Next Gen talks to Acclaim CEO [update]

Howard Marks, my boss, talks to Next Gen about the company's strategy. I'm embarassed to say that I didn't know he was doing this interview so I read it for the first time like everyone else. A particular bit from Howard that I liked:

"The videogame business is a product business. It's not a medium. Even though some people would like us to believe that it's a medium, it's not. The main reason is that it's a product sold at retail, it's tangible in your hands and has a cost attached to it. You look at other mediums such as TV, radio and cable -- they're a medium because the product is intangible."

To finish his thought, the "intangibility" of mass media creates certain attributes that make them sustainable. They are easily accessible, affordable, amiable to the general population (via variety) and provide an avenue for cultural discourse. Retail products are not any of these as the transactional nature of purchasing limits all of the above (perhaps with the exception of culture shifting products like the iPods). Online games, however, meet these requirements easily. If you look at the statistics from...

Hello? Are you still there? Oh nevermind.

Dude, play BOTS! It's wicked fun!

[Update: Kotaku takes a jab, harsh. Joystiq has a little more faith but barely. Pudding's not ready yet guys, I'll let you know when it is.]