Games Brief

Author Archive

1. Four reasons why I think Zynga has peaked

   October 4, 2011

   I believe that every game has a ‘fair average value’ which I’d define as the amount that the average player feels is about right to spend on that game each month. Some players will spend much more, some less (and many will pay nothing in a free-to-play model), but there is a fair value that feels right for an average median player. I simply don’t believe that Zynga get this concept.

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   Posted in: Guest Post, Sales

   Tagged with: free games, free-to-play, ndreams, patrick o'luanaigh, sales, social games, zynga

   7 Comments

2. Two ends of the same line: the casual/core war

   April 26, 2011

   There’s a war going on. Here’s an exclusive report from the field by our correspondent Patrick O’Luanaigh, one time CEO, nDreams Ltd.

   The skirmishes are increasing in frequency and intensity. The occasional f-bomb has been dropped by both sides. And I’m here, in no-mans land between the two armed camps, wondering what the hell they are fighting about.

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   Posted in: Guest Post, Opinion

   Tagged with: casual, core, ndreams, patrick o'luanaigh

   5 Comments

3. Online game gets banking license

   March 21, 2009

   Surely a sign of things to come – the BBC has reported that Swedish-based MMO, Entropia Universe, has been granted an official banking license. The license means that it can offer full banking services to customers including interest earning accounts and getting salaries paid directly into their in-game account (in Project Entropia Dollars). Gamers deposits [...]

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   Posted in: Finance

   Tagged with: ecommerce, guest post, mmo, online games, virtual economies, virtual worlds

   1 Comment

4. The curse of “configurable” consoles

   January 23, 2009

   The NPD data for December 2008 released last week made interesting reading. Over 2.1 million Wii consoles were sold in the US alone in December, which is a phenomenal figure. But maybe it’s not just the unique control interface that makes the Wii so successful with casual “infrequent” gamers. Maybe it’s the fact that you can actually [...]

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   Posted in: Featured, Opinion

   Tagged with: guest post, hardware, microsoft, nintendo wii, playstation 3, sony, xbox live

   2 Comments

5. The true cost of AAA games?

   January 9, 2009

   Eidos announced today that they were lowering their full-year revenue expectations by £20m due to their latest Lara Croft game, Tomb Raider Underworld, selling less than expected (it has sold 1.5 million units to date globally). Apart from highlighting the inherent dangers in relying on one franchise too much, this illustrates one of the biggest dangers [...]

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   Posted in: Analysis

   Tagged with: boxed games, eidos, games industry, guest post

   No Comments