Tired of playing a virtual orc, shaman or infantry team leader?

How about stepping into the polished wingtips of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke?

You can, sort of. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has posted Fed Chairman, an online game which challenges players to keep both unemployment and inflation in check by tinkering with the federal funds rate.

Okay, so Call of Duty 4 it's not. Still, it's a short, interesting lesson on the relationship between the Fed and the economy at large.

UPDATE: The game seems to be down at the moment...

Via: Crossing Wall Street

While violent video games are a major target of late for German politicians, that hasn't stopped Germany from climbing into the number one spot among European game markets.

gamezine.co.uk reports that Germany edged out the UK, largely because the current recession hit the UK software market harder, triggering a 20% drop in software sales.

The top selling game in Germany? Wii Fit.

Among other European countries, Portugal posted a 16% increase in game sales, while Sweden (The Pirate Bay notwithstanding) climbed 4%. The Netherlands saw a 2.4% rise.

Check out GamePolitics' recent coverage of game-related news from Germany.

It's been a rough year for homeowners, with mortgage foreclosures at record levels.

AddictingGames tries to squeeze a little fun out of the crisis with their latest offering, Mortgage Meltdown. Lou Kesten of the Associated Press offers a review of the free-to-play, online game:

"Mortgage Meltdown" [is] a Bizarro-world version of Monopoly... Instead of buying properties and trying to corner the real-estate market, your goal is to keep your head above water and wait for the economy to turn around.

Pretty much everything that can go wrong does, from troublesome tenants to property tax hikes to earthquakes.

If you can hang in there for four years, you might see a nice windfall at the end.

Times are tough, so why not blow your last few bucks on virtual threads for your Xbox Live avatar?

Designer Michael Connell spoke to Kotaku about his new line of fashion for XBL. While some of Connell's designs pay homage to the popular Steampunk style, he also gives a nod to the down economy with "Recessionista" clothing:

I was thinking about making a statement, if you will, that even though this time of global recession, everything isn't bad." Connell said. "And in the 30s, in a time that was really bad, much worse than it is today, it wasn't all bad. There was fashion that was quite interesting. And this fashion wasn't the couture that was happening at the time...

 

[I hope] to kind of show that there are good things and we've been there and we'll get out. Clearly these are subliminal messages, but this is what I was inspired by. If you design a collection I think the most important thing is there needs to be heart and soul and direction.

The video game industry experienced a near-fatal meltdown in the 1980s. In today's uncertain economic climate, could it happen again?

Tech journalist Scott Steinberg examines the issue in part 1 of Video Games Are Dead.

The video is also available on Facebook, where it has generated a lively discussion.

Steinberg interviews a number of game industry and media types in search of an answer:

• Michael Capps, Epic Games
• Michael Pachter, Wedbush-Morgan
• Jesse Divnich, EEDAR
• Chris Kohler, Wired
• Hal Halpin, ECA
• Derrik Lang, Associated Press
• Mike Snider, USA Today
• Jason Della Rocca, Perimeter Partners
• Peter Wanat, game producer
• Chris Taylor, Gas Powered Games
• Lorne Lanning, Oddworld
• Cliffy B
• Raph Koster
• Greg Zeschuk / Ray Muzyka, BioWare
• Nick Torchia, Warner Bros.
• Cevat Yerli, Crytek

Employees of Eve Online developer CCP Games were paid in foreign currency during Iceland's economic meltdown in late 2008/early 2009.

gamesindustry.biz reports that the unusual action was taken due to wild fluctuations in the value of Iceland's krona. CCP Executive Producer Nathan Richardsson told gi.biz: 

What really was the problem for us was how many of our employees were hit by the [financial] crisis...

We're not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot, but at the very least we could leverage part of CCP's infrastructure that you wouldn't normally think would benefit your employees - allowing people to be paid in foreign currency, for example, makes it much more stable for people looking towards the future - when being paid in Icelandic Krona was still fluctuating by a few per cent here and there, it was very volatile and you can't really work with that kind of currency.

Activision Blizzard, the world's largest video game publisher, has been raising the ire of many gamers of late. So much so, in fact, that there is at least preliminary talk of a boycott of Activision products.

So what has the publisher done to create so much ill will?

A few things, actually.

UK gamers are incensed over Activision's plan to price the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 at £54.99 (roughly US$90). Wedbush-Morgan analyst Michael Pachter ominously described the move as a trial run for Activision:

Activision knows it has a 'hot' game, knows that the market will pay an additional 10 per cent, and has decided to increase price accordingly.

Game consumers are also concerned about Activision's pricing plans for specialty controllers for the upcoming Tony Hawk: Ride and DJ Hero.

Adding gasoline to the fire was a recent comment by Activision Blizzard CEO. During an earnings call last week, Kotick said:

You know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further.

PS3 News reports that some gamers are planning a boycott and links to an online petition which has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures to date. From the petition:

You're increasingly making your fanbase more angry. Your recent moves on the business side are head scratching and completely apauling [sic]. Tony Hawk peripherals to start, PC and UK price hikes and ridiculously overpriced collectors editions for MW2... Than [sic] your CEO decided to further anger your customers... I believe we are in what we call a "recession." What the consumer needs is not more expensive items, but less expensive...

UPDATE: Activision boss Kotick made $15 million last year, reports gamesindustry.biz. You keep raising those prices, Bobby...

"We're surrounded... We have been badly wounded..."

Those were among comments released by Six Days in Fallujah developer Atomic Games as it announced layoffs today. The company is apparently in financial distress due to the game industry downturn as well as its inability to secure a publishing deal for the controversial Iraq War game.

Gamasutra has more from Atomic's press release:

In the words of Marine officer Chesty Puller, 'We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem...

We wish to assure the dozens of Marine veterans who have collectively invested hundreds of hours in this project that, while we have been badly wounded, we will fight on. The stories of your brothers' courage and sacrifice in Fallujah must be shared with the world.

So far, it is unknown how many of Atomic's 75 staffers were let go.

The Wall Street Journal reports that mega-online retailer Amazon.com posted a 14% revenue increase for the financial quarter ending June 30th, but its profits fell 10% from $158 million to $142 million.

Amazon’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak commented on the drop laid much of the bad news on declining video game sales:

You're seeing an industry slowdown in videogames and consoles.

Despite singling out games, other factors impacted the profit fall such as “flat” media sales in North American (including books and music) and a $51 million legal settlement paid to Toys R Us.

Via: GamesIndustry.Biz

Reporting from San Diego, GamePolitics Correspondent Andrew Eisen...

Apparently taking note of recent reports that video game sales are in the midst of a four-month slide, Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien dropped this one on the audience recently:

Experts say the video game industry has been dramatically hurt by the economic downturn. Which explains the popularity of the new Nintendo game, ‘Wii Job Interview.’

Source: Political Irony

Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick has absorbed something of a beatdown from investor-oriented website Market Rap.

In an article titled No Regrets, No Responsibility, Zelnick is taken to task for what Market Rap writer Perry Rod views as a string of leadership failures on his part. Most egregious among these would appear to be Zelnick's spurning EA's $25.74 per share acquisition bid in 2008. Take-Two stock (TTWO) currently trades at 8.58 and has dipped under 6 during the current recession. Rod writes:

If you’re keeping score, in a two year period, Mr Zelnick managed to, on three occasions, make vital statements that were within a matter of weeks proven to be either fabricated or just incredibly incompetent (or worse).  Mr. Zelnick managed to resist and reject a buyout offer that was triple the company’s current share price while claiming other interested parties who never emerged.  And Mr. Zelnick, meanwhile, tripled his management company’s compensation for these efforts...

These statements and others strongly suggest that investors should proceed with extreme caution with any investment that involves Strauss Zelnick.  His performance so far as an executive manager of a publicly traded company  is one of the worst I have ever seen in my professional investment experience.

The Market Rap piece is not the first time Zelnick has come in for harsh criticism from the investment crowd. Last October Mad Money host Jim Cramer added Zelnick to his Wall of Shame.

Video game revenues dropped more than expected in June, reports market research firm NPD.

According to Venture Beat, sales of game hardware and software dropped 31% over June, 2008. VB's Dean Takahashi writes:

In some ways, it isn’t a surprise. Last year, a lot of big titles came out in the first half of the year. This year, most big titles are coming out in the second half of the year... But it’s also clear the recession is taking a toll.

“This is one of the first months where I think the impact of the economy is clearly reflected in the sales numbers,” Frazier said. “This level of decline is certainly going to cause some pain and reflection in the industry.” ...

It’s time to wonder if gamers are migrating to free games on the web, Facebook, iPhone or other platforms. While console game sales have been falling, the number of online game players is up 22 percent this year, according to market researcher comScore.

Midway's fade into gaming oblivion continues with word that all 60 employees at the bankrupt firm's Chicago HQ will be let go in September.

The cuts include CEO Matt Booty and other execs, reports the Chicago Tribune.

That popping sound you hear is the deployment of golden parachutes for the top dogs.

A Massachusetts legislator hopes to extend the state's tax credit for movie production to video game developers.

To that end, Rep. John Binienda (D, left) has proposed H.2690. The measure will be debated tomorrow in the State House.

Of his bill, Binienda told NECN:

It's basically just tax credits to keep this industry here. It's to bring jobs here, keep jobs here, and stimulate economic development.

 

The idea here is that if you could make some tax credits and some tax breaks, that not only could you get your degree here, but you could work here to keep the best and the brightest minds here, in the [video game development] field.

Passage of Binienda's bill appears uncertain at this point given that some of his legislative colleagues have expressed concerns about giving up tax revenue in the current economic climate. A similar measure failed to pass in 2008.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) did a little bragging on Guitar Hero at a town hall meeting  in Arlington on Monday night.

Patrick, who lobbied game publishers to relocate to Massachusetts during a West Coast junket in February, was enthusiastic about the state's economic prospects during his talk with citizens, according to Wicked Local Arlington:

This is not your father’s [Route] 128. You know that [video game] ‘Guitar Hero’? That was invented here. It was built here.

Route 128 is well-known as a technology corridor in Massachusetts. Guitar Hero creator Harmonix is based in Cambridge.

Yes, Electronic Arts may have laid off 10% of its workforce and posted a billion dollar loss in recent months, but rank has its privileges, after all.

And ranking execs at EA are clearly among the privileged, based on a preliminary proxy statement filed by EA this week which lists compensation for its top officials. CEO John Riccitiello's fiscal 2009 package, which included salary, stock awards, option awards, benefits and a performance-based cash bonus, is valued at $6,365,823.

EA Sports President Peter Moore won't be brown bagging his lunch, either. EA lists Moore compensation package at $4,284,366. Here's the breakdown for Riccitiello (right) and Moore (left), EA's two most high-profile execs:

Here are Riccitiello's numbers:

• Salary - $793,749  
• Bonus -
• Stock Awards - $1,055,461
• Option Awards - $4,115,305
• Non Equity Incentive Plan Compensation - $400,000 
• All Other Compensation - $1,308
• TOTAL - $6,365,823

And here are Moore's (cost of game launch tattoos not included):

• Salary - $564,624 
• Bonus -
• Stock Awards - $1,443,741
• Option Awards - $1,589,290
• Non Equity Incentive Plan Compensation - $200,000
• All Other Compensation - $486,711
• TOTAL - $4,284,366

The Associated Press notes that Riccitiello's incentive bonus dropped from $625,000 in fiscal 2008 to the $400,000 figure listed above. In contrast to EA's filing, the AP estimates Riccitiello's total compensation at $11.1 million, using a $9.9 million valuation on stock options.

Not bad for a crappy year.           

UPDATE:  gamesindustry.biz reports that an unnamed EA spokesman has taken umbrage at the Associated Press claim that Riccitiello's options are worth $11.1 million:

Their calculation is inaccurate. It includes value of performance-based shares that will vest over several years - and only if high performance hurdles are met.

As reported, it appears as though those shares are compensation for this year, which they are not. Accurately, they are an opportunity to earn shares over the coming years if company objectives are met.

The spirit of those shares is to link executive compensation to the achievement of long term financial objectives. That programme, which is in place for all of EA's top executives, is designed to align interests of shareholders and management.

Take-Two Interactive Chairman Strauss Zelnick seems like a pretty smart guy, so we were surprised to learn that he was actually considering buying a newspaper. In the end, he wised up, however.

Reuters reports that Zelnick decided to pass on acquiring the Austin American-Statesman. The Texas paper had a daily circulation of 152,691 as of March.

Zelnick's private equity firm ZelnickMedia Corp. never made a formal bid and decided to pull out of negotiations as the sorry state of the newspaper business continued to worsen.

A social game for web-capable mobile phones parodies rogue financier Bernie Madoff's long-running Ponzi scheme, reports CNNmoney.

Made Off, available from publisher Cellufun, allows players to create virtual scams of their owns, promising other players investment returns of up to 20%. Player need to continually attract new "investors" in order to pay back the older ones, lest their Ponzi scheme collapse. No real money is involved. Instead, players trade "cellupoints."

Cellufun CEO Neil Edwards, who says his game pokes fun at the jailed Madoff, not his victims, told CNN/money that Made Off has an educational component:

When your fund goes broke, you go, 'Holy crap, I didn't invite enough people... There is a lot of misconception and confusion on what happened. People don't really understand a Ponzi scheme."

A blurb on the game's website describes the action:

Play as a slimy Fund Manager, a savvy Investor, or both. The game will end without warning when the Feds finally crack down on the Cellufun community, and people managing Funds will get to keep all the Cellupoints invested in them. Investors will keep all the Cellupoints they've acquired through interest payments as well. And we'll give trophies to those who have "made off" with the most profits...

Douglas McIntyre of 24/7 Wall Street writes that video games are an excellent economic indicator. And - given their lousy recent sales numbers - the indications aren't good:

 Video games... [are] inexpensive enough so that they should be a reasonable proxy for consumer discretionary spending.

The signals from the video game industry in April were troubling. Sales of games dropped 23% and game console sales were down over 40%...

The slide in console sales is so extreme that it is a clear sign that sales of consumer electronics are in a flat spin. When people cannot spend $300 on a console or $50 on a game which can be used for hours and played over and over again, the money for discretionary spending has dried up.

TIME thought enough of McIntyre's analysis to repost on their site.

On the other hand, analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company pointed out this week in an investors' note that year-over-year April sales comparisons were negatively impacted by the April, 2008 release of two blockbusters, Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii. That was a tough act for April, 2009 to follow. Creutz also notes that most U.S. game publishers did well in April:

Three of the four major U.S. third party publishers saw significant sales increases in April. [Activision] saw a total game sales (incl. PC) increase of roughly +21%... Electronic Arts... saw total game sales increase +26%... THQ's... total sales increased +23%...

Over at Water Cooler Games, Georgia Tech prof and noted game designer Ian Bogost offers some thoughts on Bailout Bonanza, an iPhone game released in late March.

Bailout Bonanza is essentially a clone of the classic Activision game Kaboom! -- the player moves or tilts the iPhone to maneuver a bucket at the bottom of the screen, which catches money bags dropped by a Wall Street banker out of a neoclassical financial building...

 

The problem is, this game doesn't really satirize or comment upon the bailout. If anything, the Kaboom! gameplay feels backwards... The game also points to the issue of timeliness in editorial games. Creating an iPhone game like this one is relatively easy, but it still takes more time than making the equivalent Flash game... the bailout of the financial sector is, in a way, old news.

Bogost notes that Bailout Bonanza is just one of several bailout-themed games available on the AppStore.