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Mythic VP and lead "Warhammer Online" designer Mark Jacobs said it wouldn't take a billion dollars for a competing MMO to take on "World of Warcraft" -- maybe only $100 million.

"When certain people throw out ridiculous numbers, you know they're throwing out ridiculous numbers because they want to scare off competition or they want to make themselves seem invincible and that sort of nonsense," he said, referring to a statement Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick made at an investor meeting earlier this year.

"Realistically, if you're going into this space for the first time, and you want to compete with 'WoW' and you want to compete with us -- because we're going into that same space -- you've got to make sure that you have at least 100 million dollars," he said.

When I sat down with Jacobs last week during a demo of the game, we talked about what makes an MMO successful. Having worked in the industry creating MUDs in the '80s, online games in the '90s, and Mythic's biggest hit "Dark Age of Camelot" in 2001, he had some advice for those wanting to make it in the MMO business.

So why is $100 million the magic number? Read more...

"Spore" doesn't ship for the PC for a couple of weeks, but it's already out on iPods.

Electronic Arts snuck the cell-stage-only version of "Spore" onto the iTunes yesterday. This version of "Spore" is not compatible with the iPhone or iPod Touch. Those are coming soon.

Interestingly, this one controls far better than the iPhone version that I've played several times. The accelerometer-based controls there are a little unwieldy, while the iPod version manipulates your cell's motion with the thumbwheel.

EA claims you'll even be able to tap into the Sporepedia index of user-created creatures. So is this version of "Spore" worth five bucks?

More hands-on impressions after the jump: Read more...

[Note: There are no spoilers in this story!]

Something big happens at the end of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Fans of the book are well aware of the revelation.

We're not here to spoil it for you. But I already know how it ends, so I wanted to ask Electronic Arts how they're handling "Half-Blood Prince"'s conclusion.

The problem: EA can't actually talk about the ending. "I can't, under our Warner Bros. embargo, talk about the ending," laughed "Harry Potter" executive producer Jonathan Bunney while he was showing me the game at a publisher event a couple of weeks ago. "But I can tell you that you will not be…interacting…"

Will you take your Wiimote and...? "Whatever you're alluding to, you won't be doing that. [laughs]," said Bunney. "Obviously, it's a massive -- I was so shocked when I read it. I put the book down and said, 'That's crazy! You can't have done this.' We're dealing with it very sensitively because it's a big deal, right? Obviously, we're making a game that kids are going to be playing, as well."

Of course, none of this story makes any sense if you don't know the conclusion to "Half-Blood Prince." But if you do, it's interesting to see EA's approach.

Note: Please be considerate in the comments. If you choose to discuss the ending to "Half-Blood Prince" or other spoilers, please mark them appropriately. Any deliberate attempts to spoil the plot will be deleted.

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"Harry Potter" is a series dictated by the most popular console. First, PS One. Then, PlayStation 2. For a while, Xbox 360. But now, Wii has taken over.

Making Wii the lead platform was the first decision that “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” executive producer Jonathan Bunney made when approaching the latest Wizard game.

"We made that decision from day one," he told me last week. "We did, I think, a good job with the Wii last year, but we're doing a great job this year. Because this is where the casual audience is, the mass audience is here. It's a great control system, but you've got to learn to use it."

EA wants as many people as possible playing their "Harry Potter" games and Bunney saw the traditional control scheme as an obstacle for many users.

Read more...

Playing with NERF guns is one of my most treasured childhood pastimes. Somehow, I never poked my eye out.

But I have a chance to risk it over again, thanks to Electronic Arts "NERF N-Strike" and what is probably the coolest add-on being released for the Wiimote yet.

The add-on slips over the Wiimote and not only functions as a decent pistol-looking holder for Wii shooters, but simultaneously being a real-life NERF gun. GameSpy's Phil Theobald shot me in the chest to prove it worked as described. I survived.

Unfortunately, the game itself isn't as exciting for someone over the age of 10.

Read more...

You won't be strangling store owners with your Wiimote anytime soon, readers.

Electronic Arts told me last week that they aren't talking about any potential Wii version of "The Godfather II" yet. All of their focus is on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the mobster sequel which are slated for release in February.

The news surprised me, given that "The Godfather: Blackhand Edition" seemed to do well critically and EA has several times said Wii is moving the forefront of their development mindset. Case in point: "Harry Potter" games now lead on the Wii platform.

But not "Godfather II." Not yet, at least.

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Should game developers and designers have their names on the boxes of the games they make?

We posed this question recently to EA CEO John Riccitiello, who explained why Steven Spielberg's name should be on a game box and why Will Wright's shouldn't.

We've read discussions from gamers arguing for and against the idea. Those against say there's too many people to name, that manuals and the end credits are enough and that's it not fair to single certain people out. Those for having names on boxes, including one David Jaffe, say that games should give credit like movies do because the creative and technical folks behind the project really make the game, and the name recognition allows game makers to have the credibility and leverage while making their way through this booming industry.

You can expand the "Boom Blox" images above to test our first example.

Now let's see what what the boxes of "Super Mario Galaxy," "God of War," "Halo 3" and "Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution" would look like if their creators were given credit... Read more...

Actress and model Maggie Q doesn't agree with actor Mark Wahlberg's stance on games and movies.

The "Need For Speed: Undercover" star and "Live Free Or Die Hard" actress told me last week that Hollywood has a ways to go in the perception that game movies aren't worth paying attention to.

"I think there's just too much that we don't know about this world [games] that it's hard to say 'Oh, you're doing that?'" she told me last week. "Because, guess what, this world, in its own right -- in any right -- is huge."

I brought this up specifically because of Wahlberg, who said he would not have read the script for "Max Payne" if he'd known is was based on a game.

Read more...

Electronic Arts has a gem on its hands.

It's called "Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure" and it's one of the most creative uses of the DS hardware that I've seen. More than that, it's not a gimmick -- it's just fun.

Describing the game makes it sound more complicated than it is. On the top screen, you're playing a beautifully drawn 2D action platformer as Henry Hatsworth, an aged English adventurer who turns into a robot after sipping tea. On the bottom screen, there's a "Planet Puzzle League"-esque game going on.

The two screens interact in a variety of ways. It's fun, fast-paced and always works to keep you on your toes. I want more nooooooow.

Read more...

There are no more "Harry Potter" books coming. In a few years, there will be no more "Harry Potter" movies.

Will the production of new Potter games soon stop too?

"Lord of the Rings" hasn't had trouble living on past its literary trilogy, but we're only nearing the time where it's a concern for "Harry Potter."

Rumors of a "Harry Potter" MMO have circled for years. The setting fits perfectly. Earlier this summer, "Harry Potter" fan sites jumped on a Warner Bros. statement alluding they've been investigating the possibility.

The current Potter game producer, Electronic Arts, told me last week that they're interested in the possibility of a Harry Potter MMO, too. "I think there could be a fun MMO with Harry Potter," said "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" executive producer Jonathan Bunney.

Of course, that doesn't mean a "Harry Potter" MMO is actually coming. Bunney told me they're completely focused on finishing "Half-Blood Prince" and approaching the difficulties of "Deathly Hallows" being split into two movies. I'll have more on that later this week.

That said, do you want an massively multiplayer "Harry Potter" experience?

[Image Credit: Warner Bros.]

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