Phil Harrison makes interesting prediction. In Eurogamer he says: “Alone in the Dark is a beautifully crafted single-player adventure game. I don’t think the industry is going to make many more of those. I just don’t think consumers want to be playing games that don’t have some kind of network connectivity to them, or some kind of community embedded in them, or some kind of extension available through downloadable content.” I happen to think that he is wrong. Video gaming has the enormous advantages of interactivity, connectivity and non linearity. The first of these is compulsory, the other two are optional. Which leaves room for unconnected single player games. Like chess, Tetris and Sudoku. To give an analogy in a book a picture is worth a thousand words, this doesn`t mean that every book has to use pictures.

ELSPA and BBFC in tussle. The Byron review of the game industry said that we should enter a consultancy period to consider her proposals. This is good as it is an opportunity to oppose her worst proposal, that the BBFC run game age ratings instead of PEGI. The existing system works so it is stupid to change it for an expensive, bureaucratic system that is UK only. The industry has said as much. But the BBFC is ignoring the consultancy period and implementing Byron as if they have already won. Presumably they expect their implementation to stifle debate. It is nice to see ELSPA standing up for the industry, we don´t need the BBFC. All the BBFC offer the industry is extra work and extra expense with no conceivable advantage to anyone except their own bureaucracy.

TV show and MMO to be developed simultaneously and to evolve together. This is excellent and groundbreaking. If they play to the strengths of the two different media they could create an amazing gaming experience. Further proof of how rapidly gaming is evolving as mass entertainment.

Netflix and Xbox to team up? This has been on the cards for a while and places movies as an integral, but junior, part of the gaming experience.