Inside Social Games

Earlier this month, there was discussion regarding the taxation of virtual assets in China. Unexpectedly, however, similar discussions have recently been happening in the US.

Apparently, there is a “gap” in the New York state budget, and in response to this, Governor David Patterson proposed a number of solutions. Most interesting of them all was the one dubbed the “iPod tax” that would impose both state and local taxes on “digitally delivered entertainment services.”

Essentially, this means that any and all downloadable content could be affected. This includes all major video game platforms, and could also possibly encompass virtual goods and currencies. It’s not clear what exactly will happen, but GamePolitics.com says:

“If you live in the state of New York, you could find yourself paying sales tax on downloadable content (DLC) for video games, beginning in 2009.

That’s because, much like the private sector, state and local governments have been hit hard by the current recession. In New York, Gov. David Paterson (D) has responded by proposing a budget that calls for layoffs, service cutbacks and new taxes, including one that will likely add to the cost of your DLC on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii or PC.”

Of course, this is all just speculation at the moment. The budget will still have to be approved by the legislature, but regardless of whether it passes or not, it is interesting to see this sort of suggestion appear at all.

[via Virtual Goods News]

In the past six months, Microsoft’s Xbox Live has had 14 million subscribers connect to the service. By comparison, HBO and Cinemax packages net around 40 million, XM radio around 19 million, and services like Netflix approximately 9 million. What does all this mean? Well, all of these services play into the digital age and the shift in how entertainment is acquired in the world. The Xbox, embraces such digital convergence far better than the other consoles, and has produced well over $1 billion in gross revenue with Xbox Live alone since 2001 and intends to make use of this new age.

Currently, Xbox Live has really only snared the hardcore gamers. Microsoft executive, Shane Kim, wants to expand this market as he talks about the “New Xbox Experience.” Its purpose: to shift Xbox Live from a mere multiplayer matchmaking tool to a much more engrossing entertainment based social network, and with the digital attunement of the console, it is not a far step from where it currently is and the update will be launching on November 19^th.

The new Xbox Live will allow users to not only play games, but to actually communicate with one another through the use of cute avatars (sort of a Microsoft version of Nintendo’s Mii avatars). When in the network, people will not only be able to socialize, but also find new entertainment methods beyond games such as music, videos, and more. Furthermore, the interface has been made simple and easy and allows users to easily make new friends, and discover all sorts of new media (it will even be integrated into Netflix next week).

Considering that Nintendo’s Wii, with its much broader audience, has been the biggest competition for Microsoft in the console wars, it is not surprising that they would attempt to do this. According to Kim, it never pays to bash Nintendo, because while they have been producing things that some might say “aren’t games,” there are those that are making them that say “I don’t care, I’m selling a whole bunch of that stuff.”

Just look at the sales for the Wii: Unlike the Xbox or the Playstation III, Nintendo has pulled in the much broader casual crowd as well as a number of the hardcore players. With titles such as Wii Fit, the console has begun evolving beyond just games and is becoming a vessel of interactive entertainment, which is something that the industry needs to grow, and something Kim wants for Xbox. The variety of fun and interactive elements seen in the recent wave of game titles has bridged a great gap between the gamer and the non-gamer and has been led by Nintendo for some time. Kim and Microsoft hope to follow suit and trump this with the new Xbox Live.

In this day in age, nothing is immune from the effects of the economy; not even games, and as such, companies must expand beyond what they know in order to forge a lucrative path forward. “I believe to be the leader in interactive entertainment, we have to expand well beyond gaming,” says Kim. Of course, this doesn’t mean that games will start playing second fiddle. The industry is a billion dollar a year industry, but with the expansion of Xbox Live’s capabilities, Microsoft feels comfortable with where their console is, and where it is going.

[via VentureBeat]

Since Microsoft began its Live service on 15 September 2002, the company has defined how consoles should approach online services. Now six years later, and onto their second console, Microsoft has over 12 million Xbox Live subscribers playing games, watching movies, and chatting with each other over the service. Xbox Live is now the biggest gaming network in the world and, unlike Myspace or Facebook, it is piped directly to the TV in the living room.

Live is at the very core of what the Xbox 360 does, and despite its 12 million users worldwide, Microsoft is still looking to widen its appeal. So far the Xbox has limited uptake outside the 16-35 year-old male market, for whom first-person shooter and driving games are popular.

The key to bringing the 360 to a wider audience is to make the Xbox Live more social and easy for anyone to pick up and use. Marc Whitten, Head of Xbox Live, elaborates, “Today the dashboard is a single-player experience whilst most of the games we talk about are multiplayer experiences. Why isn’t the box powered with the same idea of me being able to connect with my friends, and stay with them and move through experiences with them?”

The new Dashboard will look similar to the Windows Media Centre interface and will allow much more intuitive access to the thousands of features available on Live. Most importantly it will allow you and your friends to more seamlessly chat, play games, and even move as a group between games such as Halo 3 and Uno at the touch of a button.

The new system allows players to recruit up to eight friends and move from game to game without the current hassle of one person having to leave and set up a new game, and then invite their friends in. Now players can simply drop straight into a multiplayer session with their friends without having to navigate in-game menus. The leader of the group just needs to select the new game, and away the group goes without any of the loss of communication that gamers currently experience.

Two other new social features in the 360 are player Avatars and the Community channel. The Avatars are like slightly more grown-up versions of Nintendo’s Miis. They have plenty of charm all their own and will be fully customizable with clothes and even accessories, like guitars and skateboards — certainly enough character to make the uninitiated take a second look at the Xbox 360.

With the Community channel, you can now see who’s online and who’s playing what within seconds of turning on the box. It also introduces the new party system in a simple and effective way and Microsoft is hoping that it will unify the 360’s front end with its social multiplayer ethos. With the new Community channel, gamers will now be one click away from playing with their friends.

Despite the current size of the Xbox Live userbase, Microsoft is feeling the weight of strong competition that the Nintendo Wii is bringing with gamers over the age of 35 and under the age of 16. The newly refined Xbox Dashboard is Microsoft’s answer.

The new features will definitely improve the social aspects of the Xbox. Only time will tell if it helps to win over those that have already been charmed by Nintendo’s little white box.

The new update is due to come online this fall.