GIN _05.tesogfmr.qxd2 3/15/04 11:29 AM Page 1 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5; MARCH 19, 2004 Where Are the Games? Scenes from an industry waiting for some- ously. This forward thinking is what makes of the few companies that can look at thing to happen…. great games, but we’re years away from the period between now and then without seeing those titles. What about now? excess anxiety—but it’s still 2004. Early “We’re doing OK, I guess,” says 2004. What will get people into the a regional manager for a videogame Why not ask someone from the one com- stores now? retail chain. pany that would be happy if the current situation lasted a long time: Electronic We asked the smartest people in the busi- He paused for a moment, then added: Arts? (It should be mentioned that the two ness, and they all told us the same thing: “We’d be doing better if we had some new current games generating teenage enthusi- great games and lower prices. The great games that people wanted to buy, though.” asm, NFL Street and Need for Speed games part will take care of itself in the Underground, are both from EA.) Warren second half of the year when many long- We spent a couple of weekend afternoons Jenson, EA’s EVP and chief financial and anticipated titles are scheduled to arrive. hanging out at videogame stores from New administrative officer, was delivering his Lower prices? As our man at Sony puts it, Jersey to Maine and asked kids and adults usual spiel at a Smith Barney investors’ “Either Microsoft or we have to pull the which games they were most excited about. conference recently when a question about trigger on that, sooner better than later. As They mentioned Halo 2, Doom 3, Half-Life the life span of existing consoles and games soon as one of us does it, the other one 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and The snapped him to attention. “The last cycle will. We both have to do it. I don’t care Sims 2. They’re all interesting games, of ended far too quickly,” he acknowledged who goes first. But unless we want the next course, but they have one other attribute in readily. “We stopped developing for the quarter to be ugly, one of us has to. Now. common: None are out yet. PlayStation 1 way too early. We left hun- The games aren’t coming fast enough to dreds of millions of dollars on the table. I pull us through.” ■ The videogame industry’s core cus- promise you that is not going to happen tomers, the fans who go to specialty shops again. We will be talking about the PS2 rather than chains for their games, are and Xbox in 2010. The installed base is TABLE OF CONTENTS excited about games they haven’t even seen too high.” yet. As for what’s out now, we didn’t find OUR OWN MATRIX? much enthusiasm. During our hour at a Jenson went on to suggest that the cur- GameStop in a mall in southern Maine, a rent doldrums in videogame sales (for Warner Bros. opens a new division and tries store with the words “We Buy Used almost everyone else in the industry) would again Games” was covering one of its two large continue until Microsoft and Sony took PAGE 3 windows, and every transaction we saw some aggressive price action. “Console involved a reduced-price used game. With prices need to be $129 going into the holi- LOVE THE PLAYERS, NOT few exceptions (you should hear teenage days to make a difference for us so that we boys go on about NFL Street or Need for can expand the market.” Otherwise, he THE GAME Speed Underground), there’s little in stores maintained, the latter part of the current You can’t control online communities that’s getting fans excited right now. And if cycle would go down in the usual manner. PAGE 4 the Final Fantasy XI preorders are any indication, there is no huge pent-up Jenson also warned that the key to mak- demand for a PS2 hard drive that we’ve ing the next console cycle bigger and longer PLAYING PLACEMENT been able to discern. than this one is innovation. “The next con- It seems like every pixel is for sale soles have to be Xbox 2 and not Xbox 1.5, PAGE 8 As we chat with game makers heading to PS3 and not PS2.5. That will ultimately San Jose, CA, next week for the annual drive our ability to innovate. And early Game Developers Conference, they’re talk- indications are that truly new consoles are TOO SOON TO VERIFY ing about new platforms and what they exactly what we’ll get.” The latest industry tips, unfiltered will be able to accomplish when they can PAGE 11 manipulate two zillion polygons simultane- That’s good for 2006—and EA is one GIN _05.tesogfmr.qxd2 3/15/04 11:29 AM Page 2 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Go (Far) East, Jimmy Guterman Young Man [email protected] ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA Jason Bell and Turbine look across the Pacific and see the future of online gaming 500 UNICORN PARK DRIVE WOBURN, MA 01801 Last month, Atari executive Jason Bell European and American markets. And when joined online game maker Turbine it comes to the number of people playing 781-938-2639 Entertainment as its executive vice president; their online games, they are dealing on a his new responsibilities include running the scale that dwarfs anything we’ve experi- company’s new studio in Santa Monica and enced in North America. Most important, ART DIRECTOR: Rob Schultz overseeing its Asian/Pacific business. Prior to they are competing on a service level, not working at Atari, he held production posi- just a product level. That’s the reason no tions at Electronic Arts and Kesmai. North American game company has suc- COPY DESK: Tom Edwards, Greg Ford, ceeded in a large-scale way in China or Susie Ochs, Maritza Refuerzo Turbine is best known for its Asheron’s Korea. North American companies have a Call online game and is currently devel- history of drastically underestimating the oping online games based on The Lord amount of localization needed to succeed in of the Rings (for Vivendi) and Dungeons those markets. PRODUCTION: Carlos Lugo, Michele & Dragons (for Atari). We spoke to Manousos, Anne Marie Miguel Bell shortly after he returned from a trip How did the failure of The Sims Online to China. change the online-gaming business? The expectations were so high, ridiculously CIRCULATION DIRECTOR: Chris Wilkes What does Turbine gain from a having a so, within Electronic Arts and outside. The West Coast presence? Sims Online had a lot in common with [email protected] Sometimes, it’s easier to get talent in Los many other online games: It launched pre- Angeles than in Boston [where Turbine’s maturely and there was not enough game- main office is located]. In my years at Atari play. The basic miscalculation was not real- ZIFF DAVIS GAME GROUP and elsewhere, I developed a great network izing that it’s not as fun to play as an ant SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: Dale Strang of entertainment executives, so it’s good to as it is to watch ants play. Because of how be near them. And, of course, this puts The Sims Online did, you can see a pull- PUBLISHER: Lee Uniacke Turbine three hours closer to the biggest back from Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: John Davison online-game markets in the world. Ubisoft in the online-gaming space. Ubi’s decision to pull out of The Matrix Online BUSINESS DIRECTOR: Cathy Bendoff You’re talking about Asia, of course. What is directly attributable to the failure of The can North American online-gaming execu- Sims Online. tives learn from their counterparts Copyright © 2004, Ziff Davis Media Inc. in Asia? You’ve been there for only a short time, but On one level, they’re different beasts. Retail how is Turbine’s development approach All rights reserved. No material in this gaming in Korea, China, and Taiwan is different from that of companies you’ve publication may be reproduced without extremely problematic because of wide- worked for? spread piracy, so online is the only space [CEO] Jeff Anderson and the key players in written permission. Bulk orders, reprints, game companies there can work in, for the Boston have done a wonderful job culling and site licenses are available. most part. That’s a complete flip-flop from lessons from Asheron’s Call 1 and 2. They’re not approaching it with the hubris I Subscriptions cost $995 per year. Visit saw at Electronic Arts and Kesmai. You CORRECTION http://www.gamingindustrynews.com for can’t just build a large continuous world In “Lock Your Assets” (February 20, and expect people to figure it out by them- our best subscription offer. Gaming page 4), we referred speculatively to an selves. The key is making it extremely sim- Industry News is a trademark of Ziff upcoming court decision in an unclear ple and extremely fun, which is extremely way that made it appear that the deci- difficult. The people here know that. And Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. sion had been made already. We regret that humility makes them different from the error. other online players. ■ 2 gaming industry news March 19, 2004 GIN _05.tesogfmr.qxd2 3/15/04 11:29 AM Page 3 Saving the Game- Movie Marriage Warner Bros.