Doctor Paradox » Games

Nintendo managed to move over a million pieces of hardware to U.S. consumers in January, with 679,200 Wiis and 510,800 Nintendo DSs snapped up by gamers.

via Console Wars: Nintendo Dominates US Hardware Sales Again With Big, Big January.

iMafia: a social iPhone game

doctor paradox — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 04:15:21 +0000

“If there was any doubt in your mind that the iPhone is the next disruptive viral platform, it is.”

iMafia’s Charles Ju: How We Launched a Social Game on the iPhone.

World of Warquest

doctor paradox — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:09:57 +0000

[Thanks, Brian!]

Unpredictability in virtual worlds

doctor paradox — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:25:04 +0000

Great op-ed over on The Escapist about the recent zombie invasion in World of Warcraft.

Online use of social technologies increasing in 2008

doctor paradox — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:00:28 +0000

All of which makes total sense. I like to file this general trend under the heading “people like to do stuff.” Broadcast media had its day because it was technologically easier than providing a platform for interactivity — not because passive reception is something inherent in human nature. Human nature is inherently interactive, not passive. Thus as we give people more tools to collect, create and share things they care about online — they’re naturally going to use them.

I am looking forward to seeing the “creators” group continue to grow especially. I am totally with Will Wright on the idea that people like to make stuff. I take inspiration from the experience recounted with the launch of the Spore Creature Creator, where Maxis and EA expected to reach 100,000 creatures created in total between the time the Creature Creator launched in June and the full Spore game was released September 7 — instead they hit that figure within a couple of hours and within 18 days had reached 1,589,000 user-created species prompting Wright’s memorable quip that Spore users are 38% God. Humans are creative by nature. After years of media largely tightly controlled by a small number of vested interests, it’s totally amazing to be living in this time of tools and tinkering.