Tag Archives: gamasutra

Telltale’s Connors: Licensing Isn’t Dead – Nowhere Close

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Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to Telltale’s CEO Dan Connors about the addition of the Law & Order series to the company’s game catalog, and how licensed content is helping Telltale grow rapidly.

While other video game CEOs are running away from licensed content these days, Dan Connors is rushing towards it.

Instead of pursuing original content to grow Telltale Games, the company is relying on the universes created by some of Hollywood’s biggest companies. But instead of eking by with a portfolio of shovelware, Telltale is growing – and gaining critical praise.

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Analysis: Should Nintendo Launch The Next Generation Now?

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With rumors circulating that Nintendo is planning to announce its next generation console at E3 this year, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris discusses whether the company should make its boldest move to date.

The rumors have been gaining steam for a couple of weeks now. Nintendo, they say, is planning to announce its next generation console at E3 this year.

While the company, not surprisingly, isn’t commenting on the chatter, it’s hardly going out of its way to downplay it either. And the second quarter lineup for the system (along with growing whispers about a looming $50 price cut in May) didn’t do anything to quiet speculation.

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Interview: Sifteo Founders Pursue Wii-Like Enchantment

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Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to Sifteo co-founders David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi about their new gaming system that plays games via small electronic blocks communicating wirelessly with a PC.

Long before people take a side in the Sony vs. Nintendo vs. Microsoft vs. Apple snipefests that so often dominate forum and comment chatter, they start with much simpler gaming interests.

Blocks… Sticks… Rocks… In many cases, board game pieces… Love of gaming often begins with some sort of tactile sensation. That physical connection sometimes fades once players get exposed to video games, but David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi are hoping to bring it back, by fusing the best parts of traditional and video gaming.

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Interview: Why Stardock Sold To GameStop

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Stardock’s recent sale of its Impulse digital distribution service to GameStop is in the history books now, but the retailer was hardly the only bidder for the service.

Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock, says there were conversations with dozens of companies – with roughly a half-dozen of those presenting term sheets – before Stardock made its final decision. And even then, it took a lot of convincing on GameStop’s part.

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Interview: Tony Bartel On GameStop’s New Digital Strategy

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Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks with GameStop president Tony Bartel about its recent acquisitions and the company’s potential plans to build its own tablet computer.

After running relatively quiet on the digital front for a long period, GameStop came out with both guns blazing last week.

The surprise purchases of Stardock’s Impulse digital distribution service and streaming technology firm Spawn Labs put the company in direct competition with Steam and OnLive. And it’s just getting started.

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Interview: SOE’s Smedley On The Company’s Future

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Gamasutra editor at large Chris Morris talks to Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley about the next generation of EverQuest, NGP development and why “You can bet our future is more console-based than it is PC-based.”

Before Thursday, there was a lot to talk about when it came to Sony Online Entertainment. Then the layoffs hit – and there was only one subject on people’s minds.

Unfortunately, my talk with SOE president John Smedley was held on Tuesday – long before even the rumors of layoffs had begun to swirl. And, not surprisingly, SOE wasn’t making him available after shutting down three of its studios and laying off 205 employees. So while there’s no look as to what led up to the Thursday axings, Smedley was still willing to look into the company’s future in the days leading up to it.

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Opinion: NPD Sales Reporting Restirictions May Shoot Data Service In The Foot

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Veteran game journalist and Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris examines NPD’s moves to limit media access to U.S. video game sales figures, stating NPD “could be undercutting its own relevancy.”

I get why The NPD Group has been clamping down on distribution of its data recently. I really do.

But I’m starting to worry that as the company keeps an eye on its bottom line, it could be undercutting its own relevancy at a time when it’s already under assault.

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Opinion: Why The Duke Nukem Forever Delay Makes Sense

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[In this opinion piece, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris discusses why the latest delay to Gearbox’s Duke Nukem Forever is actually a good thing, with other upcoming gaming releases taken into account.]

Given the game’s long, dubious history, the latest delay of Duke Nukem Forever shouldn’t have come as a shock to anyone.

It’s certainly not a long one, by Duke standards. And while some doubters in gaming forums across the internet have seized on this as a chance to say “I told you so!,” most fans and developers have barely blinked at the news, except perhaps to tip their hats at the clever way Gearbox announced the news.

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Interview: PopCap’s Roberts Talks IPO Reports, Why ‘Good Games Are Good Games’

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[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to PopCap CEO David Roberts about the rise of casual gaming, the possibility of an initial public offering for the company later this year, and why Bejeweled’s popularity rises from the fact that “good games are good games.”]

PopCap Games, to borrow (and slightly mangle) a phrase from Barbara Mandrell, was casual when casual wasn’t cool.

Long before companies like Rovio and Zynga were dominating headlines, the Seattle-based development house was building a loyal following with titles like Bejeweled and Bookworm. And that gives it some perspective in this fast-growing market.

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Interview: Reggie Fils-Aime On Garage Devs And The Value Of Software

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When Nintendo’s global president Satoru Iwata rocked this year’s Game Developers Conference with his controversial comments about developers of social and mobile games, there were a lot of questions. Was the company showing fear? Was it being too rigid in its thinking? Was Iwata actually right on the money?

A few people, though, were asking a more practical question: If the company felt this new breed of garage developers (like Rovio in its early days or Tiny Wings developer Andreas Illiger) were undervaluing their games, why not establish an opportunity for them to sell to the Nintendo audience at higher prices?

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