"Content is king." Well, there's about to be a revolution and some regicide. The consumers of tomorrow want content for free. And they will make their own content. That is potentially more fun and more interesting than consuming carefully planned, carefully made, well-mannered content from a professional. Films and TV are already at that point where they are consumed and remixed freely by consumers. Music was there long ago. Games will be there soon.

The content of the future will be in tools. Tools like the ones shipped with Little Big Planet (although I suspect it's still too early for that game to start a true paradigm shift.) Tools that will let consumers engage directly with the content.

Actually, this is the tipping point when "consumers" become "users". Consumers are passive. Users, active

Quick and worth a read — it's certainly a lot more to the point than some of the longer pieces on the same topics.

The Futures of Entertainment [game girl advance]

It's more than just nostalgia, though. The packaging, does a pretty good job tracing the state of the art for PC gaming. It shows the attempts at copy protection, the deepening play experiences that required a ton of documentation, and takes you from dependency on in-store sales to the transition to online sales and DLC.

And plus, it's the weekend. This is the time for neat evergreen features and lists. And dammit, I'm gonna find stuff that isn't GTA IV, too.

Shrink Wrapped: A History of PC Game Packaging Trends
[1up]

When gaming became very digital for awhile, it moved from the real world really into the screen (right), and then there were years when all gaming took place kind of on screen, in this virtual world. My feeling is that has been a trend now that for people to want to move away from the screen. For me, it's idea of a return to the body because in the 80s and 90s there was all this discussion about virtual avatars, and what does this mean to have a digital representation of yourself and your body, and I think we were really interested in that idea... this disembodied human. But I think we've gone through that conversation, and now kids growing up to have like 17 avatars that represents them means nothing to them. It's not a big deal. That there is now some kind of return to a sense of, "Well how can I take that game out of the screen and bring it back to my physical space. And how can my body become a part of that interaction.

She's so learned! Kim Phu

Game Trends: Smaller, Casual, Cross Platform, Spaces, Hybrids [FreedomLab]

Sure, the Kotaku crowd knows that Sony dropped a $500-$600 bomb on us at E3 2006. And we're all kind of coming to terms with it. I've got the cash earmarked for a PS3 and I'm ready to spend.

But what about the casuals? The people who don't constantly refresh GAF for NPD sales data or have their RSS reader set to check 300 blogs for updates every 15 seconds. They're clueless!

Some surprising data came out of trend analysts Compete's recent survey of "active current-generation console gamers":

Though much has been made in some circles about the PS3's hefty price tag ($600), word has apparently not reached most consumers...many of whom have the PS3 on their shopping lists. In fact, almost half (48%) of those considering a PS3 expect it to cost less than $300—equivalent to the original price of a PS2. When told of the PS3's actual retail price, 73% of all gamers and 59% of those considering a PS3 thought it was overpriced. Wii fared much better and many of its buyers will be pleasantly surprised by its value. Among those considering a Wii, 75% expected it to cost more than $200. It goes on sale for $250.

Casual gamers! Ha! I laugh at you and your normal lives. Michael McWhertor

PS3 vs. Wii vs. Xbox 360: PS3 Demand Soaring but Sticker Shock Cometh [via Gamasutra]

Of those five, the most interesting might be the DS and PSP finding a strange harmony in your hands, or hip mailbag (are those still cool?). Because the two systems are so different in their software and function (i.e., the DS is starting to accumulate an excellent catalog of games, and the PSP is still, uh, really good at playing movies) both will be viable. I hope that 2006 sees the PSP software start to really develop.

The Five Biggest Trends of 2005 [Game Girl Advance]