Joystiq

Liveblogging the 2007 Video Game Awards

Justin McElroy — 2007-12-09T21:00:00+00:00

"I must have one of those Arby's subs."

And with that, Griffin and I begin our live blog. Hello everyone, it's Justin McElroy, and for the next two hours my brother and I will be your guides for "Samuel L. Jackson No-So-Subtly Judges Everyone in the Room," or, as it's being advertised, "The Spike 2007 Video Game Awards."

The live blog begins after the break. Come, join us.[20:59] griffinjoystiq: That woman is naked.
[20:59] griffinjoystiq: She's on the TV and she's naked.
[21:04] JustinAtTheVGAs: They really are just naked girls
[21:04] JustinAtTheVGAs: Right?
[21:04] griffinjoystiq: Yes? I think?
[21:05] JustinAtTheVGAs: The not-so-subtle parade of insults begins.
[21:05] griffinjoystiq: I'm glad my girlfriend isn't here.
[21:05] JustinAtTheVGAs: Would she totally see your rod?
[21:05] griffinjoystiq: Indubidably.
[21:05] JustinAtTheVGAs: Dear Sam: Mario has been weird for two decades.

Kristen Bell wins something for being in Assassin's Creed
[21:06] griffinjoystiq: OMG HEIDI AND SPENCER
[21:06] griffinjoystiq: I thought they broke up.
[21:06] griffinjoystiq: I'm pretty sure they broke up.
[21:07] JustinAtTheVGAs: You're ruining the liveblog.
[21:07] griffinjoystiq: Look at how pissed off Heidi looks at Spencer.

Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 Premiere
[21:08] griffinjoystiq: Not to sound like a feminist, but have they done anything but objectify half of the people on the planet so far?
[21:08] JustinAtTheVGAs: I'm going to set Criss Angel on fire with my heart.
[21:09] griffinjoystiq: It looks like he stole those clothes from a hobo, who stole those clothes from a poorer hobo.
[21:09] griffinjoystiq: There's a rainbow six vegas two coming out?
[21:09] JustinAtTheVGAs: It's ubisoft.
[21:10] JustinAtTheVGAs: That was really informative.
[21:10] griffinjoystiq: Wow, I learned something I actually didn't know about on this thing. I'm pleasantly surprised.
[21:10] JustinAtTheVGAs: Just a bunch of people having fun and some limited fighting.
[21:11] griffinjoystiq: Secret gamestop ad attack!
[21:11] JustinAtTheVGAs: But hey, I like that tagline. If you're betting, (something something) stand on six. OK, commercial (beer) break. BRB.

Best game based on a movie or TV show
[21:16] JustinAtTheVGAs: Dave Navarro has never played a movie based game.
[21:17] griffinjoystiq: Video games and movies make a good match? Go straight to hell, Navarro.
[21:17] JustinAtTheVGAs: Straight. To. Hell.
[21:17] JustinAtTheVGAs: And the winner is ...
[21:17] griffinjoystiq: N/A
[21:18] JustinAtTheVGAs: I'd give it to stranglehold.
[21:18] JustinAtTheVGAs: But it goes to the Simpson's Game. C'est la vie.
[21:18] griffinjoystiq: Picking the best movie based game is like picking the least retarded show pony.

Foo Fighters
[21:21] griffinjoystiq: Are the guys in Foo Fighters having a beard-growing competition? Even that stand up bass player has a bit of scruff, and she's a petite lady.
[21:23] JustinAtTheVGAs: Every guy in the audience looks like he just wants one special glance from Dave Grohl. Or maybe they just don't want him to beat them up.

Commercials Pt. 1
[21:24] JustinAtTheVGAs: Hey, in the interim, I'd like to point out that the stage (sort of an arcade cabinet homage) is really, really cool.
[21:26] griffinjoystiq: Seriously, they just showed an ad for one of their shows to everyone in the audience? Can you imagine if CBS interrupted the Oscars to advertise Two and a Half Men?
[21:26] griffinjoystiq: Yes, the stage is pretty cool.
[21:27] JustinAtTheVGAs: Can I admit that I think the GameStop ad with the sensitive convo between player and monster is actually pretty funny?

Afro Samurai trailer
[21:31] JustinAtTheVGAs: Samuel L. Jackson presents the trailer for HIS video game. Yeah, he's making it. In the same sense that George Foreman invents grills.
[21:31] JustinAtTheVGAs: Side note. We're 31 minutes in and we're getting our first appearance of a Mad TV cast member.
[21:32] griffinjoystiq: And, funnily enough, Afro Samurai airs on, you guessed it, Spike TV.

Best team sports game
[21:32] griffinjoystiq: I must say that, so far, the Spike TV VGA's are the most meta of all the awards shows.
[21:32] JustinAtTheVGAs: Look, the screen looks like a YouTube video! Like on the internet.
[21:33] JustinAtTheVGAs: I think the winner in this category HAS to be the Blitz game from two years ago.
[21:33] griffinjoystiq: Ugh, Madden.
[21:33] griffinjoystiq: Where was The Bigs?
[21:34] JustinAtTheVGAs: And where were that girl's nipples? Pastie'd.
[21:34] griffinjoystiq: The 2007 Griffin McElroy Sports Game of the Year award goes to The Bigs, for what it's worth, 2K.

Chingy presents: A History of Gran Turismo (and a new GT5 trailer)
[21:35] griffinjoystiq: NERRBODY INN THEEE ROOM GETTIN' VIDEO GAME AWARDS
[21:35] griffinjoystiq: Oh, this GT5 trailer was pretty hyped up.
[21:36] JustinAtTheVGAs: It looked good, but strangely unrealistic. Does that make sense?
[21:36] JustinAtTheVGAs: Kind of plasticky?
[21:36] griffinjoystiq: Yeah man. Apparently, cars are capable of driving into the uncanny valley.

Commercials Pt. 2
[21:37] griffinjoystiq: Is there not enough product placement in the content of the show that they actually have to add segments like that verizon wireless gaming sales pitch?
[21:38] JustinAtTheVGAs: Do you think girls take their clothes of, put pasties on their nipples and paint themselves for free?
[21:39] JustinAtTheVGAs: (If they're not on Flavor of Love, natch.)
[21:39] griffinjoystiq: Do you understand what I'm saying? This show is about the best things on a market, it's basically telling you what is worth buying. It's a huge commercial. Why do they need to keep dropping obvious advertisements between awards?
[21:40] griffinjoystiq: I feel like I've been watching commercials for 41 minutes. Is the show about to start?
[21:40] JustinAtTheVGAs: Do you feel like Samuel L. Jackson is judging you?
[21:41] griffinjoystiq: I feel like every time he puts his hand in his pocket, he gives sensual rubdowns to the huge check Spike TV wrote him. I think it's the only way he's getting through the show.

Stan Lee presents an Iron Man trailer
[21:42] griffinjoystiq: I don't think the presenters know that people who play video games don't spontaneously yell "DAMN I LOVE VIDEO GAMES".
[21:42] JustinAtTheVGAs: I do.
[21:42] JustinAtTheVGAs: Ooooh, first gen Iron Man costume.
[21:43] JustinAtTheVGAs: Actual Robert Downey Jr. voice too.
[21:43] griffinjoystiq: I eat Arby's all the time, but I don't walk around screaming "MMMM DAMN ARBYS IS GOOD"
[21:43] griffinjoystiq: Iron Man looked amazing, against all odds.
[21:43] JustinAtTheVGAs: "Tony, you're not a soldier."
[21:44] JustinAtTheVGAs: "You're right, I'm an army." Nice.

Ralphie May and Best Individual Sports game
[21:44] griffinjoystiq: He's a "really big" game fan? Do I even touch that one?
[21:45] JustinAtTheVGAs: Ralphie May's so fat that I want to slit his wrist and drink the herb-butter that gushes from his veins.
[21:45] griffinjoystiq: When he cries, rolls from Outback Steakhouse fall out.
[21:46] griffinjoystiq: Predictions for best individual sports game?
[21:46] JustinAtTheVGAs: The last individual sport Ralphie May played was "try not to have a heart attack while walking up stairs."
[21:46] JustinAtTheVGAs: Skate seems to have fared well in reviews.
[21:46] JustinAtTheVGAs: And I win.
[21:46] griffinjoystiq: I give this one to The Bigs as well.

TNA Impact trailer
[21:48] griffinjoystiq: Is that Lex Luthor?
[21:49] JustinAtTheVGAs: I'm afraid that the WWE has used up all my not caring about wrestling.
[21:49] JustinAtTheVGAs: Side note: This looks like utter trash.
[21:49] griffinjoystiq: Can a professional wrestling game really be heralded as "the most realistic fighting game ever?"

Tila Tequila is on TV
[21:50] JustinAtTheVGAs: Oh, and now Tila Tequila is on TV.
[21:50] griffinjoystiq: Side note: If Tila doesn't pick Dani, she's an idiot.
[21:51] JustinAtTheVGAs: This is a nightmare.
[21:51] JustinAtTheVGAs: Oh, and she's presenting the the awards that were too umimportant to be shown on the VGAs. HOW INCREDIBLY APPROPRIATE.
[21:52] griffinjoystiq: Wow, a rapid fire segment about most of the awards. I thought awards were usually the most important part of awards shows.
[21:52] griffinjoystiq: I don't know, I'm not some kind of awards scientist.

Commercials Pt. 3
[21:53] griffinjoystiq: How excited are you for I Am Legend?
[21:53] griffinjoystiq: I'm about as excited as one person can be for a movie.
[21:53] JustinAtTheVGAs: Have you read the book yet? You really should.
[21:53] griffinjoystiq: I'm completely illiterate. You know that.
[21:54] griffinjoystiq: Thanks for bringing that out for our readers.
[21:54] griffinjoystiq: Ass hat.
[21:54] JustinAtTheVGAs: Spoiler alert: At the end, he raps and boogies with monsters.
[21:54] griffinjoystiq: Double Spoiler Alert: He's not alone. DJ Jazzy Jeff shows up!

Brian Posehn makes his obligatory appearance/Studio of the Year
[21:56] griffinjoystiq: Did they not pay Samuel L. enough to stand up?
[21:56] griffinjoystiq: Thank God, Posehn is actually pretty funny.
[21:57] JustinAtTheVGAs: And this is a nerd related event, so the Constitution says he has to be there.
[21:58] griffinjoystiq: Has there ever been an event where him and Patton Oswalt didn't appear together?
[21:58] JustinAtTheVGAs: Studio of the Year!
[21:59] griffinjoystiq: 2K Boston/Australia, please.
[21:59] griffinjoystiq: Oooh, Valve is good too.
[21:59] JustinAtTheVGAs: Wait, if all of these studios have made one game this year, isn't this just the same as game of the year?
[21:59] griffinjoystiq: Touche.
[21:59] JustinAtTheVGAs: What other criteria is there? Haircuts?
[22:00] JustinAtTheVGAs: I guess the guys from Harmonix are nice enough. Good for them.
[22:00] griffinjoystiq: Courtney Love is designing games now?
[22:01] JustinAtTheVGAs: All the Harmonix people are playing a monster drum fill! I'm SO ROCKED.

Kid Rock is there
[22:01] griffinjoystiq: God, how awesome would it have been if Tia Carrera busted out Rock Band and did Ballroom Blitz?
[22:01] griffinjoystiq: That would have been worth the price of admission, broseph.
[22:02] JustinAtTheVGAs: So, apparently Kid Rock is there.
[22:03] JustinAtTheVGAs: My wife just said that she bets he doesn't know where he is. Truer words have never been spoken.
[22:03] griffinjoystiq: Am I the only one who thinks his mic stand it up too high? He looks like a little kid singing his solo during the Christmas Pageant.
[22:04] JustinAtTheVGAs: If you're not good with subtext, let me explain this song to you: Kid Rock has a wiener and he knows how to use it.
[22:04] griffinjoystiq: SLOW RIDE ALERT
[22:04] griffinjoystiq: SLOW RIDE ALERT
[22:05] JustinAtTheVGAs: He just made the unprecedented misogyny into Fog Hat leap.
[22:05] JustinAtTheVGAs: Did Kid Rock misjudge his audience with that one or what?
[22:06] griffinjoystiq: It's not that big a leap. You know what they're slow riding on? The Oppressing Women Wagon.

Commercials Pt. 4
[22:06] griffinjoystiq: At least it's halfway over.
[22:07] JustinAtTheVGAs: So, how are you feeling so far?
[22:08] griffinjoystiq: Despondent.
[22:08] JustinAtTheVGAs: I feel like they're getting closer to getting the proper tone, like I'm not cringing as much. But it's also not about video games at all.
[22:08] griffinjoystiq: Despondent/Horny.
[22:08] griffinjoystiq: Okay, just horny.
[22:09] griffinjoystiq: Yeah, I agree. Last year, it was all hip-hop artists and supermodels.
[22:09] griffinjoystiq: This year, it's Kid Rock, and girls who look like they rolled out of some sort of primordial skank ooze.
[22:10] JustinAtTheVGAs: I could solve this problem for them.
[22:10] JustinAtTheVGAs: You know what I like, Spike? VIDEO GAMES.
[22:11] griffinjoystiq: I love how there's an above the influence ad when there's been at least two references to smoking pot during the show.
[22:11] griffinjoystiq: I love this, because I am very high right now.

Patton Oswalt/Most Addictive Video Game
[22:12] griffinjoystiq: Take me home, Patton.
[22:12] griffinjoystiq: YES!
[22:12] griffinjoystiq: Patton gets the confirmed first LOL of the evening.
[22:13] JustinAtTheVGAs: I need to totally start wearing adult diapers. Shawn Elliot calls that "poop socking."
[22:14] JustinAtTheVGAs: The most addictive game this year is Desktop Tower Defense, btw.
[22:14] griffinjoystiq: Grandma calls it life.
[22:14] griffinjoystiq: Agreed.
[22:14] griffinjoystiq: How do you feel -- about frost towers?
[22:14] JustinAtTheVGAs: We can't get into this here.
[22:14] griffinjoystiq: Okay.
[22:15] griffinjoystiq: (I'm for 'em.)
[22:15] JustinAtTheVGAs: Halo 3 wins! And they didn't show that girl's head.
[22:15] JustinAtTheVGAs: just her tum tum
[22:15] griffinjoystiq: As it should be.
[22:16] JustinAtTheVGAs: Bungie Labs Red v. Blue clip is really funny. Also, there's a preview of the new Halo 3 maps coming tomorrow.
[22:16] griffinjoystiq: Who plays that anymore?
[22:17] griffinjoystiq: Give me new maps for Desktop Tower Defense.

Kristen Bell is excited about Borderlands
[22:18] JustinAtTheVGAs: Kristen Bell is here to save the world.
[22:18] griffinjoystiq: Are people allowed to say JT's name in a public forum anymore?
[22:18] griffinjoystiq: I'm a huge supporter of Kristen Bell, but I don't buy that she's ever played a video game.
[22:18] JustinAtTheVGAs: Kristen is excited about Borderlands! She is!
[22:19] JustinAtTheVGAs: This looks Mass effect.
[22:20] griffinjoystiq: Lost Mass Effect Planet and the Temple of Bioshock.

Video Games Live
[22:21] griffinjoystiq: I couldn't be more down with what's going on right now.
[22:21] JustinAtTheVGAs: Video Games Live, finally. Tommy Tallarico is having his "The Closest I'll Ever Be to a Rockstar" moment. Let's not ruin it for him.
[22:21] griffinjoystiq: So that's Tommy Tallarico? I've never seen him before.
[22:22] JustinAtTheVGAs: I think so. I'm just going to watch this now. BRB.
[22:23] JustinAtTheVGAs: I wish this had been 2 hours of that.
[22:24] griffinjoystiq: Agreed. If the rest of the show was about video games as much as that three minute performance was, we'd be in good shape.

Commercials Pt. 5
[22:24] griffinjoystiq: I use the collective "we", as in, game consumers.
[22:24] griffinjoystiq: Do you think anyone sees this and goes, "Oh, so that's what gamers are like."
[22:25] JustinAtTheVGAs: In other video game news: I'm fairly sure this guy in the stride commercials is the lead from FMV classic Wirehead.
[22:25] griffinjoystiq: Wirehead Ned?
[22:25] griffinjoystiq: That game was impossible.
[22:26] griffinjoystiq: Do you think the network execs at Spike TV are like "Okay guys, if the people watching our channel don't see boobies every three minutes, they'll go into an epileptic fit."

Why yes, that is Don King/Best Rhythm Game
[22:28] griffinjoystiq: I want to eat the cotton candy that is hiding on top of that glorious man's head.
[22:29] JustinAtTheVGAs: Don King seems cofused by each individual syllable he's saying.
[22:29] JustinAtTheVGAs: Oh, and can I just say "Fart jokes? FINALLY."
[22:30] griffinjoystiq: Really. Scantily clad ladies, mountain dew ads, and farts. The loneliness trifecta is complete.
[22:30] JustinAtTheVGAs: Rock Band wins. No one is surprised.
[22:30] griffinjoystiq: Courtney Love is on stage again.
[22:31] JustinAtTheVGAs: Wait, is it best soundtrack, or best rhythm game?
[22:31] griffinjoystiq: She looks like she's played a few too many rounds of Jagermeister Hero tonight.
[22:31] griffinjoystiq: Is he drinking a beer ... in the middle of his acceptance speech?

Foo Fighters Pt. 2
[22:33] griffinjoystiq: Can I just say that, aside from a brief Kid Rock-Foghat songtastrophe, the musical performances have been the high point of this Awards Showmercial?
[22:34] JustinAtTheVGAs: A good point. I'd like to make one now. If you had told me just one short week ago that I would ever watch 3/4 of the VGAs, I would have kicked you in your personal ball sack.
[22:34] griffinjoystiq: Ready to soldier on?
[22:34] JustinAtTheVGAs: Let's hit it.

Commercials Pt. 6
[22:35] griffinjoystiq: Morgan Freeman and Justin Timberlake, starring in a movie together? Yes please.
[22:36] JustinAtTheVGAs: They were looking for a project they could work on after "Griffin's Sex Dreams"
[22:36] griffinjoystiq: You mean March of the Boners?
[22:36] griffinjoystiq: "There's more coming up, flying at you like a Medusa head in Castlevania."
[22:36] JustinAtTheVGAs: Yeah, the announcer needs to be murdered. By which I mean fired.
[22:39] griffinjoystiq: Considering they blew through most of the awards in the rapid-fire segment, what do we have left?
[22:40] JustinAtTheVGAs: BioShock needs to win GotY.
[22:40] griffinjoystiq: Oh yeah. At least we know that gives the show a bit of credibility.
[22:40] JustinAtTheVGAs: Well, our own Chris Grant was one of the panelists.
[22:41] JustinAtTheVGAs: Forever tainting his immortal soul.
[22:41] griffinjoystiq: Really? That kid really knows his stuff.
[22:41] griffinjoystiq: Did they name a flavor of Mountain Dew after him in return?

Best Shooter Game
[22:41] JustinAtTheVGAs: HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH A LOT OF WAR GAMES ARE SET IN WWII.!>!>!
[22:41] griffinjoystiq: LOLOLOLILLILILLL FART
[22:43] griffinjoystiq: I wish the award for Best Shooter Game was "Griffin's Shooting Adventure," because that would mean that game was real, and I'd have a gun, with which I could kill myself right now.
[22:43] JustinAtTheVGAs: So, BioShock is Game of the Year, but not the best shooter.
[22:43] JustinAtTheVGAs: Sweet. That said, Call of Duty 4 is incredible.
[22:44] griffinjoystiq: Exactly. Driving Miss Daisy won film of the year, but not the Interracial driving movie of the year.

Prototype trailer
[22:44] JustinAtTheVGAs: "A savage science experience gone wrong!"
[22:44] JustinAtTheVGAs: Shut up.
[22:46] griffinjoystiq: That promo for prototype looked sweet. It's nice to see Sierra isn't getting swept under the rug with the ActiBlizzion merger.
[22:46] JustinAtTheVGAs: In the biz, we call that a "Sizzle trailer." After seeing all that pre-alpha action, I can't wait for Prototype to be dated and delayed.
[22:46] griffinjoystiq: Pessimist.

Commercials Pt. 7
[22:46] griffinjoystiq: I was about to give up, until I heard that orchestral Zelda theme.
[22:47] JustinAtTheVGAs: I've never been prouder to be your brother.
[22:48] griffinjoystiq: Don't tell our readers that. I love all the "WHO IS GRIFFIN MCELROY DID JUSTIN CHANGE HIS NAME" comments I've been getting
[22:48] griffinjoystiq: Plus, I don't want them to think nepotism runs rampant through Joystiq.
[22:48] griffinjoystiq: I want them to think I slept my way to the top.
[22:49] JustinAtTheVGAs: TEN MINUTES LEFT!
[22:49] griffinjoystiq: I haven't seen boobies in a while. That's pretty unsettling.
[22:49] JustinAtTheVGAs: SSSIEIEIIIIZZZINNNG!

Little Big Planet trailer
[22:50] griffinjoystiq: Again, gamer's don't wear shirts on them that say "gamer."
[22:51] JustinAtTheVGAs: Those TV stars are REAL GAMERZ. That one guy has a shirt that says "gamer." which says to me: "gamer."
[22:51] griffinjoystiq: Child molesters don't wear shirts that say "molester."
[22:51] griffinjoystiq: Go Team FTW!
[22:52] griffinjoystiq: Oh LittleBigPlanet. You are going to make me buy a PS3 and I hate you for it.
[22:53] JustinAtTheVGAs: What a terrible commerical. I'm excited by it, but your typical VGA viewer is thinking "How high/drunk/lonely am I?"

GotY
[22:54] griffinjoystiq: I think the majority opinion at Joystiq is that Portal should have been nominated for GOTY, not Orange Box.
[22:54] griffinjoystiq: Opinion on Mass Effect?
[22:54] griffinjoystiq: I was disappointed, personally.
[22:54] JustinAtTheVGAs: Did someone at Spike confuse Hayden Christensen with someone who didn't butcher the character of Darth Vader?
[22:55] griffinjoystiq: Bioshock is my GOTY.
[22:55] griffinjoystiq: It's my Game of My Life.
[22:55] JustinAtTheVGAs: You know, if I had to pick a single experience, it would be between BioShock and Portal.
[22:55] griffinjoystiq: Agreed.
[22:55] JustinAtTheVGAs: BioShock would likely win out.
[22:55] JustinAtTheVGAs: Have VGL do the music for these is genius.
[22:55] griffinjoystiq: If Portal was a tad more substantial, I would have picked it.
[22:56] griffinjoystiq: Can I just say that I never would have thought Bioshock would beat Halo 3 for this award?
[22:56] griffinjoystiq: Are those Gamecocks?
[22:57] griffinjoystiq: I wish that Big Daddy would start drilling through everyone in the room, and then come to my apartment, and drill through me.
[22:57] JustinAtTheVGAs: Yes, and they just Wu Tanged Ken Levine.

Closing Thoughts
[22:58] griffinjoystiq: Well, I think the Oscars could take a number of pointers from the VGAs.
[22:58] JustinAtTheVGAs: Oh yeah?
[22:58] griffinjoystiq: First off, hire presenters who don't know anything about what the awards show is about. For instance, hobos.
[22:59] griffinjoystiq: All hobo presenters would be a major improvement.
[22:59] JustinAtTheVGAs: I think they're moving in the right direction. The exclusive trailers are a really good step.
[22:59] griffinjoystiq: I'm not done.
[22:59] JustinAtTheVGAs: Please, continue.
[23:00] griffinjoystiq: Paint the names of award winners on ladies. There's no reason not to.
[23:01] griffinjoystiq: Also, have every third presenter fart into the microphone. Considering your presenters will be hobos (if you've followed my instructions so far), this shouldn't be too hard.
[23:01] griffinjoystiq: OH SHIT IT'S STARTING AGAIN
[23:01] JustinAtTheVGAs: Well, let's sign off before it's too late.
[23:01] griffinjoystiq: Wanna liveblog it again?
[23:01] JustinAtTheVGAs: Die in a fire.
[23:01] griffinjoystiq: Pussy.

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Austin GDC: Live at the Minho Kim keynote

Elizabeth Harper — 2007-09-07T10:35:00+00:00

If you haven't heard of Minho Kim, I'll forgive you -- I hadn't heard of him either until the name showed up in the list of keynote presentations at the Austin Game Developers Conference. Kim is Nexon America's director of game operations, and while Nexon hasn't made a big impact in North American markets, their free-to-play, micro-transaction driven online games (the best known of which is probably MapleStory) are a hit in Asia and Europe. Kim's keynote launches the final day of the conference with a discussion of micro-transactions. Joystiq is on-site waiting for festivities to begin, so keep reading for a play-by-play.

9:36 AM CST: The keynote, scheduled to start at 9:30 AM CST, has been delayed until 9:45 AM CST, due to the closure of the nearby Congress Ave bridge (presumably to allow everyone some extra time to get in).

9:46 AM CST: About Nexon, for those who aren't familiar.

Established in South Korea in 1994
Created the first graphical MMO in 1995
First micro-transaction game model
85% of revenue comes from item sales

9:49 AM CST: What are casual online games? Social and free. What are micro-transactions? Items and customization, decorative (identity), functional (advantage/freedom), inexpensive (range from $1 to $10).

9:51 AM CST: MapleStory, the world's first 2D side-scrolling MMORPG. One of the most profitable online games, globally, making only $16 million monthly, with 72+ million users world-wide.

9:52 AM CST: KartRacer, a 3D casul racing MMO, the most played online game in Korea (~25% of the population). Has over 160 million registered users.

9:53 AM CST: Are micro-transactions viable in the US? After all...

Graphics in Nexon games are not cutting edge
US is traditionally a console market
Micro-transactions are traditionally successful in Asia

9:55 AM CST: A case-study of MapleStory

First launched in Korea in 2003
Global launch had no real marketing, weren't sure where it would be a success
Started getting a good population from North America and Singapore users
Average playtime was 40hrs/month

9:57 AM CST: When launched, they didn't know who the players were, who the players could be, whether players would buy virtual items...

9:58 AM CST: Commercialization -- launched beta cash shop with PayPal in Nov. 2005 (timed with the holidays to get the best adoption)

9:59 AM CST: Fraud! As Nexon was celebrating their success, they found they were having issues with fraud, which they were unprepared for. Time-delay on finding out about fraud, it could be 6 months. Fraud can lead to fines (can be large) and expulsion from credit card processing.

10:01 AM CST: Chargebacks -- purchases that are reversed by credit card companies. Cost the merchant an additional $20 fine. Having over a 1% chargeback rate tends to make the credit card companies pay special attention to you.

10:02 AM CST: To fight back, Nexon attempts to stop fraud before it occurs and educate users about potential fraud. Also:

Removed gifting function
set spending limits
educated user base
created internal fraud team
implemented vendor solutions

10:04 AM CST: Hacking adn abuse are an inevitable part of the business. If there is financial value in it, your product will be hacked or abused. Nexon has found the US to be a hacking hotbed -- it's not a problem they dealt with in Korea.

10:05 AM CST: Hacking can --

Turn away new users
turn way existing users
increase account theft rate (trojans)
shorten the life span of a user (getting through available content faster)
cause headaches for customer service

10:06 AM CST: Farmers invade the game and flood hunting areas -- when hacking is conducted in such volume, legit players are forced to succumb to the pressure.

10:07 AM CST: Hacking beckame an epidemic that could not be ignored. Nexon had to ramp up their GM staff and extend coverage, develop detection tools and measures to mass ban hackers, moved critical values to server side, implemented 3rd party solutions, user education.

10:08 AM CST: Target audience:

young teens & tweens
#1 online game for elementry students
hard-core MMORPG players, for whom this might be a second game
anime fans (because of the art style

10:09 AM CST: The pricing dilemma for prepaid cards: because their PayPal users trended towards spending $20+, they opted for $25 cards as well as $10 cards. Kind of a risk with limited retail space, but it was successful.
10:10 AM CST: Who the players are. Members of MapleStory's Myspace community shows some "cool" people, not just kids or anime fans. People are meeting each other in Maplestory. There are lots of different kinds of people playing.

10:13 AM CST: They got this demographic by... not advertising. They had the right timing on launch, teens were starting to live online.

10:15 AM CST: Because the playerbase was so culturally different, Nexon created a domestic localization team. We're shown some artwork done by the North American team which was sent back to Korea to be MapleStory-ified. Also localized holidays, i.e. Thanksgiving, Halloween, etc.

10:17 AM CST: Product placement with Target when they launched their pre-paid cards. Created parent NPCs that gave "chores" which gave the player an "allowance" which could be used to get cards at Target. Around 200,000 players participated in the event which translated into $1.6 million in sales and 600,000 items sold in February 2007. Really sped up the adoption of the prepaid cards.

10:19 AM CST: Why prepaid cards? It was the right fit for Nexon's demographic (50% of players did not have direct access to credit cards). Diversified payment options, when they had previously been very reliant on credit cards.

10:20 AM CST: The challenges of prepaid cards. Retailers weren't keen on the concept, Nexon wasn't a big presence in the US and even showing numbers it was difficult to prove that this would be successful. Had to convince retailers that it was an underground hit. Also, the physical cards cost money upfront for Nexon.

10:21 AM CST: A few days into the Target release, cards started selling out. Target was initially skeptical, but they had to order more to keep up with demand. Translated into $1.6 million in sales and 600,000 items sold in February 2007. The Nexon Game Card is currently the #2 prepaid card on the market, right after iTunes.

10:23 AM CST: By the holidays, Nexon will have distributed cards to 31,000 locations (Target was about 1600 of those) with millions of cards.

10:24 AM CST: Future plans for MapleStory include continued expansion of content, advertising (starting on TV in September or October, still questions on how to market to their demographic and communicate their brand), interactive trading game in development with Wizards of the Coast, animation produced by Madhouse in Japan, product placements, licensing.

10:28 AM CST: Example of the product placement they've done with CocaCola. Branded inventory items, NPCs, and monsters. Very immersive experience. In exchange, Coke advertised MapleStory on Coke cans, etc. (Viable in Korea because of MapleStory's market penetration.)

That's all for this keynote -- but stay tuned for more MMO news from AGDC!

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Liveblogging Microsoft's "The Evolution of RPG Development" panel

Richard Mitchell — 2007-03-06T19:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, RPGs, GDC

We're at Microsoft's "The Evolution of RPG Development" panel, ready to liveblog the goings on. The panelists are Ray Muzyka (Bioware, Mass Effect), Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistwalker, Blue Dragon), and Peter Molyneux (Lionhead, Fable 2) and is moderated by GameHead's Geoff Keighley. Stick with us as we update this post.

4:35pm PT - Keighley starts by asking these RPG icons what the difference is between older and newer RPGs, and how they've evolved.

Sakaguchi: The graphics allow for players to see the true emotion behind the character.

Molyneux: RPGs are the first game I ever played, Wizardry on the Apple. I lost my first girlfriend to it. The graphics have changed. It's not simple and is much more significant, though the structure has not changed. There have been some evolutions but they're still recognizable back then and now. There are opportunities for changes. "I don't know who's going to do it."
4:40pm - Muzyka: The genre has evolved. What is an RPG? it's a blended definition now. The definition is increasingly broad. We're merging some elements into our games (from games like GTA, etc). Story and character is one of the activity pillars we focus on. Addictive customization, progression combat that makes you feel something, that makes you feel fear when your encountering certain enemies. You're so eager to uncover a new area to explore ... we're defining it based on those activity pillars, those chains. We're reaching new consumers as well as our existing RPG fans.

Molyneux: I agree with everything you said. For me, it comes back to this one simple phrase: role playing game. You are playing a role. What should it feel like to be a hero? To start off as nothing and become a hero, that's the differential for me. What I want to do is make you feel like a hero, make you feel significant. Emotional engagement that I want you all to buy in to.

Sakaguchi: What was the question? (laughs) System and visual fidelity are important. What I'd like to do is tell a great storyline, and the characters and worldview that players can relate to. There's a sense of exhileration and accomplishment. Thats something you get out of an RPG.

4:45 - Keighley: Is turn-based here to stay, or is real-time the way of the future?

Sakaguchi: It's crucial to create meticulously and with a great level of detail. With respect to Blue Dragon, it's turn-based but it has a lot of real time elements. Lost Odyssey has a lot of real-time elements that will make battle experiences interesting. There is an action RPG title called Cryon for 360 and two additional RPG projects.
There needs to be variable ways of planning.

Molyneux: I think there's space for both. That's the problem with action games, it's much more twitch, there's no time to pause. I hope there carries on being great turn-based games.

Muzyka: There's many ways to tell a great story. The key, as Peter mentioned, is emotion. We're striving to create both sides of the creation. Mass Effect's got the whole gamut. Everyone's definition of an RPG is different.

4:50 - Keighley: Linear versus open ended?

Sakaguchi: There will be a lot more games that have character customizations, because it's fun.
The focus is to tell a good story and reflect a world view. It's the same as making a movie, you get the characters in place, you want to manipulate all of them and feel fully immersed.

Molyneux: I've been thinking about this an awful lot. There's customization and evolution. I get a bit bored just customizing one character. When you've got no context of the world it seems kind of old school. I am just bored to death with those same old set up screen where you got change the hair color change the eyes, ya ya ya, same old thing. I'd like to continue evolving that character. It's all about your engagement. If I can convince you that these are things you've chosen, that means you're more emotionally engaged. We need to take a step further than we've gone at the moment.

Muszyka: For me, it comes down to the choices you make in the game. Non-linear narrative is one of the hardest forms to create. You have to think of all the angles. You have to have the consequences.

Molyneux: There's one slight snag. You don't want people to start believeing they're making the wrong choice. That's where we've got to be very very careful. That's where branching can work against 'em (RPGs).

Muzyka: I think it's exciting to have different stories. No two characters having the same story arc. Just like real life, you're not gonna have the same path as someone else. I love non-linearity and we're aspiring for that.

Keighley: It must be difficult to create all this non-linear content that some will never see. How do you balance that?

Muzyka: It's damn hard. You have to think fo the emotion return each player gets from the choice they make. "Jack Bauer in space." You have a grand goal, you're saving billions of lives. You have to expend things in the short term for the greater good.

Molyneux: It's not that I don't want to do multiple branching (laughs). The only problem is that, for me, I'm insecure enough to believe that I'm always going to take the wrong path.

5:00pm - Keighley: Let's talk about multiplayer. Very popular on Xbox Live. RPGs always battle with multiplayer experience. How do you see multiplayer fitting in to the future or RPGs?

Sakaguchi: I'm fond of multiplay and online connectivity. I'm hoping I can talk with Shane [Kim] and create an online game (laughs). Shane, please Shane. I wanna make one.

Molyneux: Can I do one as well, Shane (room laughs)? What you're finding is that people are leaving their consoles connected all the time. If there is any genre that is really sympathetic to online multiplayer, it's RPGs. I'd love to talk about that in great enormous detail, but I have been gagged by lots of people. [Is he talking about co-op in Fable 2?]

Keighley: What's taking so long?

Molyneux: there's a lot of stuff to work out, there's technology to work out, there's gameplay to work out ... there's a lot of reasons why you haven't seen the real evolution of what's going to happen. The revolution is coming.

Muzyka: I haven't been gagged. I'll hint at the rough shape of what we're building. The story that develops between players, that's something you can't achieve in a single player game. There's a place for both of them (MMO and single player). I think the social interactions between players allow you to tell stories of a different kind.

5:07pm - They begin taking questions from the audience.

Q: A while back on SNES there was an RPG, Secret of Mana. Why hasn't online co-op been explored in linear RPGs?

Ray Muzyka: I think it's a great idea (room laughs). You have a party joined by a common goal. Where's the fourth pillar? The story? I think that's the missing ingredient.

Q: Do you think there's a place for reality-based role playing? Really minute details like choosing your dinner set? More than a fantasy setting with epic heroes? Can there be more mundane RPGs? (room laughs).

Muzyka: I think one of the cool things about RPGs, it's aspirational fantasy. You don't want to be mundane. You want to be someone who's great. You want to be someone you can't be in real life.

Molyneux: Let's take Fable for example. Is chatting up girls mundane? (laughs in room). Is having relationships mundane? I was thinking about a game called Dimitri -- and I still can't talk about this -- it's very hard to talk about (still secret). Could you be a hero in today's world? 24, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, etc. They're all set in today's world. Is the starting point you and I? We're not in some tune like in Fable. We're in this room. That's a good starting point for a role playing game. We could concentrate on the mundane "Level 3 in Make-Up" or we could focus on the dramatic. If I could say to you: this room explodes, this bomb goes off in the corner. That's a good game. It's all about the detail. In fantasy, you can brush over those details. You can say, it's my world.

Sakaguchi: I'm very interested in it. I've been exploring the idea for 10 years. I've thought of a game around a story of a boy who's trying to make up a relationship with an ex girlfriend. It's something i'm interested in, but it's tough.

Q: What makes it so tough?

Sakaguchi: Long discussion in Japanese, we'll do it someday (laughs in room).

Q: Isn't that what Yu Suzuki tried with Shenmue and failed at?

Sakaguchi: Shenmue? Suzuki Yu? Yeah I know him (laughs).

5:15 PM

They retranslate last question and Sakaguchi responds: I don't think so (laughs in room).

That's it!

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Nintendo's Wii event pre-game coverage!

Ross Miller — 2006-05-09T10:13:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, E3

11:05 am - We're live at the Kodak Theater in downtown Hollywood, it's the usual who's-who of the videogame journalism world. We actually just saw Miyamoto cruising around amongst the herd, but we heard he vanished down a warp pipe.

11:25 am - The crowd's obviously getting a little anxious. We're just a few of minutes away now.

11:29 am - We're shuffling in now, about to find our seats. Stay tuned as we get prepped and ready to liveblog.

11:47 am - We're in, standing in holding. They've admitted us to the theater but they're not yet seating. More to come.

12:05 pm - Still waiting ... no word yet when the delays will end and we can get seated but they have some video feeds in the hall and it looks like it shouldn't be long. Looks like Microsoft is going to have delays of their own, being that almost all of the press here is going to head over.

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