Can Console Gamers Ever Embrace an All-Digital Future? Not Without Help From the Big Three

When Xbox One was revealed in May, it was touted as a living room centerpiece and the quintessential go-to for sports and set box interactivity on a scale of integration not yet seen before. In reaction to the inaugural reveal, the gaming masses all cried out in a cynicism that shook the world. “Where are the games?!” the gamers cried. “We don’t care about enhanced TV!” they lamented. One particular provision for the next-gen console was most loathed though—the requirement for the Xbox One to be connected to the internet once a day.

While consoles have seen their own versions of DRM before, such as online pass requirements for used games, Xbox One’s (now deceased) requisite to connect to the internet would have been the first true form of DRM to ever grace consoleboxes and their users. The outcry rocked Microsoft so heavily that the Redmond-based behemoth did a complete one-eighty after E3 and reversed many of its previously announced policies, including that scorned daily online check-in. With Microsoft’s concession, it was a triumphant moment for the everyday consumer, but it also proved something else substantial: console gamers are not ready for a future where digital distribution is the de facto method for purchasing and playing games.

While the notion of not being able to lend out games, or to not even have a lovely retail box adorn your shelf, seems absolutely preposterous to console fanatics, this same concept of digital distribution is one that is cherished—and even preferred—by PC gamers around the globe. How is it that two groups of consumers can be so headstrong and passionate about gaming and yet have two radically different opinions on the subject of how they purchase their games?

Years ago, PC gaming was much like the console: you went to a store, you purchased a box with a disc in it, and you put it into your computer to install and play. One caveat was that often a serial code would have to be entered, something that console users didn’t see until this current generation, but other than that the two platforms were near identical. Same humble beginnings yet two starkly different audiences, so what gave?

You could posit that Valve, and its own platform Steam, have played a large part in swaying consumers to embrace digital distribution, but it wasn’t always this friendly between Steam and its users. Anyone who remembers the launch of Half-Life 2 in 2004, with its then novel idea of connecting to the internet to activate the product as a requirement, will recall just how bad Valve botched the launch with servers not working and how furious consumers were because they couldn’t play the game they purchased. Since that time, Steam has proven to be a viable platform because Valve has consistently shown consumers that they have the infrastructure and bandwidth to make this work and, in exchange for an all-digital storefront, Steam is able to discount its titles significantly when warranted. These two factors are key to understanding why a PC gamer has no problem with not owning a disc.

But whereas PC gamers have Steam, GOG.com and countless other digital distribution platforms, which invites competition, console gamers only have three: PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, and Nintendo’s digital storefronts across its platforms. Unless one of the big three goes full throttle into digital, it will be a long time before the console gamer can be convinced that their hard-earned cashola is worth spending on zeroes & ones instead of a multi-layered plastic circle purchased at GameStop.

You see Microsoft’s Games on Demand sale going on right now and think, “that looks a lot like what Steam does” so clearly Microsoft knows the power of digital distribution. Sony has been known to have sales of its own on PlayStation Network. However, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo also have strong ties to retail, and as such may be reluctant to move forward with a larger digital presence. Microsoft almost took the plunge with its DRM policy, but withdrew it, and without the support of the big three it will be much harder to change the culture and attitude of the current console gamer.

An all-digital future could flourish on console, and PC gaming has proven that it’s an existence consumers have come to love, but it’s a long way off. Console gamers are reluctant to give up their physical copies, but it may not be because of the prestige of holding onto something (though for a smaller percentage, that could be the case) but rather because no company on the console side has proven to them that there is a significant benefit to utilizing digital distribution.

Valve took a chance on digital distribution and it paid off in spades, the first one of the big three to follow suit will be the winner of the next generation.

Keeping Promises: How to Have a Successful E3

E3 2013 was arguably the biggest gaming event in the last five years. The dawn of a new generation of consoles brought with it a bevy of games to every publisher’s booth. With big competition for media attention, you need to be seizing every opportunity you can to stand out and get your game the attention it deserves. Here are a few tips I’ve found useful to help make every moment your finest at E3, based on working at the show the last few years and on the successes of working with the indie horror game Outlast this year.

Have faith. Make promises. When you truly believe in the game you’re representing, you exude confidence. When you’re confident, you start making promises — promises you can keep — such as, “Outlast will scare the s*** out of you.” A lofty statement like that will almost always lead to skepticism, and the natural reaction will be for a journalist to find out for themselves if you’re spewing PR rainbows or the de facto truth. Promises, when kept, have a domino effect. After someone has a positive experience with your demo, your claim can be amplified as they discuss their experience with friends and coworkers, driving more traffic and attention to your booth. By the end of the week, some publications had sent their entire staff to experience the Outlast demo!

Come armed with different stories. A good game will shine on its own – but that doesn’t matter unless the right people see it. Help this happen by painting a bigger picture around the game. Come prepared to suggest and discuss larger stories that will amplify the experience. Consider having discussions about the background of the development team, media or pop culture that influenced the developers, interesting research conducted by the team to offer a realistic or factually accurate experience, etc — many attendees have very little insight into the research that goes into creating a game. Sharing these stories offers an interesting perspective about the developer’s creative process. Some examples of stories we helped to tell this year include:

**The fainting actually happened! An attendee fainted while playing Outlast, and after making sure they were okay, we told one person who told another, who told another, until the story began to spread all throughout the show.

Be aware. Capture reactions as they happen… And share them! If you’re not speaking with someone in any given second, there’s probably someone you should be speaking to. During half-seconds, your eyes and ears should be peeled to what’s happening inside and outside of your booth. New opportunities may present themselves that you want your game to be a part of. For example, one of the bigger stories at this year’s E3 was the concentration of high-quality indie games appearing on next-gen consoles. Email editors you see talking about this or use Twitter to make sure your game is a part of the conversation!

What are people saying about your game after they play? How are people reacting? Capture these using tools like Vine for reactions or Tweet out quotes, tagging the appropriate person. Keeping promises is easy when you’re creating content to prove it.


Timely reminders and follow-ups. Did you speak to a journalist about a story idea that piqued their interest while at the show? No matter how interesting it is, words are easily lost in the hustle and bustle of this hectic show every year. Send a follow-up thanking people for coming by and playing if you haven’t already and rekindle the discussion of any story ideas shared during your E3 meeting the week following E3, or sooner, depending on deadlines.

Seven Rules for Fearless Women

By: Bethany Hill and Samantha Qualls

Last week, TriplePoint attended “Find Your Fearless: Women, Ambition & Leadership,” a discussion hosted by PRWeek and communications firm Zeno Group. The event was in response to a recent study commissioned by Zeno Group, which found that only fifteen percent of millennial women would want to be the number one leader of a large or prominent organization. Former Cosmopolitan editor Kate White offered a keynote, and panelists – ranging from the associate editor of Entrepreneur.com to the co-founder of Rent the Runway – shared their thoughts on how women can be fearless in the workplace. Below, we’ve compiled our key takeaways:

Continue reading Seven Rules for Fearless Women

Mobile Gaming USA Panel Recap: Fishing in a Small Pond – Opportunities Abound!

I had the privilege of moderating a panel at this year’s Mobile Gaming USA West, held in San Francisco on May 14-15. The event drew some of the top minds in mobile game development, publishing and services, all sharing their thoughts on the current state of the industry, and offering advice on the immediate challenges we all face.

I usually hone in on topics of marketing and public relations, but this panel was different, titled “Fishing in a Smaller Pond: Evaluating the mobile gaming market outside iOS and Android devices”.

While every discussion and panel preceding mine focused on iOS and Android (obviously, given its majority rule over the other mobile operating systems), my panel consisted of experts finding success on other mobile platforms.

The goal was to plant seeds of interest in an audience with little knowledge of and motivation for serving these alternate audiences, discussing the immediate opportunities, monetization, challenges and best practices.

The panel consisted of:

  • Abhinav Gupta, CEO, Game Scorpion
  • Charles Huang, CEO, Green Throttle Games
  • Chris Mahoney, Director of Emerging Platforms, PlayStation
  • Kenny Rosenblatt, CEO, Arkadium

Kicking off, we took a quick audience poll. Of the approximately 100 people in the room:

  • 90% working on iOS
  • 80% working on Android
  • 5% working on Windows Mobile*
  • 5% working on BlackBerry*

*It’s worth noting a clear overlap of those working on Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.

Next up was an opportunity to frame the discussion with a few interesting data points, food for thought as we discussed the various platforms:

  • There are 6B active cellphones worldwide.
  • Smartphones recently overtook feature phone shipments for the first time ever this year. That’s 418M units shipped in Q1 2013, 216M of which are smartphones, and that shift is accelerating.
  • Of smartphones, iOS and Android combined make up 91% (4Q 2012) of total market share worldwide.
  • Windows rose to 2.6%, BlackBerry fell to 3.2%.
  • What’s interesting is that the BlackBerry Q10 was the fastest-selling consumer electronics product ever in the UK (source: Guardian); is this a sign that hard keyboards will live on, and a potential niche for BlackBerry to successfully service?

Digging into the discussion, there were a few key takeaways:

Don’t take anything outside of iOS or Android for granted – money talks

While we’re all focused on chasing the popular thing that’s getting all the press/peer attention, we should take a step back and look to where opportunities might be ripest. Microsoft and RIM are spending millions to attract great content to a marketplace with a healthy install base and lacking attention from massive content players with big marketing budgets (your competitors). Additionally, console manufacturers such as Sony have shifted with the market to reduce barriers to entry, allowing mobile game developers to easily expand to audiences that are already conditioned to liberally spend dollars on a good game. And those of us living in a tech bubble with our shiny new gadgets, constantly looking 10 years into the future, could perhaps look around the world and see that a billion new feature phones will ship this year, generating millions for companies who are actively participating (e.g. Gameloft, vserv.mobi, etc.).

Windows: the agnostic OS

Rosenblatt’s emphasized the emerging importance of Windows, one that will rise to significance over the next several years. Central to this is Microsoft’s efforts for a harmonious OS centralized with Windows 8, not only providing consumers with a familiar experience across all devices, but a platform that developers can easily harness and through which their software/apps can deployed. It’s the only OS on the market with such capabilities and, thus, shouldn’t be ignored, particularly at a time when Microsoft’s deep pockets and massive audience size can provide significant support for great content.

These channels offer prime shelf space

Granted, you’ll need to start with a good game, but the relatively little activity on these alternative platforms means more opportunities for developing a relationship with the channel owners and receiving positive treatment in the form of feature placements. While every developer in the world is knocking on Apple and Google’s door for a feature spot on their respective marketplaces, bringing your great game to these other channels may resonate for preferential treatment.

Develop your content for the audience specific to the platform and/or channel

Sounds obvious, but when was the last time you considered developing for the Nook, or enhancing engagement by allowing mobile games to be played both on the road and on the big-screen TV? When you’re in the early stages of developing a game concept, you should be thinking about the audience it serves and where those audiences consume.

Gupta’s company has seen great success for children’s apps on the Nook and Kindle Fire, which both have audiences mostly comprised of 24+ professionals with children, who are also privy to spending money on an app that might serve an educational purpose for their kids (and of course, keep the kids busy in times of need).

Huang’s company is focusing on the convergence of mobile and TV, following the mantra of harnessing the console that you already own – an Android device in your pocket. Developers can increase engagement and monetization for an existing game by allowing playability in a social environment on the big screen in the living room.

Both Huang and Gupta agree that niche audiences are emerging within the Android ecosystem, which may be viewed simply as the continued fragmentation of the OS, but can be leveraged in a smart way to channel specific efforts into highly targeted audiences.

Also, clearly, Mahoney’s company harnesses the power of the PlayStation brand, creating an entire ecosystem of gaming products that will not only serve core gamers with deep, high-quality game experiences, but also accommodate the great content that the indies and mobile studios are generating in reaching the expanded mainstream audience.

In closing, we all agreed that there are big opportunities out there beyond just iOS and Android, most notably on PlayStation’s expanding line of hardware and distribution, Windows 8’s agnostic platform, BlackBerry’s fight to attract content to its existing base of core customers, and niche channels emerging within Android. I would’ve loved to look at the feature phone business, which globally ships 1m devices annually and has come a long way in terms of device capabilities for games (even with its own app stores!), but we’ll save that for another time. For now, focusing on starting/growing a sustainable business that can continue to feed the development of great games should be everyone’s priority, and these alternative options to iOS and Android just might be the perfect launchpad to future success.

New Marketing for the Socially Digital Age – TiE CON East 2013

Can a room full of experienced VC’s learn some new tricks about digital marketing, from the perspective of video game PR? That was my hope today as I represented TriplePoint during the 7th annual TiE CON in Boston.

It’s a conference that brings together both established and startup entrepreneurs in Technology, Life Sciences, Education, and Cleantech. I lead a boot camp with help from two other marketers, on the topic of New Marketing for the Socially Digital Age. The panel touched upon everything from Facebook and YouTube to email blasts, lead-generation, and timing for advertising campaigns.

Continue reading New Marketing for the Socially Digital Age – TiE CON East 2013

Building a Bridge Over a Chasm

 

 

Geoffrey Moore was ahead of his time when he wrote Crossing the Chasm.

After reading his analysis on bridging “the Chasm” between early adopters and the mainstream market, I realized that this was an essential idea that’s been overlooked by many young startups. Some companies don’t know where to begin with their marketing efforts, and slowly dissipate into the black hole of Silicon Valley. Others find themselves on the right track, but hit a bottleneck when they arrive at the chasm, unsure of their next step. With new seeds of innovations constantly sprouting throughout the world, Moore’s approach on crossing the chasm is very relevant today.

At its core, the book analyzes how to approach the various psychographic (personality) profiles from the Technology Adoption Cycle, primarily the minority of hardcore, geeky enthusiasts versus the mainstream majority. Moore states that very few companies distinguish the visionary early adopters from the pragmatic second wave of users who follow.  This leads startups to fall straight into the chasm rather than crossing it safely. Unlike visionaries, who see potential in a startup’s prospects and want to see it grow, pragmatists want to see how the company will bring personal value to them.

What Moore suggests is to take more surgical approach to each market segment. Rather than placing all the eggs in to one basket, Moore describes entering the mainstream market like the D-Day invasion. If a startup is able to methodically capture the audience from one small part of the overall market, its success can then travel vertically to other segments. From one niche market to another, it’s an opportunity that can allow a company to dominate the mainstream (with a little patience and a lot of luck).

Apple is a great example of crossing the chasm successfully. After launching the iPod, the company constantly reengineered its product to meet the needs of each market segment, making each version better, simpler, and more powerful.  Warby Parker, a startup once focused on providing the best online shopping experience for eyewear, now has physical showrooms across the U.S. that cater to a different market of traditional shoppers.

But where does PR come into all of this? As an agency, we define and reinforce key messages about a startup’s product or service, with slightly different messages to suit each segment of the press. As a startup comes to the edge of the chasm, proper PR can build a compelling message to target niche markets, helping usher the startup towards the mainstream as smoothly as possible.  Word of mouth remains one of the most powerful tools in commerce; approaching the right people with the right message is the backbone of the best PR agencies.

And yet… I can’t help but notice another issue that today’s startups face. Another chasm is growing between innovators and early adopters, one step “earlier” in the lifecycle. With so many buzzed-about startups entering the market on a monthly, rather than annual basis, it’s become more difficult to garner the attention of visionaries and VCs. After all, a startup can’t concern itself with mainstream success if it can’t win over the early adopter first. Perhaps, in the future, Moore will address this issue in a new book, and share his advice for this new obstacle.  In the mean time, I highly recommend Crossing the Chasm as a foundation for any young tech company’s marketing strategy.

Image Credit to IllustrationSource and WikiMedia 

 

Who is Your Email Wearing? A Guide to Fashionable Pitching.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from a former convicted felon, Neal Caffrey (on White Collar), it’s that you need to dress the part.

Neal is such a charming guy not just because of his smooth moves or his way with words – it’s the way he presents himself. I’m like Neal. I walk into the office almost every day with a tie and blazer. I consider myself a professional, and to play that role I want to look the part. The beauty of working in a metropolitan office (and not remotely in my PJ’s) is getting facetime with my colleagues, clients and journalists. Impromptu meetings and post-work meetups are pretty common, and with the right duds, can be a welcome surprise.

For me, presentation is key to a proper first impression, and in this day and age of PR, the right outfit is just as crucial as a solid email pitch.

The Subject Line: Stylish Outerwear Makes a Good First Impression

For starters, the subject line of your email matters just as much as the right outerwear. It’s the first thing a person notices, and you can’t really avoid someone making a snap judgment. Like a good subject, a well-fitted jacket or blazer will intrigue people. Of course, don’t over-do it; lead with something attractive, without screaming for attention, to pique their curiosity.

The Body: Everyone Appreciates a Hot “Bod”

It’s time to show off the main portion of your outfit, or in the case of an email, the content of your pitch. Similar to a purple striped shirt and dark jeans, or a maroon v-neck with checkered grey slacks, the core of your outfit should show you put in the effort, an indication you “took the time to care.” The right combination can do wonders, just like the newsy hook that will have a reporter curious to learn more.

The Details: Accessories Add Personality

Go further by accessorizing and personalizing your main attire. A perfectly knotted tie can bring your shirt to a whole new level; a pocket square for your blazer can make you feel classy. Accessories compliment an outfit and add a splash of detail (and confidence). In a pitch, that detail could be some facts to support your claim. However, don’t go on mixing and matching with just any accessory; too much fluff will make your outfit or pitch feel unnatural and forced.

The Call to Action: Wrap It Up With A Nice Pair Of Shoes

Last but not least, shoes. A good pair of shoes can bring your look to another level. If you haven’t acquired a nice pair of monk straps, wingtips, or leather boots, there’s no time like the present! In the wardrobe of your email, shoes are a call to action that gives a reporter a reason to take interest in your story. Find the right pair, and you might just strike gold.

Getting the right pieces can be tough, and assembling them properly is an even bigger challenge. Remember, it’s all about experimentation. I didn’t become a head-turning fashion guru overnight! (Kidding, kidding) But honestly, the same goes for assembling a persuasive email. As you come to understand each element of writing a pitch, you’ll see better results. Keep practicing – eventually you’ll find a sweet spot and build up your own personal style, a voice that’s uniquely “you.”

Photos from SuitSupply and VINSPI 

Waiting for Superman: The Beauty of Virality

One day in October 2012, I happened across this YouTube video with a top-down view of PSY’s concert in Seoul. Over 80,000 people were in attendance, with the crowd spanning entire city blocks. Every member of the audience was singing along in unison with PSY who was on stage addressing the crowd as if he were a superhero who had just delivered their fair city from evil by swooping down in black suit pants and baby blue cape, I mean, blazer jacket.

Nonetheless, to this day, I have never been able to watch the video of said concert from beginning to end due to an inability to come to grips with it emotionally. This is why.

Amidst the Harlem Shake craze of 2013, famous YouTube film director, Freddie Wong, released a video in which he attacks a man about to perform a rendition of the Harlem Shake, ending with a screen saying, “Friends don’t let friends make Harlem Shake videos.” Whether this video expressed Mr. Wong’s true feeling towards the extreme virality of the trend or was simply his creative take on the Harlem Shake itself, it made me think about the real annoyance I have seen towards the trend in other social media.

Perhaps it is my personal preference, but I always wondered what makes some people so annoyed and angry over a trend that becomes very popular very quickly. Some pointed out that each Harlem Shake video was not indeed the “real” Harlem Shake dance move. Others simply expressed disdain over people trying to bank on something popular for the sake of achieving virality.

Last October, some friends of mine and I got together on a semi-weekly basis to learn the Gangnam Style dance then perform flash mobs throughout San Francisco on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Many onlookers stopped to watch, took videos that are now on YouTube, even honked their horns as they drove by. Street performers stationed at our chosen venues offered to step aside for us (one even told us the $10 we offered him for a few minutes of his time wasn’t necessary). To be honest, I was feeling quite under the weather that day (I was coming down with what amounted to be two colds and a flu) but I felt energized and refreshed because I was dancing. I was sweating. I was back to my days of exercising regularly and when dancing was a part of my life.

At that moment, I thought this must be the best viral video that happened to the world. It got everyone dancing. It got everyone to get up and move. It appeared on Ubisoft’s Just Dance 4 and Harmonix’s Dance Central 3 where players downloaded the DLC and danced along (myself included, I have 5 stars on that song), sweating, exercising, bringing movement back to our sedentary lifestyles. Of course, its benefits lie beyond physical fitness. That flash mob group I danced with was asked to perform for a man who would then propose to his girlfriend while we danced for her.

It’s obvious that said individual is not the only person who associates Gangnam Style or any motion of virality with love, even peace. At the height of the Harlem Shake’s popularity, Egyptians and Tunisians recorded their own renditions of the Harlem Shake as forms of peaceful protest against their governments. In this interview with CNN, two Egyptian protesters explain that the Harlem Shake is their tool of “protest in a fun manner” and that, “instead of chanting and getting beaten, we’d have fun, laugh, and then leave normally.”

If virality is indeed the new universal language and is proven by political protesters to stop violence, can it bring peace? Can a single viral trend bring us to a common understanding? Can one person dancing be what puts aside sentiments of hate, dissent, and intolerance?

It’s still a stretch. PSY and the Australian YouTube celebrities known as TheSunnyCoastSkate and DizastaMusic who started the Harlem Shake video trend have yet to stop all wars and conflicts ravaging the world today. But virality’s abilities are now known to stretch beyond just mobilizing people to get up and move and make something fun. Perhaps it can bring peace and understanding to people who embrace it and at least gives a tiny clue in finding what can unite us as human beings. For me, and for some of the 80,000 attendees at PSY’s Seoul concert, it was a glimpse of a group of like and unlike minded people singing, dancing, and thinking as one.

This is why I have yet to watch the video from beginning to end…without needing to pause at certain moments to recover from the impact felt from a simple song and dance. This is why I don’t understand why I should stop my friends from making Harlem Shake videos. This is why I feel overwhelmed when I see something as beautiful as a group of over 80,000 strangers rallying around one song, one dance, one person, one idea, one love, for one thing.

This is why I give thanks for every global viral trend. I give thanks for bringing us together. I give thanks for delivering us not from evil but for delivering us to harmony.

Four minutes and thirteen seconds. Maybe even as little as thirty-one seconds might be enough to save the world. If everyone saw viral trends this way, perhaps we have found our Superman.

Reposted on Frisky Mongoose

Photos from Business Insider and The Verge

Featured image from Reuters

Goodbye, LucasArts, and Thank You

This is my Corley Motors keychain. Corley Motors is a fictional motorcycle manufacturer that the player, as gang leader Ben, must save from a hostile takeover in the classic LucasArts adventure Full Throttle. 

Together with Grim Fandango and his work on the Monkey Island series and Day of the Tentacle (all also LucasArts games), Full Throttle is one of the original games that established Tim Schafer as the luminary designer he is today. It was a game with a mature story, where “mature” didn’t simply mean “guns and nudity.” It was a game whose cutting-edge CD-ROM media allowed it to have a fantastic soundtrack and amazing voice acting, including an unforgettable performance by Mark Hamill as villain Adrian Ripburger. It had clever puzzles, fantastic writing and dialogue, and an ending that dared to be bittersweet instead of gushingly triumphant. I must have played through it half a dozen times.

The cord on this keychain is frayed, held together by just a few remaining stubborn strands, ravaged by time and constant use. I have had this keychain with me for 18 years.

In 1995, thanks to good fortune and geographical convenience, I got to take a field trip with 12 of my high school friends to LucasArts, then located north of San Rafael across the bay from its current San Francisco offices. I still remember walking in and seeing the massive picture of Full Throttle’s Ben behind the front desk (Full Throttle having been the company’s most recent major release), and gaping in wonder at the broad array of Lucas paraphernalia and gear on display around every corner. On one wall, backdrops and concept art from Sam & Max cartoonist Steve Purcell. In the corner, a full-sized X-wing cockpit set in front of a green-screen, used to film the cutscenes for Rebel Assault II.

I’d been a gamer all my life, but this was my first visit to the inside of a game studio, and I was awestruck. I was too young and unfamiliar with the industry to appreciate who I was meeting and what I was seeing, but I knew the culture there was something I wanted to be a part of. On the way out, each member of the tour was given a Corley Motors keychain as a souvenir. In hindsight, I think I can pinpoint that tour as the day I started giving serious, non-daydreaming thought to working with games, one way or another.

Four months ago, Tim Schafer was the host of Ümloud in San Francisco, where I joined a group on stage to play Rock Band for charity. As the party was winding down, several fans had the chance to share a brief chat with Schafer and have their picture taken with the now-legendary game creator. When my turn came, I produced my tattered keychain, at my side where it’s always been, and briefly thanked him for being an inspiration so long ago. Tim’s eyes lit up in surprise when he saw the trinket. “Where did you get this? They only ever made a handful — even I only got a couple of them.” I explained its origin, and its significance to me — and Tim took my picture with it.

Today, Disney — the new owners of LucasArts after Lucas’ own sale of his properties — announced they were shutting down LucasArts completely. The licenses will still be out there, and there may be new games under the Lucas label, but the studio is gone for good. There will no longer be a place where people come and work on creative new ideas, in a sea of Star Wars art and classic gaming souvenirs and call themselves LucasArts.

I am sure, as is true of the studio’s original stars like Schafer, Gilbert, Grossman, and others, that all of the people losing their jobs today will find new chances to create, and go on to build magnificent things that will stand the test of time. To all of them, though, to anyone who ever worked for LucasArts — thank you, from all of us who ever wished we could do the same. I’ll carry this piece of your legacy in my pocket and in my memory.

Cross-posted to Frisky Mongoose, TriplePoint’s blog on social, local, mobile, and gaming news.

TPNY: Staying Connected Through Hurricane Sandy

In the tech and digital entertainment industries, late October and early November traditionally mark a particularly busy time, with product launches left and right, and a major scramble to finalize plans and promotions in advance of the looming holiday season. This year, busy East Coasters were slammed with an additional challenge – Hurricane Sandy, dubbed “Frankenstorm” for its agglomeration of several storms and pre-Halloween timing.

With major media coverage of the hurricane’s effects across the country, and especially New York City, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that TriplePoint NYC, with our Silicon Alley-located office (27 West 24th St) struggled to stay connected through the blackouts and other travails caused by the unexpectedly severe storm.

But the city that never sleeps earned that moniker through the dedication of its workers, and the thousands of downtown New Yorkers affected generally found ways to stay connected. Today, with fingers crossed that we won’t have to go through this again, we’d like to share a few of our own stories on Sandy and the blackout week after the storm.

Joe Ziemer, Account Director

“Surviving in Style”

Like my other colleagues living beneath 34th St., I was without power, Internet and cell service throughout Sandy and the week after. However, I wasn’t about to let that stop me from enjoying warm showers and warm meals. That meant long, but worthwhile, morning walks up to midtown to reach powered branches of the Health & Racquet Club and Smith & Wollensky, both of which featured Wi-Fi connections. Figuring that if I could only have one hot meal a day it better be a good one, I’d eat a steak and take a few conference calls before heading over to the gym’s locker room to grab a shower. I wasn’t the only New Yorker “working from bathrobe” that week, and met a number of other execs who were staying connected at the gym – it made for some interesting conversations, and great opportunities to blow off some steam with industry folks on the basketball court.

Samantha Qualls, Account Executive

“Panera Hopping”

I live on the fourth floor of an East Village walkup, avenues away from any water. While my building wasn’t damaged at all, like the rest of Downtown, we lost power Monday evening. With no timeframe for when the lights (and heat AND INTERNET) would be back, a close friend offered me her couch for as long as I needed – so I made my way up to Queens (getting there is a story in itself!). In comparison to Manhattan, Queens was warm, dry and bright. The restaurants were open and grocery stores stocked. The only problem was that my friend’s cable and Internet had been knocked out in the storm.

With client work on deadline and some essential international calls that needed to happen, I had to stay connected. So every morning in Queens I sought Wi-Fi (and LOTS of coffee) at a local Panera. Panera unfortunately limits Internet time (unlimited before 11, only half an hour between 11am 2pm, and unlimited again till 5pm), but, with many displaced workers all stuffed into the same shop, it wasn’t too hard to talk my way into sharing a rare hotspot.

It was amazing to see everyone band together – I will never understand the stereotype of the angry New Yorker because I only saw helping hands deliver warm food, volunteer groups cleaning up destruction and patrons flocking downtown to help bring needed money to business that were forced to close for days.

Zach Fuller, Account Executive

“Crammed Co-working”

Living in midtown there was no real sense of crisis prior to the storm – for example, even at the peak of the bad weather, my roommates and I made an ill-advised trip outside to watch the floodwaters rise over the East Side Highway, hanging on to the fence at the top of a retaining wall while 80 mph gusts threatened to send us tumbling backwards. We sat around with pizza, beer and power, watching football like it was any other Sunday night. It was only the next day that Sandy’s toll came into better focus.

My friends that live downtown frequently chide me for living in a place as “un-hip” as midtown, but such banter was unsurprisingly absent as Monday morning dawned and the first of them came knocking at the door looking for a warm shower and the exceedingly rare powered outlet. As the week progressed and power below midtown remained an exotic commodity, the population of our little apartment swelled from its usual three to six at night, and even more throughout the day.

Each morning the sleeping bags and air mattresses were put away for the day, replaced by a tangled web of power strips stretched in every direction as our living room transformed into an impromptu little co-working space. It was crowded and not terribly comfortable, but in between bemoaning the lack of dual monitor productivity, terse calls with IT as VPN servers crashed and chuckling as Chris Christie rescheduled Halloween, we all grew a little closer. While it’s a bit sad that it takes a disaster to remind us to slow down and appreciate the incredible people in our lives, I think we made the best of it.

Stephanie Palermo, Account Executive

“Library Living”

The Eye of the Beast had its sights set on every single part of New York – and living in a coastal town in Long Island, we were hit hard.  I had to be resourceful to keep up with the rest of my team and clients. With no power, I set out each day traveling a several-mile radius hunting for any open business, questing for the coveted Holy WiFi. Store entrances were sandbagged and some still have not reopened as I write this.

Spotty, intermittent cell phone service allowed me to send several updates and information about my projects to a teammate who had power and was covering my responsibilities until I could get settled. But to do even that I needed a powered cell phone and that meant charging at any outlet I could get to – at the police station and even my local favorite fried chicken joint.

Finally a week later, the cup runneth over with WiFi when the library was up and running and offering residents to charge all electronics and use their WiFi. I didn’t have access to my desktop computer, so I purchased a new, emergency laptop, headed to the library, and was back in business.  Commiserating with fellow neighbors at the library was certainly a highlight, as people also working hard there to catch up with work gathered ’round, chatted and were all more than willing to offer a helping hand (after business hours, of course!) by providing things for each other such as food, clothes or clean-up help to those that needed it.

TriplePoint Long Island stands strong!

Sam Dalsimer, Account Director

“Over-prepared”

While many of us lost power or more in the storm, a few of us remained largely unaffected aside from the need to work from home while the office’s power was down. My neighborhood (East Harlem) sustained little damage, although the gas station near me continues to have long lines and a constant police presence sitting outside as gas rationing continues. I stocked up on canned goods, bought new flashlights, filled every pot in the house with fresh water just in case, but never needed any of it.

Those of us whose power and internet remained online hosted friends who were evacuated and helped ensure that other colleagues were able to get updates out to press and clients alike.

At the end of the storm we were left feeling somewhat guilty to be so fortunate while so many others in our city were in the dark or worse. It was a huge help to have a few of us operating from powered home bases to keep connected with our NY coworkers, West coast office, and clients around the world.

 

Wii U to Ditch Friend Codes, Welcomes Convenient Social Gaming

Wii U

One of my biggest gripes about the Nintendo Wii was the idea of having to jot down lengthy friend codes to play with friends and colleagues online. Talk about counterproductive measures to experience “social” gaming. However, earlier today, it was revealed that multiple user IDs will be able to be stored on the Wii U, which also means Friend Codes are now a thing of the past.

Sites like Destructoid are confirming that Nintendo has officially set the record straight, stating, “Our plan is to replace Friend Codes with a much more user-friendly Account ID system, which employs user-created account names.”

Finally, Nintendo has caught up to the consoles (and mobile devices for that matter), allowing quick, immediate connectivity to friends without the ridiculous number sequences previously required to connect. This just went a long way in getting me further intrigued in the Wii U’s launch, which is slated for November 18.

With a handful of launch titles featuring multiplayer capabilities, including Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Wipeout 3, FIFA Soccer 13, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed to name a few, you can bet friends looking to play together across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief around today’s Nintendo reveal – myself included.

Imitation, Hoaxes, and Halo

It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We don’t feel especially flattered, in this instance, though – you may have seen a hoax circulating recently, suggesting TriplePoint is a part of the Halo 4 review campaign, and making unprofessional demands of journalists.

We don’t represent Halo, nor do we represent Microsoft, and nobody named “Terry Graves” has ever worked at TriplePoint, either now or at any time in the past. The image of the letter, allegedly sent from our offices, demanding that reporters award Halo 4 a certain score, is a fabrication. It’s not even a very good one – reporters can only reach us between 9-5? C’mon.

Kudos and thanks to all of our friends in the industry who immediately spotted this hoax for what it was, and for having our backs. We’re looking forward to playing Halo 4 along with everyone else.

Age of Aquarius: the video game industry at Comic-Con

Almost exactly ten years ago, I finished for the first time The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It was that moment when I first identified as a gamer and felt a devotion to video games that I was at the time too young to understand. But over the next ten years, that devotion grew to become the incorporation of video games into my own being.

For keeping in touch with who I have become and investing in what is important to me, I obviously then felt a yearning to attend PAX and of course Comic-Con, which I knew was not focused on video games, but interested me nonetheless. What video game devotee wouldn’t want to see just how much video game fandom she could soak up at Comic-Con?

We are at a point in time when Comic-Con attendees no longer enter believing the show is about comics. That is not to say comics don’t have a strong presence at the show; one end of the hall was covered in nothing but DC and Marvel merchandise vendors. Attendees costumed as Thor, Spiderman, Superman, and Batman far outnumbered attendees dressed as video game characters (including myself). Still, one cannot ignore that the most crowded parts of the convention hall were around the likes of Fox and Warner Bros, and the most popular panels were any that featured Hollywood celebrities regardless of whether or not the panel was about a comic book movie.

We are also at a point in time where the fandoms of comics, movies about comics, movies and TV shows about fantasy worlds in general, cartoons, anime, manga, and video games have all collided, with the resulting explosion manifesting as the San Diego Comic-Con. But as I took my first steps into the convention center, I asked myself, how many video game companies might I find exhibiting on the show floor? Will they take up as much space as the fabled comics that started the show? Or, will they be shoved off to a corner where only the most hardcore of fans will bother to visit?

After pushing through the crowd surrounding the Fox and Warner Bros booths, I found Ubisoft, Activision, Nintendo, Square Enix, Sony, and Capcom nestled into one end of the convention hall. Each game demo station was populated, each with a player and a crowd of onlookers. I later learned Nintendo and Ubisoft had the rest of their games featured at Nintendo’s game lounge next door, SEGA and Microsoft had set up across the street, and BioWare had their own station at the Hilton two blocks away. After visiting each booth, each game lounge, and finding a wealth of merchandise from my favorite video games from vendors on the show floor, I continued each day satisfied with the presence of video games at the show.

As a gamer and a fan, I believe my trip to Comic-Con was fruitful. I got to demo new games. I bought a wealth of fun merchandise (video game and non-video game alike) and received generous VIP gifts (a Sonic comic from Sonic Boom seemed fitting). I got to reconnect with video game industry people who were equally as enthusiastic about the show. I got to see how video games had joined the cultural lexicon. I got to take a memorable vacation to a consumer show with friends whom I grew closer to. And most of all, I was reminded of how the gamer in me grew into the person I am today. This was not done via the games I demoed, the swag I obtained, the parties I attended, or the characters I dressed up as, but by coming to this realization ten years later.

I have heard the multi-genre fiesta that is Comic-Con described as a “nerd Woodstock.” Unlike trade shows like E3 and video game-focused consumer shows like PAX, Comic-Con encourages people of multiple interests to come together and “celebrate the popular arts,” as proclaimed by the Wreck-It Ralph banners on each San Diego street. As someone whose being lies predominantly in the gaming realm of Comic-Con’s pot of genre stew, I wondered if the video game companies who exhibited off the show floor this year would be inside the convention center next year. And, for video game companies who exhibit on the show floor annually, I wonder if they will build their Comic-Con presence over the years. Will that draw more gamers to the show? Will that raise the interest of non-gamers who might want to learn more about video games and video game culture? Will it tip the balance of Comic-Con as a multi-genre gathering towards a more game-oriented event? Or, will it simply boost the video game industry’s positioning as just that: a popular art?

Though I refuse to make an argument for whether or not video games are art, I want to know how video game companies themselves feel about Comic-Con’s role in the video game industry, whether the industry can be celebrated there like it is at PAX, and whether video games will continue to have as much or more presence as comic books, movies, and the other media at Comic-Con.

Whatever the future holds for the presence of video games at Comic-Con, we can safely assume the next ten years will only keep San Diego as the center of the Aquarian Exposition of Comics, Movies, Anime, Manga, and Video Games. And for now, I can at least say I’m proud to be a part of the video game industry’s involvement in the movement for peace and love across all fandoms.

Mobile Game Design – Don’t Forget the Basics

Congratulations on taking the plunge into the mobile games market! No doubt it’s been a remarkable and difficult journey for you and your game, but the design is nearly perfect, and you’re ready to share your creation with the world. Mobile games have come a long way since we first figured out how to put Tetris on our graphing calculators in high school, and it’s an exciting field that’s evolving and improving every day.

Sadly, when you dwell exclusively on the cutting edge of game development, it’s easy to lose sight of the basics. There are a few core tenets of mobile design that should be prerequisites for publishing nowadays, yet every so often, even the most experienced of developers forget them. No matter how impressive the graphics or how amazing and innovative the controls are in a game, it pains us when designers still get some of the basics wrong after all these years. Continue reading Mobile Game Design – Don’t Forget the Basics