If you are into MMOs like EVE, Everquest, WoW or others then you will want to check out Total MMO.
It's a new show about the worlds of MMOs, tips, tricks, reviews. And its brought to you by Next New Networks. In addition to the show there is a blog and also viewers/readers are encouraged to comment and upload video as well. Hope you like it.
(disclosure: we are investors in NNN)
We have had Xbox and PS2 for years.
Those machines only get a workout when my nephews come over. Usually Kevin destroys me or I get a break once in awhile and take him at Madden 200x.
Then we picked up the Nintendo Wii
Howard, Lindsay and howard's son are hilarious in this Wallstrip show covering Nintendo and the Wii. So funny.
After the SendMe board meeting today I got a chance to play with the Nintendo Wii
My form was lousy, my hand is a bit sore but I had a blast. I gotta get one of these :)
Sophia got her first Tamagotchi today. For those of you unfamiliar, Tamagotchi (wikepedia link, corporate link) is a digital pet that was originally brought to market in 1996.
It took Sophia about 10 minutes to figure out the basics of her new toy. The device reminds you to take care of it, feed it, play with it and even discipline it or praise it. She named her pet "ben". Already I can see why kids love these things.
It's interesting to see how she plays with the tamagotchi which has little/zero internet experience. On the other hand her physical Webkinz toy has little to do with the rich online experience.
There is a huge opportunity for someone to create an easy to use, fun, interactive physical toy (aimed at kids 8-13) that has a rich connection to the online virtual world.
Our kids first introduced us to Webkinz in December. I blogged about it then.
Well my kids aren't bored of it yet. They now own more pets and have more stuff going on in their virtual Webkinz world than ever. Their buddy lists are booming. I'm sure they would spend more time and money on this if we weren't setting limits.
Todays NYT describes the Webkinz craze. I like the idea of marrying physical products with online services. In the Webkinz case there is a very light integration between the virtual and real world.
I think we will see more toys and CE products that have a closer relationship to their online counterparts.
It's inevitable. And it's exciting to think about the possibilities.
Nabeel has a great post about the success of microtransactions of virtual products in gaming.
In addition to sharing various microtransaction success stories, he also hits home on a point that he's been making for a long time. Nabeel's thesis has been that MMO's are not hit driven like movies or console games. They are more like social networks.
I didn't think this was true when Nabeel first told me this idea last year but I'm getting it now. Certainly there are plenty of exceptions but generally I like this notion a lot.
My friend Nabeel organized a fun and interesting event last night called the Future of Gaming. It was held at MIT.
He invited a number of well known game designers, developers, entrepreneurs and industry folks to get together and talk about the opportunities and challenges in the future of gaming. Lots of opinions about how games will be financed, created, distributed and monetized in the future. There was also some entertaining discussion comparing VCs to publishers that made some good points but generally the comparison doesn't work.
In honor of one of Boston's coolest gaming companies, Nabeel had Guitar Hero set up and we had a chance to rock out.
But best of all, the local gaming scene in Boston is very strong. Long history of gaming companies from Boston and lots of new startups too. I think Nabeel mentioned that there are 50 gaming companies in Boston these days.
Thanks to Nabeel for making it happen. I hope he blogs about it soon.
Last week my partner Santo told me about the American International Toy Fair taking place in NYC. The show ends tomorrow.
I tried to rearrange my schedule to make at least one day but I'm going to miss it. I'm bummed.
Looks like there was some great stuff shown at the event. I've been seeing (& buying) a bunch of internet connected toys lately. Social networks connected to physical toys. Powerful combination.
There are a lot of opinions about Second Life these days. A lot of bullish commentary and cynical stuff too.
Raph Koster presents hard numbers with an nice analysis. I learned a lot.
Wow, things must be awkward at Sony. NYT reports that Wii is outselling PS3 in Japan even though they came to market 3 weeks later. As of Jan 7, the Wii has outsold PS3 2:1.
My friend Nabeel was right. Nintendo changed the game. They created a new category. And now the numbers show they are winning broadly as well.
I love when the small guy delivers.
Santa brought my kids Webkinz for Christmas.
It was on the top of their Christmas list. (DDR was the next in line). I thought Webkinz was just a cheap stuffed animal but boy was I wrong.
It's basically Second Life for young kids. My 5 and 7 year old are completely hooked.
With each stuffed animal comes a unique code that kids use to register on Webkinz World's site. In Webkinz World "members" create a profile, take care of their virtual pet, play games (single player or with other kids) and communicate with other owners. There is virtual money called Kinzcash which is used for shopping (pet clothes, room decorations, pet toys, etc), buying food or services at the clinic. Sophia is amassing a ton of Kinzcash. Ellie is spending it as fast as she gets it.
Last night Sophia played some kid in checkers and they were IMing each other with canned messages like "hurry up" and "get ready to rock" (they don't allow customized messages). It's very easy to use and built with Flash. My kids got it right away.
The virtual world expires after a year as an incentive to buy another Webkinz stuffed animal. I think they are missing a big opportunity with the current business model.
But they nailed the user experience and the target market.
PC World has a fun & interesting article about the history of game consoles. The coolest part is that they include the TV ads for those consoles.
I remember with fondness the Colecovision. That machine was killer.
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