Feature: 'CES 2006: Broadband Games Expand'

In today's second feature article, Frank Cifaldi reports from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with the first of our series of coverage from Digital Hollywood's Game Power panel discussions, "Broadband Games Expand - From the Casual to the Networked PC Universe." In this excerpt, Boonty's Romain Nouzareth and Game Trust President Scott Cohen don't see eye to eye. In discussing the emerging issues of the micro-transaction system, specifically whether or not micro-transactions offer strategic advantages to the highest bidder, Nouzareth argues that, typically, micro-transactions “don't offer advantages over other players, as much as additional content.” Cohen, however, sees things differently, specifically with the popularity of buying and selling well-skilled players in massively-multiplayer RPGs. “It creates this hardcore versus casual player dynamic,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how this affects the industry. I've seen hardcore players leave worlds over this.” You can read the full Gamasutra feature, including broadband and casual games-related viewpoints from Large Animal Games, Shockwave, Microsoft, and Xfire (no registration required, please feel free to link to the article from external websites).