Games Are Becoming Services, But They Need User Content to Advance

Source: Activision Blizzard realizing future of video games as online services – CNET >

The future for the gaming space, I’d say, is user-generated content (UGC) served up within a platform.

For RPGs or strategy games – whatever – the thing that will light up the space is when gamers themselves can develop content for their favorite games and then have that content be gamified in a marketplace.

So if our friends want to get together and play whatever, but we’ve already done all the content, we go online and find the best UGC (based on ratings) and play that.

Plus, people will basically become content generators just as there are full-time game commenters and reviewers, and they’ll be known for making the best stuff. Their content will be almost as anticipated as the games themselves.

That’s the key: get the users to keep the content evergreen.