July 21st, 2008

Online Gaming Research

Ready for a little online gaming research? I know "research" may sound boring, but if we talk about online gaming, nothing can be boring...as long as we don't have to face one of those boring MMORPGs available as we speak! Don't get me wrong, I am not considering MMORPGs boring, but the sad truth is that most of them can be pretty boring at some stages along your "path to enlightenment." Anyway, we're not going to talk about the present of online gaming today, but its future.

So...what about the future of online gaming? Did you play any online game so far? I am sure the answer would be affirmative to that question, but there are still gamers who always enjoy single player games more than going online to play. In the future, they may become an extinct gamer type, at least according to the latest statements coming from Electronic Arts, as we're going to see right away...

According to EA Sports label president Peter Moore, Electronic Arts has a "totally digitally-focused" future in mind, looking to embrace digital distribution, so instead of going to the store, you'll get your game online, play it online, probably even discuss about it with your close friends online...am I seeing a problem here?

All right, I understand their fear of becoming "another music industry," but I don't think the music industry has died. All right, piracy is high, but people still go to concerts, so maybe that's the problem. If all gaming companies would do more to try turning casual gamers into professional ones, at least for some titles, they would surely buy licenses. The future as I see it - games free to download, a lot of contests, license required to go into the contest. Just as easy as that!

Just hear this - "EA will lead the charge - by that I mean that we don't get marginalized because we continue to deliver physical discs. We have a cost there that's a drain on the industry, it's expensive, and we have every intention over a period of time - whether it's three years, or five years - of moving this company to be one that is totally digitally-focused, that sees a tremendous opportunity in interacting with our consumer twenty-four-seven."

I know it's an industry, but I would rather pay and get the disc, maybe a nice book with it and some other additional items, instead of simply downloading and paying, everything online. Are we headed towards the Matrix? :|