Many people have attempted definitions of online games, and I prefer this one: "games incorporating an online connection as a key component of their entertainment offering". That clearly encompasses MMO games. If you don't have an internet connection, you can't connect to the game server, and your "entertainment offering" is going to be pretty severely limited. But it also includes a lot of other games, some of which people don't consider online games or even games at all.

For example, I consider games built on top of social networking platforms (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Bebo) to be online games. Without the social network built on top of a ready internet connnection, these games wouldn't exist. There's no doubt these games are popular. Texas HoldEm Poker (developed by Zynga) boasts over 10,000,000 monthly active users. That's a user base most "traditional" game developers would be quite happy to have, paid sales or not. But is it online? Multiplayer? Check. Chat with friends online? Check.

You could also argue that the networks are games unto themselves. Consider the fervor with which some "players" build their social networks. Whether you're throwing sheep at people or comparing film tastes, it's hard to argue that it isn't a form of social entertainment. But is it a game? That's where things get a bit trickier.

Let's consider virtual worlds for a moment. Those in the VW community have worked very hard in the past several years to distinguish themselves from "games". Perhaps this is due to the widespread misconception that games are for children, and virtual worlds are for adults. Or virtual worlds are for serious social interaction, and games are for trivial entertainment. Or possibly that games have an understood set of rules with clear winners and losers, and virtual worlds are open sandbox environments. But by this latter definition, most MMOs would not be games at all, but rather virtual worlds. Clearly, World of Warcraft does not have winners and losers, and players are writing their own narrative arc. This is even more true when you consider admittedly more obscure offerings like A Tale in the Desert.

Virtual worlds offer "players" a chance to be anyone they like, and when one considers the most fundamental form of play - roleplaying - it becomes clear that even virtual worlds are games in the purest sense: interactive entertainment.

LOGIN encompasses all of these: MMOs, social network games, virtual worlds, iPhone games, and online console games. This isn't simply an attempt to circumscribe a large portion of the online entertainment space. I firmly believe that each of these self-identified groups of developers have a lot to learn from and a lot of value to offer each other.

Because of the increasing complexity of game development, most developers describe what they do in terms of their particular area of expertise or niche. "I make MMOs" or "I'm building Facebook games". This helps explain things to those outside our industry, and also helps funnel the investor money when the buzzwords are popular. But I think we do ourselves and our audience a disservice when we build walls around our niches to the exclusion of other ideas. There are more similarities between these types of games than there are differences. The disciplines aren't as discrete as they first seem. Most importantly, the key ideas for success are transcendent beyond the media, and those who are able to synthesize the key factors from all of them are going to be the major success stories of tomorrow.

MMOs aren't just about men in tights, social networks aren't just about connecting with old high school friends, and virtual worlds aren't just about advertising consumer goods. Each of these forms of entertainment have value and potential beyond their walled gardens.

LOGIN is about integrating all these ideas, and bringing together the smartest and the brightest in online games to make the holy grail in interactive entertainment. We don't believe the ceiling is anywhere near being reached for active players, subscribers, concurrent users, or however you want to qualify your numerical success. There are huge advantages in the synergies and convergence of MMOs, virtual worlds, and social networks.

This week we bring you an interview with Robert Ferrari, who has recently joined Sanrio Digital as the VP Publishing & Business Development, as he talks about how they are actively integrating these ideas in HKO and beyond. We also show you how LOGIN and our attendees are connected in the age of social networking, and how you can be part of the network.