Examples are growing a digital audience, having a relationship with them and massively increasing the reach of their games. For gamers we wanted to make all games free to try, removing as much delay and friction as possible.

We believe that if we can make great games much more accessible we can help grow the industry.

Today we announced we can now put just about any game into Facebook, meaning the game actually appears inside the canvas page. Give Sniper an try to see what I mean.

Click here to play: https://apps.facebook.com/gaikai-games/

Here's our PRESS RELEASE.

Companies already Gaikai's Technology Include:
Walmart.com - http://see.walmart.com/gamecenter/downloads
BestBuy.com - http://tinyurl.com/7ucemfm
YouTube.com - http://www.youtube.com/EAsportsfootball?playOnGaikai
Electronic Arts Origin Store - http://tinyurl.com/7myc6o8
Ubisoft UBIShop - http://tinyurl.com/398eyql
Capcom - http://www.deadrising-2.com/
Eurogamer.net - http://www.eurogamer.net/gaikai
and many more...

NOTE: The Gaikai Facebook app is currently available in North America & Europe. To play you will need to be in a Gaikai coverage area with a broadband internet connection and Java installed. Gaikai works on any PC or Mac using Windows, Mac OS or Linux. Gaikai works in all major browsers including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

For support, go here: http://www.gaikai.com/faq#technical

He's written more books on video games than anyone, but this is his favorite.

If you donate $250, Rusel will book us up for lunch!

TorrentFreak released its annual tally of the most pirated games of the year via BitTorrent. The numbers are not all that shocking. Crysis 2 was named the most pirated game of 2011 on the PC platform, beating out the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 with 3,650,000 and 3,510,000 downloads respectively. Interest among pirates in the Xbox 360 version of Crysis 2 was relatively low, with the game not even registering in the top five.

On the Xbox 360 Gears of War 3 was the most pirated game in 2011, with 890,000 downloads. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 came in second and third on the Xbox 360.

On the Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 was the most pirated Wii game for the second year in a row. With 1,180,000 downloads it barely beat out Mario Sports Mix, which was pirated 1,090,000 times.

PC Games continue to be the most downloaded by pirates. PS3 games were not included. Full set of lists below, by title and number of downloads:

Top PC Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2011
Crysis 2 (3,920,000)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (3,650,000)
Battlefield 3 (3,510,000)
FIFA 12 (3,390,000)
Portal 2 (3,240,000)

Top Wii Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2011
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1,280,000)
Mario Sports Mix (1,090,000)
Xenoblade Chronicles (950,000)
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (870,000)
FIFA 12 (860,000)

Top Xbox 360 Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2011
Gears of War 3 (890,000)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (830,000)
Battlefield 3 (760,000)
Forza Motorsport 4 (720,000)
Kinect Sports: Season Two (690,000)

I edited their list down to the ones I'm most excited about:

Darksiders II (June)

Though the original Darksiders focused more on combat and Zelda-inspired puzzles, this sequel is blowing out the RPG elements. New protagonist Death will become more powerful as you progress while gathering tons of loot and stat upgrades. It's a meaty addition to an already compelling formula that I expect to keep me busy all summer.

Diablo III (early 2012)

No, seriously. Diablo III will be out in 2012. Seriously. I know it's hard to believe after all this time, but having spent hours with the beta, I fully believe that Blizzard is on the cusp of putting out this long-awaited game. Expect it to hit early in the year and leave you hunting down demons for better gear into 2013.

Dragon Age III (maybe 2012?)

Along with the big confirmed RPGs on this list, I put in a couple of long shots. This is probably the longest. I fully expect Dragon Age III to be announced in 2012, but it's hard to say if it will be released. There was only 16 months between the release of Dragon Age: Origins and its sequel. If BioWare keeps to a similarly tight schedule for this entry, we could see Dragon Age III as one of EA's big fall releases. Then again, considering some of the issues the second game suffered from, maybe we'd be better off hoping that they take their time.

Dragon's Crown (Spring)

Dragon's Crown is notable both for its continuation of the gorgeous art style found in previous Vanillaware releases (such as Odin Sphere and Muramasa) as well as being one of the first simultaneous PS3 and Vita releases. The core gameplay seems to be more of a beat-em-up, but given the developer's track record, I expect there to be some unexpected and delightful depth.

Dragon's Dogma (March 27)

Capcom's upcoming new IP tends a bit more toward the action than a lot of games on this list, but it still has many recognizably RPG elements. A huge open world, tons of loot, and hundreds of massive beasts to slay should please fans of traditional fantasy games.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLC (throughout 2012)

Let's assume for a moment that by the end of 2011, you've actually sunk enough time into Bethesda's massive latest entry in the Elder Scrolls series to wrap up the main storyline and whatever side content you're interested in. Even if you find yourself in that unlikely situation, you're certain to have plenty of reason to return to the frosty realm of Skyrim throughout next year. Bethesda has promised some sizable DLC, and given the developer's excellent add-on support for Oblivion and Fallout 3, I have no doubt that they will deliver.

Fable: The Journey (2012)

It's getting harder to feign excitement for Kinect games, but as the latest in Microsoft's effort to prove that they can create satisfying hardcore experiences on the motion-control device, Fable: The Journey is going to be an interesting study at least. Early demos haven't impressed, but if Peter Molyneux and company are able to pull off a deep, interesting RPG that runs off of Kinect, I will be very impressed.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (January 31)

Though I had problems with the pacing and overall plot of Final Fantasy XIII, Square seems to be offering some great improvements with this sequel. A new time travel element and a refinement of the first game's awesome, fast-paced combat system are enough for me to give the world of Gran Pulse a second shot.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII (???)

Here's another long shot. We thought Square would finally open up about the long-in-development FF Versus XIII after Final Fantasy XIII's release, but then they announced a direct sequel to that game. With FF XIII-2 hitting in January, I'm hoping that 2012 will be the year we finally get to see more of Versus XIII - maybe even play it?

A Game of Thrones (early 2012)

Developer Cyanide's first take on the Game of Thrones franchise - a real-time strategy game titled Game of Thrones: Genesis - was less than impressive. That said, it's hard to keep my ears from perking at the prospect of exploring a virtual version of the massive land of Westeros. I've read hundreds of pages set in this world in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books; I can only hope that the game is a fitting representation.

Guild Wars 2 (2012)

Every time I've seen Guild Wars 2 in action, I've come away more impressed. From the fast-paced combat to the genuinely interesting story, ArenaNet busts down MMO conventions to great effect. And there's not even a subscription fee to worry about! We still don't know when Guild Wars 2 will be released, but this is the MMO to beat next year.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (February 7)

With an incredible fantasy pedigree behind it, including Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston, comic artist Todd McFarlane, and writer R.A. Salvatore, Kingdoms of Amalur is a new I.P. worth paying attention to. By blending the open-world questing of Elder Scrolls with the fast-paced combat of God of War, Reckoning is shaping up to be a truly special hybrid.

Krater (2012)

We don't know a ton about this upcoming downloadable title from Swedish studio Fatshark, but it's set in a Fallout or Borderlands-esque post-apocalyptic world and includes multiple classes to choose from with an emphasis on co-op, crafting, and meaningful choices. All of this sounds like a solid start to me.

Mass Effect 3 (March 6)

If you're one of those people who whines about Bioware stripping away RPG elements from the Mass Effect series, I'm going to kindly ask you to step aside for this entry. All gone? Excellent. For the rest of us, Mass Effect 3 looks like the perfect end to one of gaming's best trilogies ever. The gunplay is polished, the leveling system is improved, and most importantly, the stage is set for some incredibly intense dramatic moments as players finally wrap up the story of Commander Shepard.

Of Orcs and Men (2012)

You'd think they already have their hands full with A Game of Thrones, but European developer Cyanide (with some help from Spiders) is also working on this generically titled action-RPG. The big difference from other fantasy games is that this one places you into the shoes of an orc and his goblin companion. You'll travel a dark world attempting to prevent humans from wiping out your beleaguered race. Cool concept, but we'll see about the execution.

Risen 2: Dark Waters (April 24)

The first Risen was a solid but forgettable European RPG. Its sequel already stands out as more memorable to me based off one simple fact: It's a pirate RPG, something we seriously have not seen enough of. Looting, pillaging, and generally being a nuisance to water-logged nations while simultaneously leveling up? Yep, I'm down for that.

The Secret World (April)

While there are more MMOs than ever vying for our attention next year, Funcom's The Secret World has a chance to make a strong argument. The unique modern day setting embraces the supernatural, myths, and conspiracy theories rather than the science fiction and fantasy clichés that most RPGs stick to. Three distinct factions should lead to plenty of intense PvP rivalries as well.

South Park: The Game (2012)

Surely you've heard of this one? The one that was on our cover last month? There's nothing that I could tell you about South Park: The Game that you wouldn't have an easier time discovering in our month of online coverage, but here's the synopsis: You take on a newcomer to the foul-mouthed gang of cartoon Colorado kids in a stylish RPG that blends the open-world style Obsidian is known for with a more traditional, JRPG-influenced battle system.

Star Wars: The Old Republic (technically December 2011)

Wait, not so fast on opening up your e-mail to type up an angry response to me. Yes, I realize that BioWare's first foray into the MMO space has technically already released. That said - and this is coming from someone who's spent the last few weeks utterly obsessed with it - The Old Republic is a seriously gigantic game. By the time 2012 starts, I won't even be at the level cap for my first character, much less started on any alt classes whose deep, developed stories I want to check out. Anyone who's already started playing Old Republic is likely to be spending a serious chunk of 2012 playing it as well.

TERA (Spring)

TERA is a Korean MMORPG from some of the same people who created the original Lineage, but don't let that frighten you off. Unlike that ultra-hardcore grindfest, TERA has more of an action focus to the degree that you can even use a 360 controller to play it. We've been impressed every time we've seen it, so don't discount it as just another Korean MMO quite yet.

Torchlight II (2012)

It would have been nice for this Diablo-alike sequel to beat Blizzard to the punch in 2011, but no matter when it releases, Runic Games' more whimsical take on the lootfest style of RPG will surely be worth sinking some time into. Torchlight II will improve on the original with four all-new classes, more randomized dungeons and monsters, and - finally! - multiplayer.

Transformers Universe (2012)

Browser-based MMOs may not spark much interest among most hardcore gamers, but Transformers Universe is worth paying attention to for two reasons: 1. that beloved robot license and 2. developer Jagex. These are the people behind Runescape, one of the longest-lasting and most widely successful browser-based games ever. Not too much is known about Transformers Universe right now, but the game should have some excellent PvP opportunities in the battle between Autobots and Decepticons.

The Witcher 2 360 (2012)

While many PC gamers already have The Witcher 2 topping their game of the year lists for 2011, console players will be introduced to gritty anti-hero Geralt next year. I won't spoil any story stuff - not least of all because I'm waiting on the 360 version myself! - but this European-developed RPG features intensely challenging combat, a dark story, and huge plot choices that affect the game's progress in ways that will leave you shocked.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (probably 2012)

Blizzard hasn't officially announced a 2012 release date for its fourth World of Warcraft expansion, but from talking to the company at Blizzcon, they want to get it out to players as soon as possible. Some hardcore WoW fans won't stop whining about the more light-hearted tone of the new content - it introduces a new playable race of panda people whose primary class is a kung-fu-performing monk - I expect plenty of them will shut their mouths and keep playing when the game actually comes out. Even in a year with a lot of solid MMO challengers, this is Blizzard and this is World of Warcraft. They know how to put together some polished, compelling content.

From Viewpoint Creative, it's got to resonate with the creative artists out there!

WARNING: IT'S VIOLENT - But towards the end it's got cool game character cameos!

Engagement is the new metric for advertising, here's a great example.

http://escapethemap.co.uk

I'd love to see the latest version of this research.

GameStop: Digital sales will hit $35bn by 2014

In a speech at the London Games Conference, Mike Mauler revealed the numbers...

"Global retail giant GameStop predicts the digital games market will hit $35bn by 2014. The current value is around $20bn, so will grow by 75 per cent over the next two years."

Made by Geekaphone.

What were your goals when you created Trion Worlds?

When we started the company we really wanted to take videogames into the connected era. We looked at the industry and asked a lot of questions -- Why can't online games have the same quality of videogames? Why can't these games, which are online and connected, be truly social, always-evolving, dynamic, experiences? Why can't online games encompass all the big genres of videogames? We set out to answer all of these questions with our games.

What are the challenges in creating these types of games?

It takes a lot of R&D, a lot of time, and a lot of money, but the outcome can actually be phenomenal. We've shown that we can take videogames truly into the connected era with RIFT, which established our quality bar and has been a strong revenue generator. RIFT is now the largest Western MMO launch. It has the best conversion and retention rates of any MMO outside of World of Warcraft. Now we hope to replicate this success with the strategy and action genres.

What are your thoughts on the future of PC gaming?

It looked a few years ago as if PC gaming was falling off a cliff and that was mainly driven by piracy. However, with the advent of online games and connected games, piracy is no longer an issue. Of course, if you make simply standalone games it is a problem, but if you make online premium games it is one of the most exciting platforms. It is very easy to innovate on the platform. It is a global platform and we believe it has a tremendous future.

How big do you see the game industry becoming as we see growth in casual and online games?

Obviously, everybody loves games. It is one of the most fundamental needs and the more devices you have to pick up and play in every situation from the casual game that you can just sneak in for a short bite to a game that you might invest four or five hours a day in, is good for the industry. The more choices you have in devices and games, the more it will proliferate. Because more and more of these games become connected to servers and build real communities, that also is very, very good for the monetization and the business. It's bad for the pirates, but it's really, really great for the creatives. We see enormous growth rates in connected gaming. We think that connected gaming is growing everywhere. Trion plays on the deep end of connected gaming where you have hundreds of game mechanics and great production values, but the growth is everywhere.

How far away is the games industry from going mostly digital?

If you look at casual games, we're already there. If you look at premium games, a game like Rift has a vast majority of its purchases already online. The audience is online and once you have the game you also play it online and the vast majority of your monetization is also purely online. So the growth is online and I think we see the models that you see in Asia and in many other parts of the world coming to North America and Europe with enormous speed.

And what surprises you about where the game industry is today?

I think it is surprising that a lot of the innovation is taking place in Asia today, where you have fantastic companies like Nexon and NCsoft that are dominating their markets in the East. But there's no equivalent in North America and Europe of online premium content companies in the game space. That's one of the enormous opportunities that we have seen as a company to focus on the premium online games space in North America and Europe. Of course, we see Asia as a great marketplace as well.

Links
www.trionworlds.com
twitter.com/TrionWorlds

How do you think social gaming will fit into the games industry in the long run?

I'm really excited about the future of social games and to me the key growth sector is the free-to-play browser-based games. These games take away the friction for a player to get into a great gaming experience. If I'm a gamer and I grew up playing Nintendo games and arcade games, I had to go out and buy a console and then go buy individual games for that console, which I was constantly upgrading. I had to make that purchase before I even knew if I really enjoyed the game or not. All of that's changing in this world of connected devices and Internet in a cloud, where we can put a game in the cloud so anybody whether it's on a PC, laptop, mobile device, or inside Facebook or some other platform that consumers use. They can get into that game very quickly from a technology perspective with no downloads. It just works. And by the way, they don't have to pay for it up front before they know if they like the game or not. At the core of what makes social games such an exciting industry today is that it's opening up the world for new games to get penetration into a much larger audience because we're able to serve consumers all around the world with the free-to-play frictionless technology model.

Do you think that microtransactions seen in social games, MMO's and 99 cent app stores will drive prices downward across the whole gaming industry as it happened in music?

Especially in mobile today, there's a lot of debate about the future of mobile games. I think the model of paid downloads, even if it's a 99 cent download price, is basically going to nothing. If I want to play a mobile game and I have to pay 99 cents up front, that creates a barrier for me to get into that game versus the Freemium mobile games that are suddenly becoming very popular. The ability for me to download a free game on my iPad, iPhone or my Android device for free and then get into the game experience and then pay in terms of microtransactions for virtual goods inside of that game experience is the superior model for the games industry. I think that's where the entire industry is going to move over time.

What are your thoughts on the emergence of cloud gaming and how will that impact the industry moving forward?

I think more and more software, in general, will move into the cloud and gaming is no different. You see this with the music industry. You see it with the movie industry. You're starting to see it with the publishing industry. Basically, entertainment content that you can digitize is moving into the cloud. Mobile is probably one of the first steps backward from it in terms of consumers downloading the game onto their mobile device before they can play it. But I think in the future things will converge more and more, where the intelligence will live inside the cloud and players will access that game in the cloud and play wherever they are, including on mobile devices, tablets, PCs, and laptops.

What role will retailers play in the future where more games will be in the cloud and services like yours or Gaikai deliver games straight to consumers?

The traditional retail business model is in danger. If you take a look at companies like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video that have built a huge business within the movie distribution and rental business, their business has basically collapsed in a fairly short amount of time as that entertainment content went into a digital distribution model. The smart players will figure out their digital strategies and incorporate that. That's why you see companies like GameStop buying Kongregate and a couple of other smaller companies to get into the digital distribution world. That trend is going to continue. Major retailers that think about their business as the distribution of game content and the ability to help consumers find great games regardless of the whether the platform is retail or digital will survive.

What are your thoughts on the future of PC gaming?

PC gaming basically will transition into moving to the cloud. We're already seeing companies like Trion that are doing some really interesting things. More games are now available as downloads that you play as a connected experience with other players in real time. The PC gaming model is shifting from being a solitary experience to a cloud-based experience with access through a PC or any Internet-connected device.

How will new tablets and smartphones change the dynamic of gaming moving forward?

I'm really excited about how fast smartphone penetration is growing. You have Apple with their iOS platform for both tablets and mobile devices that offers a great end-to-end solution for the distribution of games. And you have Android, which is really more of a component solution. They're focused obviously on the OS, but they're putting together partnerships through the carriers as well as through applications developers to solve a number of different parts of the puzzle for players, but doing it in a more modular fashion that works within their large ecosystem. As more and more consumers have get these smartphones and gaming remains the number one application on these devices, there's a very bright future for gaming. It's an area that Kabam takes very seriously and is making some big investments in.

Links
twitter.com/kevinchou
www.kabam.com

A friend told me that Steve Jobs answers his own email (steve@apple.com). I sent him one just to see, and he responded back the next morning. Later that day his head of gaming contacted me saying Steve asked me to reach out to you.

How many CEO's at his level are accessible like that?

It amused me that his email had "Sent from my iPhone" as the footer.

When do you think the video game industry will become mostly digital?

If you look at the number of people who are playing games right now, the vast majority of game players are playing games online -- especially if you include the Zyngas and the Asian MMOs as part of that equation in terms of global reach. The predominant part of today's gaming user base is digital and digitally delivered.

If you were designing the next killer console, what would you focus on?

I think the killer console is going to be your mobile device. That is absolutely where people will play more rich and involving, and even graphically intensive games. That's what excites us is how much more you can do on the iPhone 4 than you were able to do with previous generations of iPhone. And if you watch Android development cycles, it's going to be your mobile device.

EA stated that a 5-7 year console cycle is a serious problem when Apple refreshes hardware every 12 months and ships new features multiple times a year. Is our industry moving too slowly?

That pace of change is why mobile devices are going to be the console of the future. The way player interaction and player needs are changing, it's much faster than the five to seven years that we're talking about. And also the developer community. You look at people who are developing games and developing titles, they are pushing the limits on these devices constantly and that pace of innovation is going to be why these devices win out.

Some of the really big game publishers still don't focus on Facebook and Google players, how long can they keep ignoring these platforms?

It's not specifically about what the social network of the moment is, whether it's Facebook or whether it will be Google Plus in a few years or some sort of Twitter modification. It's really about the fact that people like to play games with other people they know. It's about playing games with each other and tapping into that social structure in some way. There are some players and some games that build their own social network inside the game and that's great, but I don't think you can ignore the fact that people have already spent a lot of energy crafting their friend lists on the other social networks. You have to tap into that to get a leg up on bringing experiences to people where they can play games with their friends.

What technologies are most exciting to you? For example, have you seen Flash Stage 3D (Molehill) or Unity or Gaikai who can instantly stream products like World of Warcraft inside Facebook?

We just love how fast all of these technologies are moving. We believe browser games and mobile games are really the main areas to focus on. These Web-based technologies are pushing the envelope to allow a richer and more interesting, and more graphically powerful experiences to be built. We're focusing on Flash-based browser games. We're very excited to see what happens with Flash Stage 3D and the power that that's going to allow our game to have.

What role do you see the cloud playing in video games movie forward?

I think that the cloud is very important because a lot of games are just going to be played there. But it also lets you tie back into your social group for gamecenter-like functionality, where you can have leaderboards with your friends. You can exchange scores and updates with other friends regardless of which game you're playing. Those kinds of experiences will be very, very important moving forward. They'll become a baseline or expected functionality for games. It is important right now, so I think those cloud-based experiences are critical.

A lot of publishers today give away their digital customers to companies like OnLive and Steam, how important is it (when the industry turns digital) that publishers own their digital customers?

We're in a very different part of the industry than the traditional game publishers are and the bet that we've made is that it's absolutely critical to have a close relationship with players as they play games online. We want to understand how they're playing our games, what features they like, what features they don't like, what kinds of things that we can do to enable them to have a more rich and meaningful social interaction. Having said that, being able to do it really well is important and there's still a gap in how well the industry as a whole is able to service customers who are largely experiencing the games online. Developing that core competency will be important before they can say, "I want to own these players." Players won't let companies own them if they're not providing great experiences.

What do you feel is going to be the largest gaming platform over the next 10 years? Is it Console or Mobile or IPTV or Browsers?

Yeah. I would definitely say browsers and mobile are by far the leading contenders and I'm not even talking about the future. It is what is happening right now. If you look at the numbers of people who are playing MMO's online and the number of people who are playing social games. Zynga is obviously one example, but a number of Asian social network game-based providers, the volume speaks for themselves and this is where the growth in the industry is coming from. I think what you're going to see is there's a base-line of hundreds of millions of new people who are coming online, playing games, and they're playing these baseline social networking type of experiences, but what they're going to want to do ultimately is have much more of these rich, involving experiences that become more and more social over time, and that's really going to be the sweet spot, and with Glitch what we're doing is we're aiming for that. We're aiming for a very new kind of MMO, browser-based game, but has some of these accessibility aspects to it, very social aspects with a very sort of friendly and playful aspect to it that's really like no other game out there right now. That's really going to be important.

Links
Tiny Speck
Glitch
Glitch on Facebook
Glitch on Twitter
www.linkedin.com/in/kakul
www.twitter.com/kakuls

He's really cool!

He was explaining how they had planned to bust a video game myth that kids could drive race cars after learning how to drive in a video game. It sounded tough to deliver, I don't think they ever did it?

TED LINK: What we Learned from 5 Million Books

By: Jean-Baptiste Michel & Erez Lieberman Aiden

I typed in Video Games and it's looking like a pretty healthy trajectory.

If you want to play around with the tool, here's the link:

Google Labs - Books Ngram Viewer

If you got out your crystal ball, when do you think the video game industry will become mostly digital?

It looks to be pretty soon if not already. I personally prefer having all my purchases and saves, etc, stored on the cloud.

If you were designing the next killer console, what would you focus on?

Quantum tunneling.

EA stated that a 5-7 year console cycle is a serious problem when Apple refreshes hardware every 12 months and ships new features multiple times a year. Is our industry moving too slowly?

Hardware restrictions certainly slow down things on the development side. It'd be good to see the day where games can all have a photorealistic quality and be platform independent.

Some of the really big game publishers still don't focus on Facebook and Google players, how long can they keep ignoring these platforms?

Publishers should probably always try to cover all platforms.

Facebook games seem to be on an accelerated evolution path--what technologies are most exciting to you? For example, have you seen Flash Stage 3D (Molehill) or Unity or Gaikai who can instantly stream products like World of Warcraft inside Facebook?

Unity is an interesting technology, but I haven't seen anything I'm too interested in playing yet. Molehill looks cool also, but seems too early to tell. Gaikai's streaming service will allow us to bring The Witcher 2 to an impatient and increasingly connected audience. Gaikai's Affiliate Network of game industry sites will allow millions of gamers all over the world to play and share the game like never before.

Conferences seem to talk a lot about three ideas: Quality, Convenience & Price. When you look at very valuable companies like Zynga, what order do you think they focus on these three things?

For me, Zynga is just looking to build casual, but addicting viral games, so perhaps convenience is the leading factor of development. They should be easy to jump into at any time for any level of player.

A lot of publishers today give away their digital customers to companies like Onlive and Steam, how important is it (when the industry turns digital) that publishers own their digital customers?

It's very important to keep your digital rights.

Zynga has an advantage as it can easily place their games on any Website. Gaikai is helping EA do this with their high end games. How important will it be to have your games instantly playable on your website?

I think we just want as many people playing our game as possible no matter the platform.

What do you feel is going to be the largest gaming platform over the next 10 years? Is it Console or Mobile or IPTV or Browsers?

Ten years is a long time. It's hard to say. My finger in the wind guess would be that probably the console or PC will get the best gaming experience. Browsers will play a role with more casual games, but those experiences will have new higher-end graphics games, as well. And depending on what we mean by mobile, tablets look to be an increasingly popular platform. IPTV is coming along and is very exciting, but not quite there yet in my opinion.

Finally, if you could invest into any video game related company right now (besides your own of course!), who would it be and why?

In the short term online casual games can be made on the cheap and have huge appeal and serious profit potential, but in the longer term I think higher production value games and studios will be a better investment.