Gamasutra blog guidelines: Updated, open for discussion 13
by Staff [05.20.13]
Want to know more about blogging on Gamasutra? Check out the site's new, revised blog guidelines. If you have any questions or comments, editor Christian Nutt is there to answer them.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Business/Marketing

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Game & Wario lampoons crowdfunded games 4
by Kris Ligman [05.20.13]
With crowdfunding services like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo an increasingly popular alternative to traditional financing for small developers, a satirical video like this seemed inevitable.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing, Video

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What can Big Data do for games? 4
by Gamasutra Community [05.20.13]
You can gather tremendous amounts of data these days -- but what can game developers do with it? University professor Dana Ruggiero explains.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Programming, Design, Business/Marketing

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The next Xbox: What Microsoft needs to reveal this week 18
by Gamasutra Community [05.20.13]
The competitive landscape for game consoles is more complex than ever. IHS analyst Piers Harding-Rolls looks at what Microsoft must do to maintain relevance in today's market.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Can free-to-play be effective without being exploitative? 17
by Mike Rose [05.20.13]
"There are lots of ways to implement free-to-play, and most of them are detrimental to the core game design." - Rami Ismail of Vlambeer discusses why he still isn't a fan of the free-to-play space.
Console/PC, Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing

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This augmented reality tech was originally a Valve project 3
by Mike Rose [05.20.13]
Although Valve said that it had not canceled any projects during February's layoffs, two of the affected employees have revealed an AR project they were working on when they were let go.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Market's ready for new consoles, but old-gen surprisingly viable 8
by Matt Matthews [05.20.13]
Sales of aging game console hardware in the U.S. are healthier than you might think, while at the same time, we're seeing signals that the market is ready for new consoles.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing, Exclusive

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7 design lessons from Letterpress 1
by Brandon Sheffield [05.20.13]
Brandon Sheffield draws design lessons from the simple beauty of Atebit's turn-based word game Letterpress in a reprint from the May issue of Game Developer magazine.
GD Mag, Business/Marketing, GD Mag Exclusive

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New Team Fortress 2 update is completely user-made 1
by Kris Ligman [05.17.13]
The newest free content update for Valve's Team Fortress 2, Robotic Boogaloo, is entirely the creation of the game's fans, with more than 50 modders contributing to the project.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing

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New layoffs reach Trion 18
by Kris Ligman [05.17.13]
Trion Worlds has confirmed for Gamasutra that it has laid off yet more of its workforce. Several teams have been dramatically reduced, with Trion's Defiance team said to be "obliterated."
Console/PC, Social/Online, Business/Marketing

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Do all games need big audiences? 12
by Gamasutra Community [05.17.13]
"It might be ok for some games to really be for other game makers, or only for literature buffs, and not the general public," writes Adam Saltsman (Hundreds) on the fickle nature of indie curation.
Indie, Business/Marketing

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Building a games-as-a-service studio from the ground up 12
by Gamasutra Community [05.17.13]
Jeremy Blum tells the story of the founding of New World Interactive, developers of Insurgency, explaining how his background boosted his effort to build a community-focused studio.
Social/Online, Indie, Programming, Design, Business/Marketing

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'Coercive' free-to-play, or treating your players like a disease 41
by Gamasutra Community [05.17.13]
Monetization consultant Ramin Shokrizade explains how many free-to-play games are "coercive" towards players -- and how, inevitably, these business models will stop working.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Design, Business/Marketing

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The $3 million (per day) man 10
by Christian Nutt [05.17.13]
Kazuki Morishita, president of GungHo Online, had the original idea for smash mobile hit, Puzzle & Dragons, which rakes in a reported $3 million each day. Where does GungHo go from here?
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing

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Steam Trading Cards: The next-gen of achievements? 13
by Leigh Alexander [05.17.13]
With Valve's Steam Trading Cards, we glimpse a theory of next generation in-game achievement systems that are meant to motivate play, not just to reward it.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing, Exclusive

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Blog: Don't rip off your community 6
by Gamasutra Community [05.17.13]
Raptr CEO Dennis Fong explains how "milking players for cash" isn't the right way to make a profit from games -- when "what’s good for the player is often good for business."
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Business/Marketing

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The laws behind Nintendo's Let's Play crackdown 100
by Mike Rose [05.17.13]
As Nintendo begins claiming ad revenue for, and apparently even shutting down, YouTube Let's Play videos showcasing its games, professor of law Greg Lastowka explains the situation from a legal perspective.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Superheroes and zombies couldn't save U.S. game retail in April 2
by Kris Graft [05.16.13]
Physical retail sales of video games in the U.S. showed a double-digit decline for the month of April, as Injustice: Gods Among Us and Dead Island: Riptide led sales for the month.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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EA enters MOBA space with Dawngate 1
by Kris Ligman [05.16.13]
As MMOs give way to MOBAs, the first title from Waystone Games, Dawngate, is set to represent EA's first forays into this sector of the online market.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Nintendo and EA's 'unprecedented partnership' is looking frosty 31
by Kris Ligman [05.16.13]
The collaboration between EA and Nintendo does not appear to involve much support for the Wii U at all, as an EA spokesperson announced today the company has no titles in development for the platform.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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