´FTW - For the Win´ live chat and show

Right, people. This is it. Starting at 11:15pm CET (3:15 PM PDT / 6:15 PM EDT / 7:15 AM JST), we will be broadcasting a really phenomenal Counter-Strike 1.6. final match in the Intel Extreme Masters series, season 2011 / 2012. You can watch it on ZDFkultur on your tv set (where available), via our own network's streaming service and you can join our live chat.  

I will be online until well after the show, so be sure to log in. You will see ESC Icy Box battle against Natus Vincere aka NaVi. Believe me, it will be worth it.

´FTW - For the Win´ continues

Once again, it has been far too long since my last post. But, once again, some good news are the reason for me having been extremely busy. My television network has just announced that FTW – For the Win, the videogame program I helped design, will become a series in 2012.

FTW is about competitive gaming and broadcasts eSport matches in full length, currently from both the ESL’s Pro Series and Intel Extreme Masters, alongside interviews and items about the subject.

This year, we will cover seven events with an output of three hours each, starting with the IEM finals taking place at the CeBIT computer fair in Hannover this week. FTW – For the Win will show the Counter-Strike 1.6 final late next Monday and the StarCraft II and League of Legends finals the Saturday after. Here are the viewing times:

FTW – For the Win
Monday, March 12th, 11:15pm – 0:15am
Counter-Strike 1.6 final

Saturday, March 17th, 2pm – 4pm
StarCraft II & League of Legends finals

We will also be updating you in German via our blog http://ftw.zdf.de, where I will obviously be posting a little more frequently than here for the time being. And, naturally, you will be able to see all of the shows via my network’s streaming portal, the ZDF Mediathek under http://mediathek.zdf.de (just search for FTW), where you can still find the pilot we aired from the gamescom in August, featuring a talk with Richard Garriott.

Of course, we will be going back to gamescom in 2012. Later in the year, we will also be covering events as far away as Guangzhou and New York City. And we will bring you news and reviews concerning online, multiplayer and AAA games.

So you see: great news. And I will try to translate some of the content I write for the FTW blog and post it here. And by the way, does anyone still care for the Nibris article? If ten people request it in the comments, it will become my number one priority once the current shows are through.

Gaikai remarks about next-gen consoles exaggerated beyond reason

Welcome back to my blog and welcome to 2012, a most interesting year in gaming. The year starts with the rumour that Sony or Microsoft will not compete in the next console generation and presumably leave the hardware market altogether.

An article by IndustryGamers cites comments made in a panel on the future of consoles.

Speaking during CES (...), Nanea Reeves, chief product officer for Gaikai, predicted, "Not all of the current console makers will have one more generation. That will be the big news at E3."

Reeves' comments can be understood better in the context of the entire session:

“Are we all in agreement that there will be a PS4 and there'll be an Xbox 720? And/or when is the console dead?” [panel host Mike] Vorhaus asked the panel. (...)

“I think some will have one more cycle and I think others will not,” said Reeves. “I think that will be the big news at E3. That's just my prediction.” “That's a very newsworthy opinion,” said Vorhaus. “Which of the three people are not going to have a next console?” “I'm not going to say which one, but I will predict that there will be one.” said Reeves. (...)

The panel ended with a provocative question: What will be the biggest surprises coming up for 2012? (...) Nanea Reeves, Gaikai: “I will go with the previous comment. I think one console will opt out of the next gen.” (...)

Mike Vorhaus, Magid Advisors: “I think Nintendo will be the one to do what you are suggesting [opt out of the next gen].”

I am very surprised that these comments have been spun into so many news stories, assuming Reeves has actual first-hand knowledge of either Microsoft or Sony bowing out of the hardware race. I am certain she doesn't. I called them up and they refused to elaborate on the story. It is clear, though, that they enjoy all the press coverage.

Ask yourself: Who is making these comments? Gaikai has a vested interest in talking up the death of gaming consoles - and understandably so. Steve Perlman, CEO of Gaikai's rival OnLive, told me in an interview in 2010 that this (meaning Wii, PS3 and Xbox360) was "probably the last generation." This is not news, this is PR. This is like Mercedes spreading rumours that the Japanese car industry is in big trouble.

Also, such comments are meant to be overstated. I have hosted a number of such panels myself and the point is to get the participants to make exaggerated statements which news outlets pick up on and which the community can discuss.

Besides, if any company really were to leave the hardware market they would not formally announce it at E3, because that would blatantly hurt their current-gen sales and third-party relations. They would refuse to comment for as long as possible.

So, rest assured that these comments are not worth your attention. Microsoft and Sony may, indeed, opt out of the hardware race. But Gaikai would not know about it any sooner than us. And, in my mind, we will eventually see another PlayStation and another Xbox competing with the Wii U.