The next Wave....

So - I'm pretty sure you've been wondering what the heck has been going on with ZAPiT Games and the Game Wave.

• Where is the next game?
• Where is the next Game Wave console?
• Are you going Blue Ray?
• Hello? Is anyone there?

And all of the above are great questions - and finally we're ready to provide answers (and it's about time too).

But before I get into where we're going, I'd better let you know where we've been these past few months. We had a HUGE push in 2008 to finally get the install base we've needed to make us a sustainable game production company and I'm happy to say - at this stage we are very, very close.

What this means is, with just a few thousand more Game Wave's in living rooms like yours, we can produce game titles that are guaranteed to at least break even.

Now - here's the bad thing about that. We don't want to "break even". We, instead, want to make all of our ever so patient investors a serious return on the money they've kicked in over the years. (Me included)

Thus the halt in our game production schedule of late. Producing games for our existing customer base was actually costing us a fortune, so unless we had a change of direction, or another revenue stream, we simply couldn't do it - it would have been business suicide.

Not a good situation to be in as a game developer obviously.

Something had to change. And something did - July 11th last year. Apple released their second incarnation of the iPhone, one with both WiFi and 3G access and I bought one

the first day it was available.

By the end of the following weekend I'd put together a business model for Game Wave game titles to be ported over to both mobile phones and online as well. And after months and months of research and investigation into the potential of the the idea - and a pitch to the investors and the board - it was finally accepted at the end of December last year.

So - what does all of that mean for you - considering you have a Game Wave and want new titles to play at home? Well, it means a bunch of stuff.

First off, we get to stay in business. (Yes we were getting close to closing the doors - which is a shame considering we have the highest rating from and gaming company there is anywhere: A survey from 2008 showed a 92% satisfaction level - the only pissy thing about us was the lack of new game titles.)

Second - we will be creating new Game Wave titles! Each new game title we produce will be available to play not only on the Game Wave, but online and on Smartphones as well.

And last but not least, we get to expand the reach of our multi-player socially responsible gaming philosophy from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions.

It's very exciting for all of us as we are the truest of true believers having stuck with this through thick and wafer thin.

I'll be keeping you up to date on the latest progress right here. I'll be showing you videos of the game functionality and our title release dates (don't tell anyone but the first is next month) and where you can play along.

So - we're back in the game development business - and I know I speak for everyone at ZAPiT games when I say....

It's about frikin' time!

Coupons? We don't need no stinking coupons!

So - you may have noticed that the front page of PlayGameWave.com has (finally) changed.

That's because there is a big couponing campaign going on right now and if you enter the right code, there are some serious discounts happening. We cut the price of the console, the games, the extra remotes, but only if you have one of those stinking codes...

So - how do you get one of those stinking codes? You have to know somebody who has one, that's how.

Tricky huh?

It's not what you know, it's who you know.

You know?

What I'm saying is, you know me, so...

Not Just in your Family Room Anymore

Next time you are in Tampa, drop by the Bilmar
Station Sports Tavern in Tampa on Hillsborough.

What you'll find there besides the requisite beer taps and multi screen TV's is a prototype of the new Game Wave coin-op that's gonna take the nation by storm.

This particular model is for 4-players and a 6-player model will also soon be available. All the regular Game Wave titles are available, like Rewind and ZAP21, plus other games like Texas Hold 'em.

Now - that's cool enough. What makes these things even cooler is all the games are what are known as "Redemption Games."

These are arcade games of skill that reward the player depending on how well they do - usually with tickets to merchandise of gift certificates. Or in this case, cash.

See, the idea is to make playing the Game Wave into an actual sport - where players can become pros.

From where we started, to where we are now, it's exciting to see where the Game Wave and it's multi-player interativity concept is going.

Apparently we're going to the bar, and if you're good enough - the drinks may be on us.

Both genius - and weird

Housewives of the early 50’s were convinced by an entrepreneur named Brownie Wise to hold these get-togethers for their fellow stay at home moms to demonstrate the latest innovation in plastic food storage containers.

The Tupperware party was born.

Tupperware's sales and popularity exploded, thanks in large part to Wise's influence among women who sold Tupperware, and her famous “jubilees” that celebrated the success of the highest selling Tupperware ladies.

And weirdly enough, although the idea of plastic containers to package food is hardly cutting edge as it was in post-WWII era, the parties have never stopped. “Jubilee” events are still held in major cities to recognize and reward top-selling demonstrators.

Brownie was a genius: Have someone demonstrate a product in their homes for their friends - and then have that person sell that same product for a commission.

I wonder what product, that people only get when they play it, would benefit from that grassroots marketing model…

If you got a Game Wave for Christmas - look what you missed out on....

Being in the gaming business, I can surely empathize with our competitors, especially over this past holiday season.

In our collective line of work, all everyone was trying to do was to get our products under people's trees so, hopefully, when they were opened they made the recipient happy.

Now - in the Game Wave's case - that's a given. But I wonder what the kids who received some of the following were thinking...

To me nothing says Christmas more than giving your kid a gun.

A gun that shoots Teddy Bears.


Dead animals you say? Well, what kid wouldn't love to have a nice stuffed Road Kill to snuggle with every night?


I bet you're upset now knowing you could have given your kids their very own cute and hugable human waste dolls...



... and if they were into that, you just know that they would love this...


It's never too early to set them down a career path. How about their very own HazMat training toys!


Or you could have gone straight to the "I want to scar them for life" gift and terrified the heck out of them with whatever this is:


We had a great Holiday season, and now it's back to work producing a whole bunch of games for 2008.

It's just too bad for us someone already cornered the defecation market.

Cheers - Gavin

An unhappy New Year's Eve

Last New Years eve I decided it would be a great idea to beta test the first disk of Rewind 2006 on my unsuspecting friends. It was the first game built using our Software Development Kit (SDK) that was in development, so much of the programming from previous Rewind builds was different and we wanted to test it to see if our new streamlined code could handle real world game play.

The short answer was, it could.

The long answer was, for me it was the worst New Years Eve EVER!

I popped in the game, asking my willing guinea pigs to play a few rounds, and to really put it through its paces. There was about 30 or so people there, so they all ganged up in teams and away they went with me watching in the background looking for any bugs.

There were a few entry screen issues and some overlay misalignments, but beyond that, functionally it worked perfectly. After only one round I had seen enough and thanked everyone and suggested something lame like, “lets get this party started!”

Except no one got up.

They kept playing. And playing. And playing.

And playing.

Now, I’m not adverse to game playing at any time, as it is my occupation, however I wrote Rewind 2006 and it wasn’t exactly like I could participate knowing all the answers as I did.

So I sat at the back. Alone. For hours.

Happy Frikin’ New Year!

Now, the reason I’m relating this is two fold: First, if you are looking for a GREAT New Years Eve game for groups large or for small, the Game Wave is kinda perfect.

And the second is for my friends. Don’t even think about it, okay?

Have a Happy New Year Everyone, and here’s looking forward to a fabulous 2008!

Cheers - Gavin

The 20th - The most important day of December

Well, for us anyway…

That is the absolute drop-dead date for ordering a Game Wave or a Game Wave game – if you want it under your tree for the 25th that is.

And even that day is pushing it if you ask me. Most places stopped guaranteeing orders last week, but not us.

How do we do it? I have no idea.

Two weeks ago I asked our operations manager what was the final possible order date and after talking to our facilitators and shipping folks that was the date he came up with.

Just in case, I asked him a few days later as well, just to make sure he hadn’t been over imbibing on the eggnog, and once again he insisted the 20th was in fact the date.

So, you only have a few days left to get your order in if you need a Game Wave for Christmas.

Order here.

Of course you could just hold off a bit because the Game Wave is also the perfect New Year’s Eve game as well.

And there’s no rush for ordering for that – until there is.