NY Games Conference, Day 1: To Console or Not to Console?

This past week, over 300 of the video game industry’s biggest and brightest names gathered together at the NY Games Conference to discuss (yup, you guessed it) games: where they’re at, where they’re headed, and everything in between. Located at New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage on September 25-26, the conference left no stones unturned regarding today’s hottest game topics, and I was there to watch it all unfold.

Ned Sherman, CEO of Digital Media Wire and a GG interview veteran, hosted the conference, warmly welcoming everyone to the first day of panels with an overview speech regarding what to expect from the conference, and discussing the significant rise in the popularity of gaming in recent years. Did you know, for example, that 97% of American teens play games—specifically 99% of teen males, and 94% of teen females? Now you do. Heck, more than half of America considers themselves gamers in general! Considering that, it’s really no wonder that so many important figures in the gaming world attended.

Those kinds of statistics are worth discussing, and that’s exactly what the following speakers did. In the “Top Gaming Trends” section of the conference, Michael Klotz, Games Senior Manager of The NPD Group, gave us the “who, what, where, when, and why” of the gaming industry, delving into the details of today’s gaming trends. For instance, he stated that nearly 60% of revenue from female gamers is for a Nintendo platform, concluding that women love Mario (who doesn’t, really?). He also stated that “the music genre has exploded” in games when 2007 hit, attributing its success to games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Setting the tone for an ongoing theme at the conference, he also divulged that online game subscriptions were bigger than retail games last year.

This leads us to the next panel, and by far the most entertaining one, entitled “Is the Console Entertainment Hub of the Future or Fighting to Stay Alive?”: a debate amongst industry pros that pitted staunch PC gaming supporters against unwavering fans of the console. The line-up for this “debate club” was a slew of heavy-hitters. Team Anti-Console included Alex St. John, CEO & Founder of Wild Tangent, John Welch, CEO & Co-Founder of Playfirst, while Team Pro-Console consisted of Justin Townsend, CEO & Co-Founder of IGA WorldWide, and Robert Stevenson, VP of Business Development & WW Publishing of Atari Group.

The argument for Pro-Console was a simple one that drove the point home. “Where would the consumer most like to consume?” Justin asked hypothetically. The answer he proposed made perfect sense: a home theatre. In other words, consoles are great for a “living room” environment where family and friends can play games together as an engaging social experience, basking in surround sound and massive television screens. Considering the trend towards gaming becoming more of a social experience, it was a reasonable argument that consoles will stick around.

The Anti-Console side is where the conference spiced up. Alex blatantly stated that he believes that we are in the last generation of consoles, and that PCs will take reign once consoles become one with the dinosaurs. “Sony’s not what it used to be,” he said, shooting down the PS3 by saying it lost a great deal of money, and adding that Xbox was not very profitable either. While he cited the popularity of the Wii as proof that the console is dead, Pro-Console’s rebuttal made sense too: isn’t Wii a console? Isn’t it actually proof that consoles are heading in a positive direction to do more innovative things for gamers? The audience itself was divided on the fate of the console, but regardless of one’s stance on this matter, the debate brought energy to the conference and was a pleasure for all to watch.

In “Get a (Virtual) Life! The Challenges and Opportunities for Monetizing Virtual Worlds and MMOGs,” the audience was introduced to another roster of all-stars, ranging from Craig Sherman, CEO of Gaia Online, to Andrew Schneider, President & Co-founder of Live Gamer. Two notions stayed with me after this panel, the first of which being that young people love games that will allow them an outlet for self-expression, making applications that allow them to design their own customized avatars wildly popular. In Stardoll, for example, members are able to create a MeDoll, whose appearance is actually based on a picture of themselves, and they can then design rooms and buy clothing for this doll. The second notion was that getting money from many of the virtual worlds/MMOGs is tricky business. The “payment mechanisms” were brought into question, debating what method was most effective, whether it be PayPal, prepaid cards, bundles, etc. Moreover, the targeted age groups for these websites are often under 18, making them unable to enter into a legal contract and creating some hurdles for companies as well. Each panelist addressed these and other issues in various ways, but they seemed unified in the sense that most believed that microtransactions were the way to go.

A panel of teenage gamers followed, moderated by Jacquie Lane of C&R Research. In regards to their gaming habits, I was surprised to hear several recurring themes amongst the teens. The majority of the panel, for instance, stated that they still love their Nintendo 64s, proving that no matter how high-tech games become, there will still be lovers of old school games—even if they are themselves “new school.” Most of the teens also expressed little interest in television, and when asked what they would do if games didn’t exist, almost all of them mentioned more social activities like sports as opposed to solitary media-related ones. This panel served as evidence to back previous panelists’ claims and numbers, all the while opening people’s eyes to refreshing facts not previously observed.

The first day of the NY Games Conference was one of compelling debate, informative speakers, and firsthand insight that was a valuable experience for people in any aspect of the gaming industry. After much mingling and cookie-consuming, I returned back to home base for some much-need rest in preparation for the second (and longer) day of events. More to come!