[casual_games] MSN Games

[Kim Pallister]

(snip, snip, snip)
> I've always wondered how to get my games on MSN

> As I know, Oberon Media is an exclusive content provider for MSN Zone.

> Oberon does not have an exclusive.  RealArcade can also help...
(/snip)

Since there seems to be a lack of clarity, I'm going to chime in and repeat what we've stated at our partner day event and elsewhere.

Namely that:

MSN Games works with a number of partners to bring games to market.
- Oberon provides us with download and web games.
- Real Networks provides us with a subscription offering (in development and to be launched in the near future)
- Skilljam provides us with a skill-gaming solution.

Talking to any of these partners for inclusion in their portfolio for that particular business model and consumer offering is a great place to start. Signing with any of them is not a guarantee of getting onto MSN games, as we still manage our portfolio(s) closely and only launch titles whose quality and content is suited to our audience and site.

We have the option to take titles directly from anyone, but don't do so often. When and if we do, it's usually because something special has been done technology- or content-wise for our site, or because someone has an exclusive license to a title that there's only one path for us to get it. (i.e. we don't 'go direct' to 'cut out the middleman')

Regarding technology: Web games on our site need to be coded to an API we've written that hooks into our score reporting and badge system. That API works with custom ActiveX controls or Flash. You can get that API through Oberon or through us directly in the case where we are working directly together.

Titles for MSN Messenger are all done through direct deals with us. So are titles for Xbox Live Arcade for that matter.

Hope this helps clarify. Thanks,

Kim Pallister
Business Development Manager
Microsoft Casual Games

P.S. We addressed a number of these things at Gamefest earlier this week. The slides are supposed to appear on MSDN at some point, but it may take a week or two.