Today I got a phone call from a journalist who was writing an article for 14 local newspapers. He asked me about my opinion on the ‘battle of platforms’ and wanted a response to the quote that ‘the AAA hardcore game platforms are doomed to die’…

I wrote an item about this recently when I saw new platforms were emerging like the Ooya, the Gamestick and the Steam Box.

If you saw the release of the Xbox One (great name by the way) yesterday you know that Microsoft is trying to claim the battle for the living room entertainment with a ‘all-in-one’ content solution (music, moveis, TV, series, games, etc.) and I must say I was impressed that finally one company dares to really claim that spot. However… shouldn’t (or didn’t) Sony have taken that spot years ago…??? They have the hardware (TV, Audio sets, PlayStation), software OS, content (Sony Music, Sony Pictures, Sony PlayStation)…?? I still wonder why they never managed to make it happen….

What Sony PlayStation does is claim to make gaming social and play ‘anywhere – anytime’ on different devices (cross platform gameplay). Finally the integration of devices revolving game content! And finally ‘social connections and ‘instant share’ of ‘in-game moments! They even added a button on their controller that facilitates that. Sony PlayStation sees that gaming has truly become a ‘social activity’ and understand that gaming is accepted around the globe. Thanks to Apple of course! Because if you can say one thing about the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad…they are all game devices and Apple has made ‘gaming’ cool, easy, accessible and mainstream! I remember when people looked at me when I told them I am a fanatic gamer like: but you are not fat, hairy, smelly and eat chips and drink coke all day??? Not without rum at least… and I DO SMELL! 😉

I sincerely thank Apple that they made gaming as an ‘anytime – anywhere activity’ acceptable and that they managed to make touch screen devices work in a superior manner.

Where is Google Play by the way? Oh yes of course. Well Android is a great follower in this matter and the Ooya will bring Android games to our living room on a big screen for who ever wants that. It will be great I am sure. And as for Nintendo? I respect their choice of target group: family and children. And that’s just fine and swell.

So… back to my main question: who will win the battle of the platforms? My answer: ALL OF THE ABOVE and more…

It’s just a matter of context, target group, interface and game genre. It all depends. Example?

I love to play shooters and strategy games on PC, because I need an analogue control to react quickly in shooters and need a lot of buttons to control my armies in Shogun 2 (a strategy game). I love to play ‘The Walking Dead’ and Machineria with my girlfriend on the PlayStation 3 in the living room. I love to play Angry Brides (just kidding: birds – BIRDS) and Ridiculous Fishing on my iPhone where ever I have to wait for an appointment… so there is no ONE game console (except for the XBox One but that’s not a game console anymore, it’s a HES – Home Entertainment System, just like the PlayStation 2, 3 and 4… and Apple iPhone, iPad and Apple TV…).

This video above is a joke of course…

Omdat bij mijn weten nog niemand het heeft opgemerkt, ga ik nu – na drie jaar – een leuk geheim ontdekken uit mijn boek ‘Laat met je merk spelen’… klik op de video hieronder en zie het resultaat als je het boek bekijkt terwijl je de pagina’s van achter naar voren euh… tja hoe heet dat wat je dan doet…?

I am working on some models for my new book: Playing on the Job… any comments on this model about decision making in games (and potentially in life…?).

It describes how we make decisions in games. I expect we have three basic inputs: (1) Knowledge, (2) Skills which form (3) an Emotional state. Maybe ‘experience’ is another dimension? Or is that embedded in your ‘level of skills’ and ‘knowledge’…?

However… depending on your Skills and Knowledge you come to a decision with a reasonable doubt based on an assessment of the situation and assumptions… then you Decide to either DO or DO NOT (as Yoda says)…

SHARE THE MODEL AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!

Please share your thoughts in a comment below or Tweet me @BartHufen #Gamification

Hi guys,

I would like to spice up my gamification masterclasses by adding this ‘BULLSHIT BINGO’ scorecard (just to increase the level of FUN and attention)… Please share this on Twitter if you think I should use it @BartHufen #Gamification #Bingo.

I am really looking forward to the next episode of mobile: Smart Watches! At first I wanted to buy the I’m Watch – beautiful Italian design, but from what I read on the internet ‘crappy’ technology. There is also the Sony Smart Watch but that’s not gonna be compatible with all my Apple devices and after the PlayStation Vita (what? yeah – it’s a handheld PlayStation released last year but no one will remember), I don’t really trust the innovational design skills of Sony… ;-(

There is also Pebble – which gives me a good feeling although I am looking more for a ‘Smart Screen’ on my wrist that just uses all the intelligence of my iPhone instead of launching their own ‘golden cage’ – iTunes-like app-store…

Since I couldn’t wait with buying a new watch, … I bought this classic Casio, unfortunately without games on it… but hey… you can’t have everything… It surprises me though, that Casio hasn’t made any steps into developing a smart watch yet…

SO… CASIO WAKE UP AND START INNOVATING!

I always pretend I am not allowed to touch the edges of tiles and can only step on the white stripes at cross-overs…

One of my clients is looking for a ‘Head of Gaming’…

With immediate effect they are looking to recruit for our office in Amsterdam:

Head of Online Gaming

The Dutch authorities are going to legalize online gambling, and want to issue licenses for this. My clients’ aim to apply for such a license, for the Dutch market, to play for money. The objective is to build a new business aside of their current operations to support their causes. In line with the their current business, a substantial share of the gaming revenues will be donated to charities.

To ensure that my client is in pole position when the market opens, they are already looking for a Head of Gaming to lead this online gambling initiative. Until they get the license the head of gaming will be responsible to develop the business plan, defining the strategy, building the platform and setting up a team. Pending the regulatory decision-making we will start to launch free games. As soon as we have the license the head of gaming will be responsible for the marketing launch, and developing a substantial new business.

As Head of Online Gaming you will be the dedicated business developer building our new state of the art integrated gaming platform, and shaping the future of it. This platform combines fun, entertainment, winning and sharing to one of the best game experiences of the near future. This platform will be built by a 3^rd party (that has been chosen already) and will leverage our existing brand and customer base.

You’ll take the lead in creating multi-disciplinary teams that run the sites and the apps, which create a fantastic gaming experience. You’ll shape the voice of the platforms from determining positioning feature prioritization and making strategic decisions, to organizing product launches and forming the future marketing strategy to ensure growth. This means you’ll have to create a cross-functional team in collaboration with existing experts in the Lottery of (online) revenue/retention marketeers, game content experts, web designers and copywriters.

You’ll be responsible for developing the Gaming portal and its growth of the overall revenue. We will start with free games but when our license is in place, (hopefully within 1,5 year) we’ll launch paid gaming, so in the end you will be responsible for the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

The Head of Gaming will report directly to the Managing Director. Tasks and responsibilities for this position include:

• developing and executing the strategy vision goals and business plan for the Gaming Portal;
• building and managing a cross-functional team of professionals;
• carrying full profit & loss responsibility for the portal which will attract a lot of unique visitors each month;
• improving the overall gaming experience by delivering the best high performing content;
• identifying and defining the best monetization strategies and revenue models for our audience/customers;
• growing the business sustainably in terms of reach and retention, revenues, ad impressions and margins;
• being on top of industry best practices and newest trends; and
• bringing a high degree of innovation energy and focus that will support significant expansion.

Your profile

• Master’s  degree in relevant field of study;
• Experience in online gambling development
• Extensive experience with an online consumer-facing platform (B2C)
• Experience in product management
• Previous exposure to online media and technology enabled services (e.g. online advertising) is essential
• Demonstrable passion for driving high quality, innovative and engaging user experiences
• Demonstrable experience in building and managing successful teams
• Ability to work effectively in a hands-on role in a start-up environment
• Strong analytical skills and a data-driven approach to decision making
• Prior cross-platform knowledge and experience (mobile tablets web) desirable
• Passionate about online games and about the target audience

Why join this company?

Be part of a business who is looking to grow rapidly in online gaming, where selling tickets for a better world is our daily work.

• A competitive salary and bonus system
• A good pension plan
• Extras such as visiting our projects in the Netherlands and abroad
• And most importantly a budget for training and development—because when you grow we grow with you!

Send me a TWEET if you are interested! @BartHufen

Brilliantly developed by ‘Learned Evolution’ and righteously backed by Twitter the #Feed project is a typical crossover event that bridges the gap between art, social content creation (through Twitter) and Real Life… I was there with my good friends from Amsterdam on Friday before SXSW really kicked off and I must say the video wall installation on the 1st floor of the MOA was awesome and unmatched! The Top floor of the museum featured all kinds of short video’s by various directors and artists supported by great music and (of course) free cocktails! 😉

I have to thank Len Stein for putting us on the guest list and hope we can visit something extraordinary again next year at SXSW! Check out every day’s video here: http://feed.is/live/

This is the last update about SXSW 2013 from my side. Apart from visiting a lot of fun things and hearing about some great innovations I can say that LEAP impressed me the most. Not because it’s that innovative – basically it’s Kinect for your Desktop computer – but because it is so perfectly optimized. In potential it could unleash a new iTunes store full of creative applications. Think of typing on a virtual keyboard, playing gesture games in a 3D environment, presentation tools for keynotes, Interactive Stand up comedy, etc. etc.
Check out the video below to see what it is.

To be honest, the other presentations I witnessed in these two days, just weren’t that impressive, apart from ‘The Playful Viewer’ of course, where I was a panelist 😉 Check out my previous blogpost about that if you wish to learn more about the gamification of a documentary…

I will update a video shortly!

By exception a posting in Dutch!

Inmiddels ben ik begonnen met het plannen van een nieuw boek: ‘Laat op je werk spelen!’ Omdat ik graag input wil van Learning & Development en HR professionals nodig ik je uit om gratis naar de inspiratiesessie te komen tijdens Festival of Games in Amsterdam op woensdag 24 april. Daar zullen twee opdrachtgevers hun case presenteren waarvan de resultaten om te smullen zijn!
Verder zou ik graag vernemen wat jouw top 5 HR uitdagingen zijn binnen de organisatie waar je voor werkt. Komt dus allen in grote getallen!

Het trainen van personeel is kostbaar en het resultaat is niet altijd helder. Sterker nog, uit onderzoek blijkt dat het effect binnen enkele weken al is uitgedooft. Games worden als trainingsmiddel steeds vaker succesvol toegepast. Deze games worden ontwikkeld voor bijvoorbeeld het opleiden van personeel op het gebied van sales, compliance, HR, brand awareness etc.

Serious gaming gebruikt spelbeleving om bewustwording en verandering van houding en gedrag te bewerkstelligen, waarbij de speler in een veilige omgeving kan experimenteren en fouten mag maken. Games bevorderen actief leren (learning by doing) binnen een relevante en veilige context. 

Bart Hufen – auteur van het boek ‘Laat met je merk spelen’ – toont tijdens deze sessie op het congres Festival of Games aan de hand van drie projecten samen met opdrachtgevers hoe games succesvol worden ingezet als trainingsmiddel voor verandermanagement bij ABN Amro en Schiphol Airport en als middel om upselling & cross-selling te verbeteren bij Ziggo.

“Games zijn zeer geschikt omdat ze inhaken op onze basis motivaties als competitie. Het spelen van een game vereist 100% aandacht, alles is meetbaar en boven 1.000 medewerkers is de inzet van een game voor gedragsverandering zeer kosten efficiënt. Bovendien stimuleer je ‘leren van ‘verplicht’ naar ‘vrijwillig’ doordat games gebruik maken van ‘intrinsieke motivatie’!
De resultaten bij diverse opdrachtgevers waren dat tot 70% van de medewerkers de games gemiddeld tot 3 keer toe vrijwillig speelde. “

Gratis inspiratie en praktijk cases op 24 april 2013

Programma:

9:30 uur               Inloop
10:00 uur             Inleiding Bart Hufen
10:20 uur             Case KPN i.s.m. IJsfontein
10:40 uur             Case ABN AMRO Dick Krikke
11:00 uur             Q&A
11:30 uur             Einde en koffie!

Locatie:

De Overkant, Gedempt Hamerkanaal, Amsterdam Noord

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