Lots more gaming stuff up today. First up Peter Molyneux finally admits he was given undue credit in the past.
"Not so much these days, because the role of a designer is much, much more understood. But for a very long time, I was way, way over-credited for many things."
Then there is a look at advertisers trying to reach gamers. Plus a closer look at how games can be used in schools. I can only assume things have come on since the mid 80s when "games in school" meant Chuckie Egg on the Beeb...
I've stuck my oar in too, and have taken a look at World of Warcraft and the potential competitors it may face this year. Warhammer or Conan anyone? Expect more game stuff later this week too.
In case the link is broken or you can't be bothered to click, here is the WoW article. Think I missed anything out? And can WoW - and its successors - ever be toppled?
Orcs, elves and 10 million paying subscribers: World of Warcraft is a PC gaming phenomenon. Three years since its release and the online game is still riding high, but could 2008 finally see it face some competition?
Blizzard, the creators of WoW, and their cleverly designed virtual world have blown the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) genre wide open. Previously a niche gaming offshoot, it is now worth more than $1bn in the west alone.
World of Warcraft is primarily responsible for this growth, adding polish and accessibility to the rough template originally developed by pioneers like Everquest. "With World of Warcraft we tried to maximise the fun, pick-up-and-play aspects, and make an MMO that was as approachable as possible without losing that lasting depth," said the game's lead producer, J Allen Brack. "That resounded with players on a much greater scale than we'd ever anticipated."
A new expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, is due out later this year and is likely to shoot to the top of the charts. But by this time WoW will face the first batch of credible challengers to its online gaming crown.
The biggest is Warhammer Online. The game has a similar look and feel to WoW but has far more emphasis on player versus player battle. This large-scale combat will see groups of opposing players battling it out for land and virtual bragging rights. Throw in the Games Workshop licence and you have a potentially worthy competitor. Oli Welsh, MMO editor of Eurogamer.net agrees: "Warhammer will probably get a little closer to World of Warcraft because it specifically appeals to hardcore fans who are pretty bored with WoW at the moment."
Another challenger due at around the same time is Age of Conan. This grittier take on fantasy allows players to build and conquer cities, and boasts a more dynamic combat system than the online gaming norm.
Elsewhere, NCsoft's Aion has the potential to add more depth to the usual conflict with three factions - two playable and one computer-controlled - battling for control.
There is also a substantial new update due for Lord of the Rings Online, which was originally released in 2007 and has quietly built a decent reputation - even if the subscriber numbers are dwarfed by WoW. "The Lord of the Rings Online isn't just combat," says Ed Relf, who heads up the project for publishers Codemasters. "The focus is on faithfully recreating the fantasy world of Middle Earth in an online universe."
The consoles will also provide some belated competition when NCsoft launches its MMO title for the PS3 in 2009.
Publicly, at least, most of the competitors see WoW as a positive for the market. "World of Warcraft has been a blessing for the genre and has opened up massively multiplayer gaming for millions of people all around the world," said Erling Ellingsen, product manager at Conan developer Funcom.
And Blizzard itself is magnanimous: "Rather than look at the new wave of titles as competitors, we see them as games that will further broaden the overall appeal of online gaming - and we're looking forward to playing them too," said Brack.
But while the market currently remains dominated by swords and sorcery the real growth is likely to be in less fantastical settings. "I expect The Agency (spies), All Points Bulletin (crime) and Lego Universe to do really, really well," says Eurogamer.net's Welsh. Titles aimed at casual and younger gamers are another growth area. Disney's Club Penguin and Toontown Online have been successful in attracting the pre-teen audience - and the latter has over a million subscribers. Jagex's Runescape, which takes the more traditional role-playing setting and repackages it for a younger age group, has a similar number of paying players. Relf recognises the trend: "One of the biggest growth opportunities within the online gaming space is represented by the relatively untapped younger or more casual gaming audience."
Welsh sounds a word of warning though. "There's no such thing as a casual MMO player. Successful MMOs turn casual gamers into hardcore gamers - it's how they work, economically."
So what happens next in online gaming? Ellingsen thinks diversity is key. "If the message the market receives is that you need to create World of Warcraft in order to be successful, no one is going to dare do it. I truly hope that we will see a lot more niche online games that will get a healthy number of players."
Welsh argues that price is the real driver. "The growth of the free-to-play market in the west will really help grow the audience for this kind of gaming."
Diversity, price and big brands like Lego will all help widen the online gaming market, but Relf urges caution to any potential entrant. "World of Warcraft is the iPod of the MMO genre. It's a phenomenon that may never be replicated again in this space."
