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As computers and Internet access get cheaper and faster, online games are getting bigger and better. Right now, around the world, hundreds of thousands of people are using their computers to play against other people, people they may never meet face to face.
In South Korea, more than 20,000 Internet cafes, many with more than 100 high-end computers, cater to online gamers. Teams play games like “Half Life” against players in other cafes, while kibitzers can follow the action on big-screen TV’s or even watch at home on a cable channel.
Playing solo, or organized into squadrons, tribes, clans, and pods, people are pretending to be everything from First World War aviators to railway tycoons, from wizards and sorcerers to conquerors of the galaxy. Some ‘box’ games allow players to buy the software and organize Internet games for free on their own computers while others, like WarBirds, give away the software but charge to bring players together in arenas. Still others charge for both.
Some games have a beginning and an end, while others are called ‘persistent worlds’ where the action can go on for weeks and months, with players maintaining a consistent identity throughout.
Online, multiplayer games are the epitome of non-contact sports, but a new game called “Majestic’ will take them to another level, even reaching out to players through e-mail, fax and telephone to give them important information about the game. Online games could be may be getting larger than life.
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Three recent developments mark a big change in Internet advertising as Web sites struggle to find some way to compensate for last year’s precipitous decline in sales of the familiar ‘banner’ advertising.
First, the bad news. If you surf the Web chances are you have seen one of those annoying pop-up ads for the X10 camera. Many people find the ads themselves as repellent as their unwanted presence, but the campaign has been a huge success. Unfortunately, success in the ad biz quickly breeds imitators, so look for plenty of ads popping up on a monitor near you.
Second, some good news. In an intelligent use of the Web medium, BMW has commissioned a series of five-minute films by big-name directors to promote their automobiles. These mini-movies, from directors like John Frankenheimer (“The Manchurian Candidate”) and Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) are only available on the Internet. The automaker spent millions to make the films. In return, they’re getting millions of high-bandwidth, high-income visitors to their Web site.
And third, some interesting news. Media convergence pays off for AOL Time Warner with the $100 million marketing deal it has signed with Royal Philips Electronics. Its print and broadcast properties will promote Royal Philips products along with its Internet presence at sites like People.com and CNN.com, and of course, the shopping areas on AOL itself. Will convergence pay off with customers? Stay tuned.
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