Connected Gaming Week - July 6, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

For the Independence Day version of Connected Gaming Week, I came up with a head-scratching riddle for you: What do you get when you introduce the West’s biggest online gaming franchise with the East’s biggest online gaming community? The answer is: I don’t know, but Activision is betting that it’s going to be profitable. It’s an interesting move - EA definitely saw success breaking out of the console when they worked with Neowiz to bring FIFA Online to Korea. But in a land where the free-to-play shooter CrossFire reigns, will Activision’s bro-shooter win over the Chinese audience?

Back in the US, EA is having troubles of its own as it tries to adapt its major cash cow, the EA Sports label to a micro-transactional model. EA’s mobile strategy for the brand is making steps in the right direction by offering the games for free, and then tying them in to the console/PC versions of the game, e.g. set a course record on the mobile version of Tiger Woods and unlock a set of clubs in the console version. But despite the mobile implementation, U.S. consumers still have qualms with EA’s on-disc DLC and its widely perceived as “greedy” business practices. EA Sports’ two largest titles in the U.S., NCAA Football 13 and Madden NFL 13, are set to release this summer (NCAA releases next week), and the ball is in EA’s court for turning around the sour reception to their DLC/micro-transactional business. And yes, I’m aware of the irony of closing a paragraph about football with a Wimbledon reference.

Check out the links below for more news from the world of online gaming in this edition of the CGW, and have a great weekend.

Stay connected,

John Hardin
Editor
Connected Gaming Week

The Industry
Games on a Plane
Growing Digital Game Sales not enough to Compensate for Weak Retail
ACTA Denied by European Parliament
Mobile Gamers will soon Outnumber PC Players in China
Marketers: Exploit Game Players with This Clever Psychological Trick!
Opinion: Game developers, Remember Priority No. 1
Mobile Gamers to Soon Exceed PC Players in China - Study

The Players
Sony and Gaikai: The Cloud's Silver Lining
Transformers Developer Working on Marvel Game?
EA Will be 100 Percent Digital, Says Exec
Funcom's CEO Steps Down on the Day of The Secret World's Launch
Street Fighter's Seth Killian is Now Lead Game Designer at Sony Santa Monica
Growing Pains for EA Sports' Microtransaction Future
APB: Reloaded Publisher Merges into Reloaded Games

The Experiences
Total War: Rome 2 Marches to PC in 2013
Tokyo Jungle Sells More Than 200,000 Units
Persona 4 Arena Will Be region Locked on PS3
Halo 4 Requires 'At Least' 8GB Flash Drive
Metal Gear Solid HD Gives PS Vita Japanese Sales Boost

The Technology
'Open and Inexpensive' Android Home Console Ouya Detailed - Report
Wii U Online to be Free
Recent FCC Filing May Reveal Super Slim PS3
Opinion: The Less the Code, the Better

Upcoming Industry Events 

• MobileBeat/GamesBeat, San Francisco, July 10-12
• San Diego Comic-Con, San Diego, July 12-15
• Casual Connect, Seattle, July 24-26
• Gamescom, Cologne, Aug. 15-19
• PAX Prime, Seattle, Aug. 31-Sept. 2
• New York Games Conference, New York, Sept. 5
• LOGIN, San Francisco, Sept. 26-27
• GDC Online, Austin, Oct. 10-13
• Digital Hollywood Fall, Los Angeles, Oct. 15-18