Naked Sky Entertainment's RoboBlitz for Xbox 360 and PC

In Round 1 of our Vs. Mode exchange on short session games with MTV News reporter Stephen Totilo, which is also being posted on Totilo's blog MTV News: Multiplayer, we explained that our twilight years had brought on an increased impatience with the pacing and structure of AAA games, prompting us to spend more of our time on small games. Totilo argued that longform games, not our graying dreadlocks, were to blame, and speculated that the existence of high-end short session games on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 were the accidental byproduct of machines designed for epics like Halo 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4. In today's installment, we set Totilo straight on the scope of the 360 and PS3's short session ambitions while making a case for the crucial importance of PR and marketing in nurturing the success of small games. Meanwhile, Totilo puts on his Man of the People hat, declaring that in the age of YouTube, the viral distribution and word of mouth are all that short session games need to thrive. Some excerpts:

N'Gai Croal: You wonder why many these newer short-session games like RoboBlitz and Super Stardust HD are graphically rich; it's because they're trying to stay competitive on high-end consoles. A $10 game doesn't necessarily get a pass on its graphics. (In Sony's case, a lot of its graphics emphasis has to do with the company pushing its 1080p/True HD talking points.) Small games don't get magazine covers; they don't generate many headlines; and other than a few exceptions--like flOw during the PS3 launch window and Microsoft and Namco's Pac-Man CE event in NYC--these games don't get much marketing or PR support. You and I both know small games developers who've been told by Microsoft PR to curtail their own promotional efforts. We also know that Sony PR wasn't even aware that they had a small hit on their hands with SSHD until we forwarded them the NeoGAF thread; separately, we only got access to a review build of Blast Factor Advanced Research a day or two before it shipped.

Stephen Totilo: You rightly point out that this could be a fleeting moment, that the small games resurgence may abate. It may, but we disagree on the needed safety measures. I don't think the continued success of the movement requires creative PR and marketing. After all, PR and marketing have had relatively little to do with the surge of popularity in small entertainment outside of games. YouTube clips and downloadable songs get popular without the help of "the man" thanks to the viral hype of "the many." Such viral success occurs in those fields because the platforms involved are open. Theoretically--and maybe temporarily--anyone could create something and anyone could share that creation with anyone else.

Click on the link below to read Round 2 of our exchange in its entirety.

1. 1st...game journalist to get own toy statue
2. BOO...Sony recalls two downloadable games
3. Bio...Shock art book .PDF available here
4. RND...We are all Sims, says philosopher