Saturday, 13 October 2012
Play Expo twitter feeds
Search for Play Expo on Twitter to see what people are saying about today's lineup!
Friday, 12 October 2012
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Lesson 10 - Media Ownership
Some notes on the main issues of media ownership - with reference to Rockstar Games
PPT after cut
PPT after cut
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
How is Skylanders changing the way kids play games?
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/figures-of-fun-how-skylanders-is-changing-the-way-children-play-7569021.html
In the Nintendo Store in midtown Manhattan a woman is asking if they have any Skylanders figurines. "Sorry ma'am, we're all out," comes the reply. "Not even under the till?" the customer pleads, "I know some stores are keeping them back."
After being patiently reassured that the $10 (£6.35) plastic toys aren't being stashed like contraband, she gives up, but not before explaining the struggle she's had getting them elsewhere.
So far, so annual toy fad – a tradition that dates back to queues for Christmas "must-haves" such as Buzz Lightyear, Furby and Tickle-Me Elmo. But, unlike the rest of the plastic delights on show at this year's New York Toy Fair, Skylanders are a bit different. Different because they combine two parents' pocket-straining items: the collectible plastic toy and the computer game. The game itself is a standard (but critically praised) platform game, written by Toy Story's Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. It's available on all major consoles.
So far, so annual toy fad – a tradition that dates back to queues for Christmas "must-haves" such as Buzz Lightyear, Furby and Tickle-Me Elmo. But, unlike the rest of the plastic delights on show at this year's New York Toy Fair, Skylanders are a bit different. Different because they combine two parents' pocket-straining items: the collectible plastic toy and the computer game. The game itself is a standard (but critically praised) platform game, written by Toy Story's Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. It's available on all major consoles.
Spyro soars again in acclaimed hybrid ‘Skylanders’
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/spyro-soars-again-acclaimed-hybrid-skylanders-231303939.html
Three years ago, when Activision was trying to figure out what to do next with the long-running Spyro the Dragon series, it really didn't have ambitious plans.
While the character was tremendously popular in the PlayStation 2 days (when Ratchet & Clank/Resistance developer Insomniac Games was running the franchise), a string of mediocre sequels had long since dulled its earnings potential. But a radical idea from Toys For Bob, a developer most gamers had never heard of, quickly convinced the company to bet big on the little fire-breather.
"We were looking for a new way to reinvigorate [the series] and they came to the table with this idea of bringing physical toys to the game that got everyone's imaginations firing," says Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "It took what was a smallish, moderately ambitious project and turned it into a larger one."
The result — Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — is a unique blending of the toy and video game worlds. Action figures are sold with a peripheral (dubbed the "Portal of Power") which plugs into the Wii, Xbox 360 or PS3. When a player puts the action figures on the portal, they're instantly imported into the game.
That alone is a pretty cool thing to witness, but Skylanders' real hook is that the action figures are portable, letting you take them to a friend's house and play the character in their version of the game, retaining all of the achievements and level-ups you've already amassed — even if it's on a different console.
While the character was tremendously popular in the PlayStation 2 days (when Ratchet & Clank/Resistance developer Insomniac Games was running the franchise), a string of mediocre sequels had long since dulled its earnings potential. But a radical idea from Toys For Bob, a developer most gamers had never heard of, quickly convinced the company to bet big on the little fire-breather.
"We were looking for a new way to reinvigorate [the series] and they came to the table with this idea of bringing physical toys to the game that got everyone's imaginations firing," says Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "It took what was a smallish, moderately ambitious project and turned it into a larger one."
The result — Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure — is a unique blending of the toy and video game worlds. Action figures are sold with a peripheral (dubbed the "Portal of Power") which plugs into the Wii, Xbox 360 or PS3. When a player puts the action figures on the portal, they're instantly imported into the game.
That alone is a pretty cool thing to witness, but Skylanders' real hook is that the action figures are portable, letting you take them to a friend's house and play the character in their version of the game, retaining all of the achievements and level-ups you've already amassed — even if it's on a different console.
Get a Play Expo letter if haven't already!
Get a letter from me for Play Expo if you have yet to do so, Remember - it's Sunday
Skylanders Giants: Innovator or money-spinner?
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/skylanders-giants-innovator-or-moneyspinner-8208303.html
‘But mum I need Stumpsmash.’ It’s a refrain heard in toy shops up and down the country. Replace Stumpsmash with your child’s (or inner child-like gamer’s) Skylander monster of choice and you have the making of a hunt that spans supermarkets, big shed retailers and local toy stores.
Creative characters, ground-breaking design and 48 toys to collect, but does Skylanders Giants represent value for money this Christmas? Andy Robertson investigates.
‘But mum I need Stumpsmash.’ It’s a refrain heard in toy shops up and down the country. Replace Stumpsmash with your child’s (or inner child-like gamer’s) Skylander monster of choice and you have the making of a hunt that spans supermarkets, big shed retailers and local toy stores.
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure was unique in its ability to store progress in the toy figures that came with the game via Near Field type technology much like that now included in the Wii U GamePad. Skylanders Giants looks set to follow up the success of the first game by extending the range of toy figures and introducing new gameplay elements.
PS3/X360/PC Preview - 'Skylanders Giants'
http://worthplaying.com/article/2012/10/16/previews/87274/
Last year's release of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure was a surprise hit for Activision. The video game and toy combination was both innovative and fun to play, not to mention a bit addictive. Unlike Nintendo's Pokémon franchise, "collecting them all" in Skylanders meant tracking down the toys in real life in order to use them within the game. With the sequel, Skylanders: Giants, just around the corner, we decided to join other media and Activision reps on a trip to the northern California office of Toys for Bob, the developer behind the Skylanders games, to see the magic behind the plastic.
Toys for Bob is housed in an old hangar that was converted to an office. Once inside the building, everything is decked out retro tiki-island style. There are faux thatched roofs, leis, a surf board with a Skylanders poster attached and actual tiki statues to set the island feel. If you have a hankering for gum, there's a big '70s style spaceship filled with gumballs.
It's the kind of environment that caters to open-ended creativity, which even spilled over to the bathrooms. The converted hangar has urinals in all the bathrooms. Since the women had no use for the urinals, they turned them into glorified plant holders and plastered the walls with male pin-up photos — just like a teenage girl's bedroom. You can tell they have fun here.
After a quick look around, we were escorted to seats facing a projector screen where Paul Reiche, the Toys for Bob studio head, gave us an overview of the company's history and how it came to develop Skylanders. The presentation then shifted to Giants and the lore behind the new characters.
Last year's release of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure was a surprise hit for Activision. The video game and toy combination was both innovative and fun to play, not to mention a bit addictive. Unlike Nintendo's Pokémon franchise, "collecting them all" in Skylanders meant tracking down the toys in real life in order to use them within the game. With the sequel, Skylanders: Giants, just around the corner, we decided to join other media and Activision reps on a trip to the northern California office of Toys for Bob, the developer behind the Skylanders games, to see the magic behind the plastic.
Toys for Bob is housed in an old hangar that was converted to an office. Once inside the building, everything is decked out retro tiki-island style. There are faux thatched roofs, leis, a surf board with a Skylanders poster attached and actual tiki statues to set the island feel. If you have a hankering for gum, there's a big '70s style spaceship filled with gumballs.
It's the kind of environment that caters to open-ended creativity, which even spilled over to the bathrooms. The converted hangar has urinals in all the bathrooms. Since the women had no use for the urinals, they turned them into glorified plant holders and plastered the walls with male pin-up photos — just like a teenage girl's bedroom. You can tell they have fun here.
After a quick look around, we were escorted to seats facing a projector screen where Paul Reiche, the Toys for Bob studio head, gave us an overview of the company's history and how it came to develop Skylanders. The presentation then shifted to Giants and the lore behind the new characters.
Rumour: Activision to release Skylanders: Battlegrounds 'mobile starter pack' on iOS
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Skylanders%3A+Battlegrounds/news.asp?c=45676
If you're an iPhone- or iPad-toting Skylanders fan, prepare to get excited. An image has surfaced online for an all-new mobile title called Skylanders: Battlegrounds.
As you can see from the image below, the game is part of a "mobile starter pack" that features three Skylanders - Double Trouble, Jet-Vac, and Cynder - a Hidden Treasure item, and a portal.
Yes, it actually contains a portal, which we presume will work via Bluetooth.
This portal means that Skylanders: Battlegrounds should be compatible with all current Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure figurines, as well as the forthcoming Skylanders: Giants toys.
Naturally, the above image could be completely fake, but we've got our fingers crossed that it isn't.
If you're an iPhone- or iPad-toting Skylanders fan, prepare to get excited. An image has surfaced online for an all-new mobile title called Skylanders: Battlegrounds.
As you can see from the image below, the game is part of a "mobile starter pack" that features three Skylanders - Double Trouble, Jet-Vac, and Cynder - a Hidden Treasure item, and a portal.
Yes, it actually contains a portal, which we presume will work via Bluetooth.
.jpg)
Naturally, the above image could be completely fake, but we've got our fingers crossed that it isn't.
Spyro takes another leap onto the iPad in Skylanders: Lost Islands
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPad/Skylanders%3A+Lost+Islands/news.asp?c=45605
Activision has just released another iPad title set in its increasingly popular Skylander universe. It's called Skylanders: Lost Islands, and it's a freemium build-'em-up that tasks you with restoring the lands of the Mabu to their former glory.
Activision has just released another iPad title set in its increasingly popular Skylander universe. It's called Skylanders: Lost Islands, and it's a freemium build-'em-up that tasks you with restoring the lands of the Mabu to their former glory.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)