The 2008 ScreenBurn Festival
March 7 - 11, 2008
Austin, Texas

While there are few industries that can claim to be truly recession proof, the video game industry is showing little sings of slowing down in light of what most analysts agree to be an overall economic downturn. According to the NPD Group, a leading market research company, the latest data available for March of this year shows that U.S. retail sales of game consoles, software and accessories grew 57 percent to $1.1 billion. “You’d never know the U.S. economy was under distress,” said Anita Frazier, NPD’s video game analyst. “People still want to be entertained and to enjoy a diversion from their everyday concerns.” In a research note to clients earlier this year, Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, wrote that the video game industry is entering the “largest, most robust cycle in history” with software sales predicted to exceed $10 billion in 2008. As if on-cue the latest installment of “Grand Theft Auto” from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., which was released this April, sold $500 million in its first week on shelves, and Amazon.com has already sold out of pre-orders for the much anticipated addition to the Nintendo juggernaut, “Wii Fit,” an exercise game aimed at groups not traditionally associated with video game sales.

These figures bring up an interesting point. What has driven this unprecedented growth? And can that growth really be sustained in the face of a lagging economy? In a gamasutra.com interview, Ed Barton, Screen Digest said, “Of greater importance to industry growth is the hardware cycle and games release volume and pipeline rather than the wider economic environment.” With the expanded market provided by Nintindo’s Wii fueling the interest of the casual gamer, and high profile established title releases like GTA keeping the hard-core gamers in tow, this seems to hold true. But as Nick Williams of OTX Research says in the same interview, “While the expansion of the market beyond hardcore gamers has undoubtedly contributed to the record growth in 2008, these new gamers will likely be the first ones to stop buying games if they need to cut their entertainment budget.” If the this industry is to thrive in the coming year, it may be on the backs of the hardcore gamer. “Although the hardcore represent a small percentage of all video games consumers,” said Ed Barton, “their purchasing power and frequency should not be underestimated.” An April 22, 2008 NPD Group report on consumer entertainment spending would seem to back that up. A little less than half of those who responded to the survey thought they would spend the same amount on entertainment in 2008 as they did in 2007. “Teens were the only age group where spending tipped positive; 30 percent believed they would spend more than last year, versus 25 percent who thought they would spend less.”The report went on to say that “consumers who plan to spend more on entertainment this year are primarily focused on buying new devices (e.g., Blu-ray Disc players and the latest gaming consoles), rather than on purchasing new entertainment content (e.g., DVDs, music)… The uncertain state of the U.S. economy, and worries about disposable income had little to do with these consumers’ entertainment spending outlook.”

As the summer sun drifts higher in the sky, and the days get longer and longer, let us not forget the fun times we had just a few short weeks ago at the 2008 SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.

To jog your memory you may want to check out gamespot.com for a day by day wrap up of the 2008 SXSW Interactive and Screenburn Festivals, as well as some SXSW Film Festival highlights. Homer Rabara, Managing Producer for Gamespot, takes viewers on 5 short video tours (one for each day of the festival) highlighting ScreenBurn panels, the ScreenBurn Arcade and the iF Tradeshow.

Also featured are videos specifically highlighting the ScreenBurn Arcade and the very popular Dorkbot party. Homer Rabara shows off the Championship Gaming Series event and takes time out to chat with Amy (aka Valkerie) of the frag dolls and former pro-gamer Kristen Reilly from Hewlett-Packard about their SXSW ScreenBurn Arcade experiences. At the Dorkbot party Homer talks with Rodney Gibbs about “electricity, robots and beer” and John-Mike Reed from Bleep Labs shows off a light controlled analogue synthesizer called the Thingamagoop.

Grand Theft Auto IV outdoes anticipated sales figures by achieving the $500 million mark in sales in the first week since the release of the title. This increases the anticipation in the recent proposition Electronic Arts made to acquire Take-Two Interactive, Grand Theft Auto’s publisher. “The significance of the sales extends beyond buoying Take-Two, a company that has had its share of legal, financial and management struggles in the last few years. The company is the subject of a $2 billion hostile takeover effort by Electronic Arts, which is offering Take Two shareholders $25.74 a share for control of the company. If Take-Two can exceed sales expectations on Grand Theft Auto IV, it has the potential to drive up the share price and force Electronic Arts to raise its offer,” reports the New York Times . Who’s hands will be behind the wheel?

Bummed ’cause you missed that don’t-you-dare-miss-it panel at the 2008 SXSW ScreenBurn festival? Bummed ’cause you couldn’t make it to the 2008 SXSW ScreenBurn festival at all? Really bummed ’cause you did go, but can’t seem to remember a thing? Never fear, podcasts are here! Now you can listen to full length podcast recordings of all the SXSW 2008 ScreenBurn and Interactive panels sessions by clicking on the podcast page.

Join Susan Wu (pictured above) for Human and Property Rights in Virtual Worlds. This session addresses the real question of what form online property rights take. Beyond property, what is the shape and form of online human rights in virtual worlds and how do we get there from here? And The Female Takedown of Casual Gaming will explore the evolving demographics of the growing and changing casual gaming market. Panelists will discuss - and debate – how gender and age play a role.

Visit the podcast page each week for new additions to the line up.

Future game developers won’t want to miss out on the next ACC Video Game Seminar “Introduction to Mac Game Development,” presented by Michael Agustin & Daniel Treiman from Gendai Games.

The Mac platform is undoubtedly getting much attention these days because of new products such as the MacBook Air and the iPhone. In this lecture, Michael & Daniel will give a jump start overview of the development tools and API on the Macintosh platform, as well as the Objective-C language. They will also cover the Mac and iPhone game markets, and how they are compelling for both startups and established companies.

Be sure and join us Wednesday, May 7, from 7pm to 9pm in room 301.0 of the Highland Business Center for this free seminar!

Mark next year’s calendar for South By Southwest ScreenBurn. 2009 SXSW Interactive + ScreenBurn panel programming and events will run March 13-17. In preparation for next year, we will begin taking panel submissions on Monday, June 2, through Friday, July 10. If you have an idea for a gaming panel or solo presentation you think should be a part of the conference next March, stay tuned for information on panel submission guidelines that will be announced mid-May.

You can also subscribe to SXSW Interactive’s monthly listserve for the latest news, or email us at interpanels at sxsw dot com for more details. We had a lot of great content in 2008, and look forward to hearing your ideas that will shape the future of the gaming industry in 2009!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s SXSW Interactive + ScreenBurn Festival a success! As always, we welcome your feedback and we want your ideas about how we can make next year’s festival even better. Make sure to check the Interactive site for audio and video highlights from this year’s event and to find out about our 2009 Panel Picker. See you in 2009, everybody.

It was a busy weekend here at this year’s ScreenBurn Arcade. Free and open to the public, SB Arcade was THE place to be for gamers at Interactive this year–badge or no badge. Wizards of the Coast, GameCock and GameTap had product demos and representatives out in full force, while the Championship Gaming Series arena gave the Arcade a perpetual “finale-of-The Wizard” feel. Speaking of vintage gaming, GameTap kept the Capcom revelry raging inside their Arcade booth. You could practically smell the year 1991!

Wizards of the Coast’s exhibit had tables where you could bust out Magic: The Gathering cards, as well as reps on hand to talk about their Dungeons and Dragons MMO and still-in-alpha social networking/RPG site Gleemax. Who knows how social networking/online worlds would have evolved without Dungeons and Dragons? After all, pointed out WOTC’s Jeremiah Isgur, “Dungeons and Dragons was the original user-generated game. Lots of MMOs are based on the rules of D&D.” (RIP, Gygax.)

Concentration abounded in the Championship Gaming arena.

Who says gaming’s not a spectator sport?

The FragDolls always have their game face on.

And so did this guy. There was never a quiet moment at the Guitar Hero and Rock Band booths.

At the Hewlett-Packard Blackbird 002 Gaming PC booth.

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the ScreenBurn Arcade. See you at ScreenBurn ‘09!

You might not know it yet, but Jane McGonigal has been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work towards your future happiness. Not only is she a pioneer in the field of Alternate Reality Games (a genre that, she explains, can do a lot for your personal sense of well-being) but as a senior researcher/”future forecaster” at Bay Area think tank The Institute for the Future, she’s a front-runner in improving “quality of life” through game-think. Her SXSWi closing keynote panel today was a fascinating look into McGonigal’s work and research as both a game designer and a future forecaster. “Instead of trying to make games more realistic–more powerful graphics, better AI–I’m trying to make the real world more like games,” she explained. “We need the real world to be better designed so it functions more like a game.” While that might sound like a lofty statement, especially to a non-gamer, McGonigal’s logic is simple: Happiness doesn’t mean what it used to. “Happiness is not a warm puppy,” she asserted. Now, happiness as we (and our future selves) know it is increasingly more about “quality of life,” drawn from “satisfying work to do, the experience of being good at something, time spent with people we like, and the chance to be a part of something bigger.” And–you guessed it–”Nothing gives you these four qualities in higher quantity than games. Multiplayer games gives you chance to be with people you like and be a part of something bigger. Multiplayer games are the ultimate happiness engine.” Fresh from her SXSW Web Awards win for World Without Oil, the first socially conscious ARG tackling a real-life problem, she spoke of the importance of using gaming models to foster social change: “I want to make sure a game developer wins a Nobel Prize by the year 2032.” Closing out her speech with an impromptu Soulja Boy dance routine per audience request, McGonigal truly appeared to have the “quality of life” algorithm figured out.

On Saturday the 8th, DorkBot descended on Brush Square Park. What is DorkBot? It’s a science fair powered by “free beer, electricity, tomfoolery, mayhem, makers and music to form one exquisite geek talent show,” sponsored by Make Magazine, SXSW Interactive, the International Game Developers Association of Austin and Amaze Entertainment.

The unbridled geek thrills at DorkBot: touching lives.

Bleep Labs’ Thingamagoops made lots of people happy.

I, DorkBot: These adorable little guys are actually analog synthesizers.

Next stop: frog design’s megabash at the sculptural new Mexican-American Cultural Center.

Nothing bespeaks “interactive good times” quite like glowing green lights.

Grupo Fantasma, Austin’s finest funk/cumbia outfit (and Prince’s personal backing band!) powered the dance party.

The view from inside the MACC.

The party (and the neon glow) continued late into the night at GameTap’s event at club Parkside. Drinks, hors d’oeuvres, DJs and old-school Capcom games stoked the festivities.

The dancefloor: it got PWNED. Thanks to everyone who came out!

All images: Erin Sanders