January 21, 2008 · 02:33 PM

New Playgrounds

Playing is an essential part of human life. Today, computer games imitate reality better and better, gamers delve into parallel worlds. They create an Alter Ego and connect with the global gamer community. So what's to be expected in the future?

The panel: Judith Park is a German comic-artist, author and illustrator of Korean origin. Gerhard Florin, Executive Vice President for "EA Publishing", oversees Publishing in all western world markets. Stanley Yang is Chief Executive Officer of "NeuroSky, Inc. ", a bio-sensor company in Silicon Valley, California. Mattias Miksche is the CEO and co-founder of the international fashion & entertainment community " Stardoll". Moderated by Ingo Griebl, Managing Director of "Burda:ic".

Ingo Griebl starts with new demographic segments for the market, such as gaming for women.

The question is: Do people prefer gaming instead of other media formats? Because now, even the music industry is surpassed by the revenues of the gaming industry.

Judith Park, Manga artist, does play consoles and online games in her free time. She says that the Manga style is very popular in Germany, especially with women. Park thinks that gaming and Manga help people to escape everyday pressures, partly, because the social component in them is very important.

Gerhard Florin asks whether there is any connection between the real world and the online world. They ask people to invent clothes for the "Sims" - game figures, for example.
(Judith Park quickly sketches a Manga character on the computer for the audience to see. - *applause*)

Do different groups of games widen the market? Florin sees possibilities in online games, especially with broadband connections. Also, gaming is, in contrast to the music industry, embracing the internet. There are only few hardcore gamers, but casual gaming attracts a massive number of people - even if they have little money. A good example for this development was "Fifa online", which started in 2006 during the Soccer World Cup and was a success especially in Korea.

What are the limitations for this kind of games? Florin replies that if you offer something with a payment, you need a franchise for it in every country. But this is a community basement game which needs no franchise, as they make money with commercials. What is new about these games is that they demand webmasters and service platforms worldwide.

Mattias Mischke of "Stardoll" explains his company's games. Via drag-and-drop function gamers can dress dolls, they buy stuff from other users etc. Their users are mainly "female Goth users", "ass-kicking rock stars", "wannabe cover girls" - there are even fashion prices in this virtual world. A prominent partner is Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne.

Stanley Yang from "NeuroSky" tries to develop games which can be controlled with the mind. They try to translate brain waves into real action on the computer.

 

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