Increasingly television has become a social experience and my frustrations with the Wii implementation of the BBC iplayer has left me thinking that companies will be forced to allow such an experience or lose out.

Today we can get easily get our fix through devices other then our standard television sets. Devices such as phones, computers, websites and consoles all compete for a slice of the viewing figures and more importantly the cash that comes with it. So how do these devices get and keep our attention and why won’t we just stick with our standard sets?

It seems companies such as Microsoft and Sony who have their consoles sitting under our sets think that they can get a slice of the action by delivering content through their console and in turn through their social networking software.

Microsoft know that Sky is a much more fun experience when friends who lives 1000s of miles away can decide to watch the football with you over xbox live, chatting away and then replaying the match on Fifa 10 afterwards. Similarly Sony offer you the chance to watch iPlayer or use your console as a DVR (via playTV ) while plugged into their PSN network. Sony even hope you might pull out your PSP in the pub to watch last nights neighbours you’ve recorded (which it is pulling from your PS3 at home via the pubs wifi).

Console manufacturers aren’t the only ones who know that a social experience is vital to keep viewers tuned in. The popular video site Youtube not only allows users to create profiles, leave comments and discuss content but also allows users to upload their own content Doesn’t it make your regular television set look rather outdated?

So the water cooler is dead. Watching is only half the experience. We shouldn’t have to wait until tomorrow to share.

Version 0.5 of the youtube randomizer was done tonight… yes ok so it doesn’t do much yet. But we have plans!

Check it out here

Digital distribution is everywhere; applications such as iTunes provide the ability for digital products such as MP3s, movies and computer software to be delivered to audiences over the Internet instead of using physical media such as CDs, DVDs or Blu Ray. They provides easy and direct sales to a global market. With iTunes and the App Store ‘Apple’ may be the company that comes to mind when digital distribution is discussed but it shouldn’t be forgotten that plenty of video game consumers have been using these systems for years and recent announcement at this years Game Developer Conference 2009 have really shown that there are plenty more exciting developments to come.

Over the past 5 years gaming has seen a massive rise in digital distribution systems; many customers have been more then willing to make the switch from obtaining a physical copy of computer game software from a ‘bricks and mortar’ shop to downloading it through through distribution systems such as Steam, Impulse, Xbox Live Arcade and PSN. Some of the advantages distribution systems have over their convention counterpart include:

• Instant user feedback
• Anti-cheating Systems for online games
• Auto patching
• Downloading purchased-content from any location

For myself the big draw was (and still is!) the last bullet point. The idea that once I bought a game I could download it as many times as I wanted; even if I buy my product from a ‘real’ shop, the first thing I do is enter the serial code into a system as a backup, just in case it gets lost/snapped/broken.

Since I started using such systems when Steam first launched in 2003 there have always been two questions for me. The first is is how long will be before we no longer need to download the game? When can we stop buying into the expensive CPUs,GPUs and PPUs that games require and let all the processing be done server side? A recent announcement this week and ongoing work by Valve suggest it might be closer then we think.

The second was how digital distribution systems could move into different markets. In the UK most gamers will have broadband connections and a 7th generation console(or PC) since we are constantly after that new game and are a easy target for publishers; but what about markets that don’t buy into the latest consoles and games? Brazil has a massive gaming market, but one quite different from the situation in the UK with consoles such as the Master System still seeing re-releases as late as 2006. Another exciting announcement at GDC 2009 saw a console designed exactly for such markets, pushing digital distribution as its method of obtaining games sales.

Moving into the Cloud

LiveOne

This week at the Game Developer Conference 2009 it was announced that LiveOne is a game distribution system that promises to take the load away from your computer and onto the cloud; allowing epic games to play on modest hardware. It seems currently that the main bottleneck is bandwidth, with lower bandwidth users simply being met with a smaller screen resolution. This is really exciting news for gamers; does it mean it mean that digital distribution and cloud computing will kill the console/PC spec war, will we get to the 10th generation of video game consoles?

Steam Cloud

Although it would seem that Valve don’t think we are ready for such a radical shift they are still moving in a similar direction with their product ‘Steam Cloud’. Although Steam Cloud still delivors the game to the end user the idea is that variable data such as save games and settings are stored in the cloud meaning users can log on from any terminal with the game installed and carry on from where they left off.

Expanding the Market

Tectoy announced they would be attempting to push digital distribution into ‘The Next Billion’ Market by creating a console that will sell and distribute games through 3G or Edge networks using a virtual currency not unlike Microsoft or Wii Points. The seems to be no shortage of publishers wanting their games on the system; and a quick scan of the games that will be available (Crash Nitro Kart, Quake, Sonic Adventure to name a few) would make it seem that these publishers are egar to bring their old games to new markets; with digital distribution being the ideal means to do so.

Where next?

It is no secret that there is a huge amount of money in games and this is the driving force behind these incredible innovations. As always though the technology will filter down and hopefully we will see the technology in other areas. Could application processing in the cloud mean we see an end to the PC CPU/GPU spec wars with focus moving to other areas, such as accessibility? Will it mean that high-end programs will be able to run on your mobile phone with a small client purchase simply being made over 3G/Wimax etc?

Every year I pay £40 to microsoft for the privilage to play my Xbox Live games online. I dont mind paying the money too much considering live is far ahead of PSN (although I think sony are closing the gap) . When I spend £40 on a game that says I can play it on Xbox Live I expect to be able to play the game I have purchased for quite a while; I understand that eventualy I won’t be able to:

A) The popularity of the game will dwindle; meaning I can no longer play whacked simply because there is nobody to play it with.

B) Not enough people play to justify server support and it is pulled, sometimes I am ok with this (as with PSO, which I played for free for yonks on Sega servers) and sometimes it pisses me off (EA decide you have to buy the 2009 version).

Quite often games will give you the option to enhance your online gaming experience via micro purchases, map packs, skins, weapons; and this is fine, sometimes I buy the upgrades (although don’t get me started on recent Live and PSN content price increases), I own all the Guild Wars packs, and I will certainly be getting anything Valve release for Left 4 Dead. These are two of my favorite games which I will choose to upgrade; however having payed £40 for the original game if I choose not to upgrade then I should be robbed of nothing, gameplay should carry on as normal- just without the optional extras. I repeat THE OPTIONAL EXTRAS!

Yesterday I decided to play Halo 3; a game I don’t really like on multiplayer, but I did want to have a laugh with some old friends playing it. Having already paid £40 for the game and my £40 subscription fee, that shouldn’t be a problem. Right?

After making my way through the menu with that god awful music I am told I can’t play it anymore because I haven’t paid for the optional extras. That’s right, the OPTIONAL ones. I’m all for additional content for games, but not when I have to carry on buying them to keep the original functionality. A quick Google search just returns fanboys telling me to shut up and buy it, since its only 600 points.(although you cant even buy ms points by the 600s).

This isn’t the point. I shouldn’t have to carry on buying content to keep original functionality; I don’t mind additional content if its optional and is a reasonable price. Take LBP for example, I don’t own the costumes that cost £1.49, and what do I lose? Nothing.

Shame on you Bungie and Microsoft. Shame Shame Shame and more Shame; all with capital letters.

They should take a leaf out of ArenaNet’s book who have been releasing episodic Guild Wars content which funds online servers which keep their mmorpg free; it doesn’t matter which episodes you do or don’t own, no original functionality lost. Additional money was made by optional ‘real’ purchases such as cardboard cut outs of the characters/tshirts/badges. All of which do not harm the game if you don’t own them!

Another example I would champion is Siren: New Translation. Sony who I would normally put into the Bungie/Microsoft camp of Shame did a brilliant job of chopping a game into episodes, hooking you in and making you hungry for more by releasing them for cheap.

During a discussion about the merits of the app store at work a colleague of mine asked a question somewhere along the lines of…

‘Do you think all application distribution will follow a similar path?’

and the thought that shot through my mind was something like:

‘People still think there is a future in physical media?’

I guess in my mind physical media is on the way out, and it has been since I first installed Steam back in 2003. Valve have done an amazing job with steam and whenever I hear debates about how future distribution systems will crush physical content I can’t help but think gaming distribution systems such as Steam, Live Arcade, PSN Store, GamersGate etc have been there done that and got the tshirt.

My first thoughts was that gaming was clearly leading the way, pushed by both the huge amounts of money and the fact there are very few popular open source gaming projects, leading the big game publishers to do whatever the hell they want- their way or the high way. On reflection this was far from the truth, as I had been using the APT packaging tool that did a (kind of?) similar thing on Linux for years. Apt and its friends let me install and configure free software with a few bashes on the keyboard.

It still seems strange to me that the big software development houses don’t have the cutting edge distribution channels to overhaul physical media, whereas games and open source channels do. Is it simply because users don’t want it, or we just simply aren’t ready? Have Apple might cracked the thing wide open with iTunes/ iTunes U/Appstore and the integration of these with the operating system and portable devices.

Yes Yes, we can simply go to the website and download whatever we wish in a few clicks, but 6 years ago that was my argument against Steam…

Xbox Live’s Deals of the Week are back and the first deal is 400 points off Braid, which so happens to be the best game on Xbox Live Arcade. If you haven’t got it yet then SHAME ON YOU. Feel the shame (FEEL IT) then go grab it for 800 points.

Thats it, I’ve had enough. The age of these new networking platforms being exciting has come and gone, even your 4 month old tweets when she wants feeding. I’m not alone, even the most technology savvy of us can’t take it any more.

Am I just part of a small subset of 20-something techies complaining because we can’t get our voices heard over anguished tweenagers or have the latest social networking concepts really lost their direction.

Twitters approach to journalism is is currently under heavy debate, the response is instant and global, news has never been so fast. Yet I still can’t stand it. I add a friend to my list and suddenly my RSS feed is useless because my new friend is a twog (twitter hog – I even hate the new social networking lingo) and has decided they have to tweet every single time they move. Why do I care what you have every morning for breakfast? For every informative tweet describing the situation in Gaza I have 50 tweets describing a quaver that looks like a penis. Twitters openness may promote conversation but its lack of structure makes the whole thing muddled and dominated by the loudest.

What to do? :(

Incase you haven’t already seen it… Adam Buxtons Australia

December 11th saw Sony finally open the doors to its ps3 online world Playstation Home and for those who have been living under a rock, Home is Sony’s 3D eagerly anticipated virtual world meeting hub or as Sony like to call it ‘Game 3.0′. Being in development almost 4 years now home brings high expectations, I spent 20 minutes in home this weekend with a friend and despite the reaction of popular web comic penny arcade I quite enjoyed it.

Anyone who has turned their PS3 on this weekend will have been presented with an extra icon under the Network tab on the XMB which will whisk you far away to Sony’s Virtual Land. Straight away you are presented with an avatar creation screen and having already created avatars on 360 and Wii this was a step that initially I really couldn’t be bothered with. It was nice to find however that avatar creation is not only prettier then the Wii and 360 counterparts, but also faster and easier (with none of that awful music that accompanies the Wii creation), although you can’t help but notice there a lack of clothes with more costing 59p a piece!

After character creation you are taken to your virtual apartment which is pretty but very bare and of course furniture or a bigger house will cost more of your real world cash. I didn’t spend long in the apartment but it seems you can invite your PSN friends there for a chinwag or to enjoy the virtual view from you virtual balcony.

There isn’t much to do in Home at the moment; as far as I can tell in Europe we are currently stuck with just 4 rooms although what is missed in quantity is made up for in quality. The rooms consist of a cinema, bowling alley, shopping arcade and a central meeting place all of which are are pretty, fun, colourful, vibrant and engaging. The best of the bunch is definitely the bowling alley which lets you and 3 mates play a short but fun game of bowling. Aside from bowling there are also snooker tables, arcade cabinets and chess games to get stuck into.

Home really encourages the user to explore so its a shame there isn’t much there, but then this is only a beta so there is plenty of time to release some engaging rooms. If the current rooms are any indication of what is to come then the signs are good.

Being the cheapskate I am I really hope that more freebies are released or clothes and furniture are given away as prizes in games. Lets face it, Xbox achievements are rubbish and Sony have a real chance to give away something a bit better then gamerpoints, how about a virtual t-shirt with my best Wipeout HD lap time on it, or the head of a big boss I kill in resistance 2 to put on my virtual apartments mantle piece.

So far so good. Although I recommend that you go out and buy yourself a wireless keyboard, ones with a usb are quite cheap now and it easily beats writing with the ps3 pad. Some users prefer use a blue tooth headset to communicate which again can be quite cheap now.

Great Stuff :)

• Rooms are greatAvatar creation rules
• Looks awesome
• Bowling is fun

Not So Great

• Pay for pretty much everything
• Current lack of content

I love TED talks; this is a great one from Dave Perry;