Showing posts with label scrabulous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scrabulous. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Scrabu-More!! Wordscraper
That didn't take long. Woo Hoo. Now I can uninstall that crap Scrabble plug-in (after defeating my wife, natch!)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Scrabu-Less
Hasbro/EA's new Scrabble (Beta) Facebook app shuts Scrabulous down.
It happened, my favorite* Facebook app, Scrabulous, is gone. In its place is Hasbro/EA's Scrabble Beta Facebook app. I find it hilarious that the new Scrabble game is currently non-functional and there are over 400 threads (not posts, threads) full of anger and spite against the game giant and its strong-arm tactics. I'd say 1 in 50 has a nice thing to say about the new game.
No Scrabulous.
No Scrabble.
I imagine in a day or so we'll see what the real reaction to Scrabble will be. The reaction to a playable Scrabble game. I suspect the hard-core Scrabble and Scrabulous fans will play, though some reluctantly. Angry casual players (like me*) will abandon Scrabble in all its versions altogether, and new players will gravitate to it at a similar rate to the original Scrabulous.
* Yes, Scrabulous was my favorite Facebook app and still not particularly dear to me. Facebook apps don't do much for me, at least so far. The Spore app is my new favorite Facebook app.
Edit: Scrabble Beta is up and running now. My first word...tong.
-Adam!!!
It happened, my favorite* Facebook app, Scrabulous, is gone. In its place is Hasbro/EA's Scrabble Beta Facebook app. I find it hilarious that the new Scrabble game is currently non-functional and there are over 400 threads (not posts, threads) full of anger and spite against the game giant and its strong-arm tactics. I'd say 1 in 50 has a nice thing to say about the new game.
No Scrabulous.
No Scrabble.
I imagine in a day or so we'll see what the real reaction to Scrabble will be. The reaction to a playable Scrabble game. I suspect the hard-core Scrabble and Scrabulous fans will play, though some reluctantly. Angry casual players (like me*) will abandon Scrabble in all its versions altogether, and new players will gravitate to it at a similar rate to the original Scrabulous.
* Yes, Scrabulous was my favorite Facebook app and still not particularly dear to me. Facebook apps don't do much for me, at least so far. The Spore app is my new favorite Facebook app.
Edit: Scrabble Beta is up and running now. My first word...tong.
-Adam!!!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Platformations
The Scrabulous/Scrabble thing really got me thinking about platforms and how they relate to intellectual property (IP). Scrabulous did Scrabble a huge service by providing the game on a new platform. It's unclear whether or not there would be a Scrabble on Facebook unless Scrabulous proved there is a demand for it.
This puts fan-developers in a tight spot. If they want to introduce a beloved game to a new platform, they have to deal with the corporate command-and-control legal machines that still dominate our info-wants-to-be-free world. Hasbro has made their position clear. They don't want anyone having fun with their property unless they are directly involved. At least that's a position. In most other cases you just have to guess whether the 'rightful owner' cares whether or not you release a game on a new platform, be it Facebook, the I Phone, or whatever cutting edge thing is coming down the virtual pike. If you're lucky, unhappy IP owners will just tell you to stop. If you're unlucky, they might sue.
The creation of great ideas has never been the hard part. See: inspiration vs perspiration. The hard part is turning those ideas into something of value to the world. The law should go further to protect people (and companies) who create that value, rather than protecting those who have great ideas but are unable or unwilling to share them in ways that provide the most value to the public.
There are a lot of pitfalls in my suggestion, but nothing we couldn't sort out with some work. Just an idea that alone will bring little value to the world.
-Adam!!!
This puts fan-developers in a tight spot. If they want to introduce a beloved game to a new platform, they have to deal with the corporate command-and-control legal machines that still dominate our info-wants-to-be-free world. Hasbro has made their position clear. They don't want anyone having fun with their property unless they are directly involved. At least that's a position. In most other cases you just have to guess whether the 'rightful owner' cares whether or not you release a game on a new platform, be it Facebook, the I Phone, or whatever cutting edge thing is coming down the virtual pike. If you're lucky, unhappy IP owners will just tell you to stop. If you're unlucky, they might sue.
The creation of great ideas has never been the hard part. See: inspiration vs perspiration. The hard part is turning those ideas into something of value to the world. The law should go further to protect people (and companies) who create that value, rather than protecting those who have great ideas but are unable or unwilling to share them in ways that provide the most value to the public.
There are a lot of pitfalls in my suggestion, but nothing we couldn't sort out with some work. Just an idea that alone will bring little value to the world.
-Adam!!!
Friday, July 25, 2008
SUE is only worth 3 points
It looks like it has finally happened, Hasbro is suing the facebook app, Scrabulous.
Last year they 'requested' scrabulous be taken down, it wasn't, and now Hasbro and EA have released an 'official' Scrabble facebook app. I haven't had a chance to play the new app but it's off to a rough start.
Scrabulous gets a 4.2 out of 5 star rating. EA/Hasbro's Scrabble Beta gets 1.7 out of 5. This isn't about what's best for Scrabble players. This is about Hasbro maintaining complete control of a decades old game.
-Adam!!!
Last year they 'requested' scrabulous be taken down, it wasn't, and now Hasbro and EA have released an 'official' Scrabble facebook app. I haven't had a chance to play the new app but it's off to a rough start.
Scrabulous gets a 4.2 out of 5 star rating. EA/Hasbro's Scrabble Beta gets 1.7 out of 5. This isn't about what's best for Scrabble players. This is about Hasbro maintaining complete control of a decades old game.
Scrabulous (I'm losing)
Scrabble Beta (Can't get anyone to play)
While I will remain critical of Hasbro's "sue anyone who makes something cool with thier games" strategy, I do realize they are acting within their rights. I just think it's a mistake that hurts them, their fans, and the properties they claim to be protecting.
If you're interested in what I had to say about this back in January, it's right here.
If you're interested in what I had to say about this back in January, it's right here.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Hasbro is at it again...Cease and Desist!
Hasbro is threatening to shut down one of my favorite online activities, Scrabulous from Facebook.
I believe this is Hasbro shooting themselves in the virtual foot, once again. The idea, it seems, is to use legal pressure to remove Scrabulous from the picture so their online version/s of Scrabble don't have the competition.
There's no point in arguing whether or not they can do this. Of course they can. I will continue to argue that they SHOULDN'T. I believe:
* Scrabulous increases the number of Scrabble players in the world, and Hasbro directly benefits from this.
* Hasbro's 'official' Scrabble game should be good enough to make people switch, if is a zero-sum situation. If it's not good enough, it'll fail with or without Scrabulous in the picture.
* Evergreen games like Scrabble, Monopoly, Yahtzee, ect. are going to be more and more difficult to 'own' as more and more fans want to play online. In place of an official version, these home-grown efforts (both for profit and not) are going to keep popping up.
* I play Scrabulous because it's a Facebook app. If Hasbro's isn't and I really doubt it would be, then I'll simply find another free game to play on Facebook and never think about Scrabble again (which I hadn't for years before I started playing Scrabulous.)
-Adam!!!
I believe this is Hasbro shooting themselves in the virtual foot, once again. The idea, it seems, is to use legal pressure to remove Scrabulous from the picture so their online version/s of Scrabble don't have the competition.
There's no point in arguing whether or not they can do this. Of course they can. I will continue to argue that they SHOULDN'T. I believe:
* Scrabulous increases the number of Scrabble players in the world, and Hasbro directly benefits from this.
* Hasbro's 'official' Scrabble game should be good enough to make people switch, if is a zero-sum situation. If it's not good enough, it'll fail with or without Scrabulous in the picture.
* Evergreen games like Scrabble, Monopoly, Yahtzee, ect. are going to be more and more difficult to 'own' as more and more fans want to play online. In place of an official version, these home-grown efforts (both for profit and not) are going to keep popping up.
* I play Scrabulous because it's a Facebook app. If Hasbro's isn't and I really doubt it would be, then I'll simply find another free game to play on Facebook and never think about Scrabble again (which I hadn't for years before I started playing Scrabulous.)
-Adam!!!
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