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Coobico Mixes MMO With Social Networking

From mashable.com

Although every MMO is, in fact, some sort of social network, many companies are trying to find that special niche where gaming and social networking meet. Coobico is, as the founders say, a mix of casual MMO (casual, in the realm of MMOs, usually means that you don’t have to leave your family, quit your job and spend the rest of your wretched life living in a tiny apartment, permanently hooked to the screen, to be successful in the game) and a social network. It’s Flash based, it’s free, it’s part strategy, part RPG, and it’s coming out in the first quarter of 2008.

Although this date is relatively near, the game seems to be in early stages of development - concept art and hints on gameplay with an occasional tiny in-game screenshot are all you can find out about the game at this time. An interview with one of the founders, Lutz Winter, reveals that the intended game audience are 30 and 40-somethings which aren’t interested in endless grind, but a more casual mix of fun gameplay, chat, and other social networking features. In the interview, the game is compared with desktop titles like the Settlers but also online successful titles like Habbo Hotel and Gaia Online.

The game is developed by Linking People, a Hong Kong based company founded by three web developers from Germany. S. Wetzel, J. Martin and L. Winter have mostly been designing commercial and promo web sites; we’ll see how well they’ll do in the socnet/gaming arena.

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Marketers Get Wise to Wii Parties

From Marketingvox.com

Tennis, anyone? Video game demographic activity has evolved, from teenage boys locked in the basement for hours in game-swathed solitude, to mass audiences now playing together. According to Advertising Age, new consoles like the active Nintendo Wii and games like Guitar Hero encourage people to host parties and bar nights that revolve around game play. Advertisers are quickly jumping aboard. Invitation making site Evite caught onto Wii parties after discovering a rash of users searching for Wii party ideas on its site. The company recently launched pages dedicated solely to these gaming soirées. In bars and restaurants, Guitar Hero nights are the new karaoke. Patrons sign up to play their favorite classic rock ballads with the game's guitar-shaped controller. The new games are also challenging the notion that video games are for young people. Wii parties are now features on Norwegian Cruise Lines. And Erickson Retirement Communities are now placing Wiis in group homes. Expansion of the target demo has helped gaming industry sales to rise to $18 billion from $16 billion last year.