I mean, seriously.
-Adam!!!
Friday, June 20, 2008
A Million Dollar Idea
What if:
A game site sold game downloads for $1 each.
The site also offered game developers a one million dollar prize for the first game that reached one million downloads (in addition to standard compensation, whatever that is.) If a developer can make something that one million people will pay a buck for, they get the money. Of course, the site's still making money off the other games, plus the money after the prize is awarded.
The real issue is figuring out what people will pay, and how much more you can sell with a really low price. It costs nearly the same to ship 1,000,000 copies of an online game as it does 50,000,000. Would 20x more people buy a $1 game as a $20? Popcap thinks the answer is no, but their dev costs are way higher than average.
What about flash/java games? There are plenty that are worth a buck, though perhaps not with all the free stuff out there. There's also a concern that something that costs $1 isn't worth as much as something that costs $20, even if a publisher can make the same amount with both pricing options.
Seth Godin recently touched on a similar issue regarding Ebooks, and I think the same model applies to online gaming.
-Adam!!!
A game site sold game downloads for $1 each.
The site also offered game developers a one million dollar prize for the first game that reached one million downloads (in addition to standard compensation, whatever that is.) If a developer can make something that one million people will pay a buck for, they get the money. Of course, the site's still making money off the other games, plus the money after the prize is awarded.
The real issue is figuring out what people will pay, and how much more you can sell with a really low price. It costs nearly the same to ship 1,000,000 copies of an online game as it does 50,000,000. Would 20x more people buy a $1 game as a $20? Popcap thinks the answer is no, but their dev costs are way higher than average.
What about flash/java games? There are plenty that are worth a buck, though perhaps not with all the free stuff out there. There's also a concern that something that costs $1 isn't worth as much as something that costs $20, even if a publisher can make the same amount with both pricing options.
Seth Godin recently touched on a similar issue regarding Ebooks, and I think the same model applies to online gaming.
-Adam!!!
Spore: You Rate Me and I'll Rate You Right Back!
Logged in Spore users are allowed to rate each other's creations, helping to ensure the cooler ones make their way to the top of the popularity mountain. With 600,000 creatures already uploaded in the last two days, I'm not concerned with mine getting noticed. What I am concerned about is the BAD rating one of my favorite creatures received! Any Spore fans reading this, please take a look at my creatures and give them a thumbs up if you like them.
If you have creatures you'd like me to check out, just let me know. I promise no thumbs down if you do too!
-Adam!!!
Who would give this little cutie a thumbs down?
If you have creatures you'd like me to check out, just let me know. I promise no thumbs down if you do too!
-Adam!!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
S'more S'pore
Is it the best $10 I've ever spent? Not sure. It's far from the worst. I've got the full Creature Creator now, and it's easily $10 more fun than the trial version. You can see my creatures on my Spore Site. For some reason, only my Basilisk shows up on the Spore site of 400,000+creatures (in two days) and while I'm proud of Basi, my Rust Monster is probably a little cooler.
This little guy is doing his dance...
Awwww...cute!
-Adam!!!
This little guy is doing his dance...
Awwww...cute!
-Adam!!!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Spoooooooooooooooooooooooooooore!
I've been waiting for this for quite a while. I'm extremely excited about Spore, and the Creature Creator Trial is a great taste of what's to come. I made this creature in about ten minutes. I've made four since downloading the demo a couple of hours ago. It's a lot of fun.
The Creature Creator made it simple to upload videos like to my YouTube account. As you might imagine, there's quite a few there already.
Update: I've added the Spore App in Facebook. I'm looking forward to it working (it really doesn't, yet.)
-Adam!!!
The Creature Creator made it simple to upload videos like to my YouTube account. As you might imagine, there's quite a few there already.
Update: I've added the Spore App in Facebook. I'm looking forward to it working (it really doesn't, yet.)
-Adam!!!
Who Are You?
When internet chat began, the only ID you had was your conversation partners' names. Nowadays, customizing avatars has gotten to the point where you can recognize other users' avatars based on their appearance, in addition to their always visible name.
What if a virtual world abandoned the default practice of automatically displaying a pre-defined name (made up, anyway), with the option of getting to know a person's name more like in the real world - Introductions and communication (asking!)?
What if YOU chose the names of the virtual people you interact with? What would be the difference? What if you could see the names other people chose for you...?
From a practical standpoint, the current system is probably the most efficient. People with nametags are generally more approachable than people without (Hi, my name is Scott!) but put in the context of a VW game where anonymity is desirable or part of the obstacles that must be overcome, it would be a cool way to set a site apart from everything else.
-XXXX!!!
What if a virtual world abandoned the default practice of automatically displaying a pre-defined name (made up, anyway), with the option of getting to know a person's name more like in the real world - Introductions and communication (asking!)?
What if YOU chose the names of the virtual people you interact with? What would be the difference? What if you could see the names other people chose for you...?
From a practical standpoint, the current system is probably the most efficient. People with nametags are generally more approachable than people without (Hi, my name is Scott!) but put in the context of a VW game where anonymity is desirable or part of the obstacles that must be overcome, it would be a cool way to set a site apart from everything else.
-XXXX!!!
Putting the amp in Champions
Cryptic, the fine folks who brought us City of Heroes/Villains, is working on the Champions MMORPG. As I've posted before, I can't wait.
Here's an Escapist Magazine interview with long-time Champs creator Mike Long. He seems really optimistic about the project, as am I!
-Adam!!!
Here's an Escapist Magazine interview with long-time Champs creator Mike Long. He seems really optimistic about the project, as am I!
Somebody needs to cut down on the spicy food
-Adam!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)