Internet Gaming for the New Internet Based on IPv6

Internet gaming facts figures and links

Gaming is good for kids

Pew study finds gaming is good for kids

WoW Development Costs

WoW appears to be a profitable business model. What is the world had 1 billion players, how would they all connect if it wasn't for IPv6? 'World of Warcraft' Costs Just $200 Million Kris Pigna - PC Magazine Tue Sep 16, 11:21 AM ET Everyone always talks about how monumental a money generator World of Warcraft has been for Blizzard, but here's a figure you don't hear much about: How much does WoW actually cost Blizzard to maintain? According to Kotaku's report, Blizzard stated during their Analyst Day conference call yesterday that the price has been over $200 million since the game launched in 2004. ADVERTISEMEN That's $200 million for the total cost of upkeep since the game's November, 2004 release (presumably not including the initial cost to develop the game). This includes payroll for the entire staff, hardware support, and -- apparently the biggest infrastructure cost -- customer service. We don't have figures for exactly how much revenue World of Warcraft has generated since its launch, but we can at least do a little arithmetic (and some loose estimation) to try to put this in perspective. Most recently, Blizzard put the total number of WoW subscribers at over 10 million. According to Gamasutra, this number includes those "who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card...as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access." It does not, however, include expired subscriptions and prepaid cards, or promotional subscriptions. Okay, so let's do a conservative estimate, and say even 1 million of these counted subscribers are still in their free month. That leaves 9 million paying subscribers who, at the $15 fee, are generating $135 million every month. Hell, even if you adjust that to, say, $120 million (since many subscribers may be paying for slightly discounted 3- or 6-month subscriptions), that still means Blizzard more than recouped their entire upkeep costs over a four-year period in just two months. We believe the words you are looking for are "hot damn."

Game Called "Life"

Every Game Is Serious In Abt, C.C.'s book Serious Games, he first explains that the world is becoming more advanced and educated, it is only human nature to want to learn. C.C. goes on to say that in the "real world" important decision making is only done in small numbers (when compared to the population). He states that with the use of games important decision making, it can be re simulated and brought to all people. People that may want to become heavily involved, people who are curious or people that may want to get their feet wet in the important decision making process. "The wide use of 'game' as a metaphor for many social, economic, political and military activities shows how much we assume about the formal similarity between games and real-life activities."

University of California Prof. Gets 100K to Study World of Warcraft

 

Gaming in the finacial crisis meltdown: a cheap form of entertainment & escape

 

WoW Succeeds in School - Live Science article

World of Warcraft Video Game Succeeds in School By Jeremy Hsu, Staff Writer posted: 03 October 2008 It's not unusual for video game players to speak of a routine that involves ordering pizza, getting a sugar jolt, and then playing "World of Warcraft" for hours. But the person talking in this case is Constance Steinkuehler, an educational researcher who organized an afterschool group for boys to play, for educational purposes, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Gaming makes Grown Ups Driver Safer

Oct. 10, 2008 -- It's about as different from Grant Theft Auto as you can get. Last week, insurance provider Allstate sent video games to 100,000 drivers aged 50 to 75 in Pennsylvania. The set of five games, together called InSight and made by Posit Science, are designed to improve the mental acuity of older drivers. Allstate hopes the pilot program will give customers a more favorable impression of the insurance provider and turn older drivers into safer drivers. "We expect to see that the group using the software will have a lower frequency of crashes verses the group that didn't use the software," said Tom Warden of Allstate. Brain training is not a new idea. Japanese game maker Nintendo briefly marketed games designed to reverse certain effects of aging, but they were never scientifically proven to work. Nintendo has since announced that they stopped making brain-training games.

Lord British to Blast into Space

Oct. 10, 2008 -- After earning millions of dollars creating computer fantasy games, Richard Garriott decided to fulfill a childhood dream of his own by flying into space aboard a Russian rocket. In the 1980s, "Lord British" became the name of the ruler of an alternative fantasy world that Garriott created for Ultima, a series of role-playing games initially written for the now-ancient Apple II computer. The series, which became a runaway hit and later spawned an Internet version called Ultima Online, cemented Garriott's reputation as a pioneering game designer and turned him into a multi-millionaire.

Games Appear Highly Recession Resistant

October 13, 2008 Pachter: Games 'Highly Recession-Resistant' Despite Difficult September Results Ahead Pachter: Games 'Highly Recession-Resistant' Despite Difficult September Results Ahead Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter agrees with the majority of analysts who expect visible year-over-year decline for the games industry in September -- but he stresses the unfavorable comparison is due to comparisons to Halo 3's launch month last year, and not a reduction in demand in an unsettling economy.

Surfing Web May Help With Memory

CHICAGO--Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles studied people doing Web searches while their brain activity was recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging scans

Surfing Web May Help With Memory

CHICAGO--Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles studied people doing Web searches while their brain activity was recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging scans

The Generational Divide: World of Work Survey Encourages Collaboration

RE: GUCI - Global Unified Communication ID The Generational Divide: World of Work Survey Encourages Collaboration By Eileen Mullan - November 2008 Issue, Posted Oct 20, 2008 Print Version Page 1 of 1 From recent college graduates to veteran employees, there are four generations in the work force today: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers, and Millenials. With each of these groups comes a different opinion on how to best get the job done. More often than not, these different views on productivity collide and affect more than just the process—they affect the results. As technology advances, it is difficult to reach all four groups effectively, but it is essential for productivity to reconcile generational differences and get every employee, regardless of his or her generation, on the same page. GREEN PROTOCOL WG SOURCE: Geof Lambert, IPv6 Forum Click here to learn more!

Crispy Gaming - Gaming Review Website - Takes in $8.2 Million in Funding

Crispy Gamer Inc. has launched its destination site for serious gamers backed by $8.25 million from Constellation Ventures and the company's founders

GravitX, an Israeli based exergaming company, is going to change the way you think about the world of gaming!

GravitX, an Israeli based exergaming company, is going to change the way you think about the world of gaming! Their new active gaming technology called GameAir, allows gamers to increase their gaming experience and engage their whole body while playing off-the-shelf game titles. GameAir will interact with both PC's as well as common game consoles and will allow the users to feel the excitement and competitive challenge of the game. GameAir is used mainly to simulate games that involve: Jumping, Running, Turning and Shooting.

Is surfing the Internet altering your brain?

CANBERRA--The Internet is not just changing the way people live but altering the way our brains work with a neuroscientist arguing this is an evolutionary change which will put the tech-savvy at the top of the new social order. Gary Small, a neuroscientist at UCLA in California who specializes in brain function, has found through studies that Internet searching and text messaging has made brains more adept at filtering information and making snap decisions.

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EA to Invest Long Term in Online Gaming

Riccitiello: EA Thinks Long-Term With $150 Million For Digital Distro, Online, EAP Riccitiello: EA Thinks Long-Term With $150 Million For Digital Distro, Online, EAP Electronic Arts said it will sacrifice short-term profits in favor of longer term investments -- the company plans to put $150 million into its digital distribution and online game businesses, and in its EA Partners co-publishing and distribution relationships. On the company's Gamasutra-attended financial results call today, the company also revealed that, as part of its longer-term approach, Pandemic's in-progress titles Lord of the Rings: Conquest and Saboteur will be delayed.

Taiwan MMOG Gaming Market Growing

Online games now big business According to projections of the market analysis institution Market Intelligence Center, Taiwanese gamers will spend more than ten billion New Taiwan Dollars or roughly three hundred million US dollars in Online Games this year. The market is projected to grow to 12 billions New Taiwan Dollars or more than 360 million US dollars in 2010. The center surveyed almost 7000 gamers online to ask them about their game-playing habits. The survey found that the average gamer spent 300 New Taiwan Dollars or almost ten US dollars in online games every month. Almost 95 percent said that they favored MMOG or Massive Multiplayer Online Games. Examples of these games include the popular the Legend of Zhuxian, based on a Chinese period martial arts novel.

Emerald Island offers kiddies a green-themed virtual world featuring fun and adventure, games and various characters.

Can a child learn to appreciate the environment while sitting inside and playing a computer game? Well, children’s software developer Fluid Entertainment thinks so. They recently announced the official launch today of Emerald Island, a new MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) for children. Emerald Island offers kiddies a green-themed virtual world featuring fun and adventure, games and various characters. Game players are challenged to save Emerald Island from environmental destruction at the hands of the pillaging invaders. Designed for kids aged 6 to 12, the game features next-generation technology (including safeguards to ensure a secure online experience), player-driven characters and an evolving plotline.

Reasons for developing a MMOG

When observers look at the state of the massively multiplayer online role-playing genre in the western hemisphere, it may seem to be dominated by one title so popular that its position in the market is unassailable. This is, of course, an exaggeration. At some point in time, one will emerge to become the new leader. As well, there's plenty of room for more high-quality titles to achieve success in the interim. Within the past few years, we've seen some significant studios open their doors. One of these is Zenimax Online Studios, which is headed by respected industry veteran Matt Firor.

Top 10 Trends in Gaming

The 10 trends McClure cites include: "1. Making games more accessible to a more diverse player base 2. Open worlds 3. Co-op mode 4. Companion characters 5. Forcing players to choose between undesirable options 6. Using mini-games in place of or to facilitate action 7. Retro sci-fi dystopias 8. More varied game worlds 9. High-brow influences 10. The mixing of different genres and different perspectives."

7-Eleven to Sell Video Games Full Time

7-Eleven To Sell Video Games Full Time 7-Eleven announced last week that they are entering the gaming retailer market, saying that games are now a regular part of the chain's stock. In addition to games, 7-Eleven is selling prepaid cards for a variety of massively multiplayer online games, as well as Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Network. In charge of the initiative is Michael Jester, the company's category manager for gaming and electronics. "This is not just a holiday promotion for us," Jester said in a statement, "but a brand-new product line-up that will be available year-round. We may not be a total entertainment destination...yet, but we're hoping to expand our selection beyond the high-dollar, hot-selling games to include options for all budgets, like value-priced video games as well as DVD movies." This month, participating 7-Eleven stores introduce a line-up of seven of the top video game titles for sale as well as one of the most comprehensive selection of prepaid gift cards for another growing gaming phenomenon -- Massively Multi-player Online Games, or MMOGs.

Chart on the Convergence of Gaming and Cinema