By: Wayne Robins Our Columnist's Creative Suggestions For Newspapers
Last year, USA Today's Web site (http://www.usatoday.com) did
one of the smartest things I've seen an online newspaper do: It
added a section called "Game Zone" to its "Tech" package.
For the benefit of those whose experience with computer games
ended with Pong and Pac-Man in the Rathskeller as Styx and
Journey played on the jukebox, Game Zone (also at
http://www.gamezone.com) is
the place where users of PlayStation, Nintendo, Dreamcast, and
Microsoft's soon-to-be-launched Xbox can get news, reviews, and
downloads of the hottest new computer games.
To grab the elusive audience of teens and 20-somethings dedicated
to Doom, Myst, Quake, and other games played on consoles and PCs,
we should come up with some surefire online entries that will not
only build traffic but also enhance newspaper brand names. With
some slight adjustments, of course, we can create a profitable
convergence of newspapers and video games, such as:
The San Francisco Chronicle of a Death Foretold: At the
beginning, you're dead. To avoid eternal damnation, your ghost
shoots it out with terrorists, muggers, jaywalkers, and
telemarketers who phone at dinner time. Bumping off Saddam
Hussein is an automatic win.
The Cleveland Playing Dealer: Return to a 19th-century
riverboat on Lake Erie, where an old-time newspaper editor with a
green eyeshade is your dealer for blackjack, poker, and keno.
While players chase that elusive royal flush, the latest news,
sports, and weather reports run under the flag.
Sacramento Killer Bee: Hordes of huge angry yellow jackets
attack the California Legislature. You decide whether to let the
bees in -- or not.
The Miami Geraldo Rivera: Action game in which the
swashbuckling mock-heroic TV journalist starts with his fists
against neo-Nazi skinheads, then must machine-gun his way past
gangsters and FBI agents as he attempts to plunder Al Capone's
vault.
The New Orleans Time-to-Pick-Your-Doom: You're on Death
Row in Angola State Prison, put there by a rigged jury and a
crooked judge. Your final meal is crawfish etouffee, oysters on
the half shell, and an alligator po' boy. Using your supernatural
powers, you bring these creatures to life, destroying the evil
powers that framed you. But watch out! Some days you eat the
crawfish. Some days the crawfish eats you.
Toledo Blade Runner: A science fiction/ fantasy game in
which an Ohio city is pretty much transformed into the Los
Angeles of today.
The Philadelphia Inquisition: Hooded and masked judges
teleport you to a desolate planet that looks a lot like North
Philly. You've got to survive attacks by marauding gangs, corrupt
cops, and the Philly Phanatic to return safely to Broad Street.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch-With-Extreme Prejudice: You've
stumbled on the plan of a rogue CIA agent who wants to blow up
the Arch. You're safe with Mark McGwire as your cybersidekick,
but -- uh-oh! -- if he develops back spasms, your chances of
survival deteriorate exponentially.
The Atlanta Constitution Revoked? The Austin Powers?
Nooseday? These may be fantasies. But the money being spent
downloading video games is quite real. As they say in the lottery
commercials: You can't win if you don't play.
Gaming attracts young readers
"Most people who come to our Web site do it through a computer,
so they are already equipped for electronic gaming," Sam Vincent
Meddis, technology editor of USAToday.com, said in an e-mail
message. "The Web is a great showcase for gaming, providing a
wealth of resources and graphics -- something we could easily
take advantage of for hyperlinks and downloads." He said that the
site's Game Zone material gets "several thousand" daily views,
and although he doesn't have specific demographic data, he
believes "it also helps attract younger readers ... a very worthy
goal for a newspaper."
In a related development, The Industry Standard's site
(http://www.thestandard .com) reported last week that
AtomShockwave, the merged result of AtomFilms and Shockwave.com,
is now charging for two sets of downloadable video-game combos
aimed at the casual user. One suite will feature licensed arcade
games such as Spy Hunter and Joust; another will feature new
games developed by AtomShockwave. The cost: $19.95 for one,
$29.95 for both.
The pay-for-play allows time-pressed gamers to enjoy them at
leisure, when they're offline. Electronic Arts, the leading
software game developer, told the Standard's site that
"we're going to see more interactive entertainment experiences
for mature people."
Wayne Robins (wrobins@editorandpublisher.com)
is an associate editor covering new media for E&P.
Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.
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