While it’s easy enough to figure out what the most popular games are simply by going over to AppData and looking at the numbers, I thought the end of the year might be a chance to reflect on what were some of the most significant games of 2009, and discuss their impact, for better and for worse.

Some of these games were hits, and others were bombs, but they are all games that will have (or should have) an impact on the way we’ll make our games in 2010.

Here’s a taste:

But whether it’s what we play, or how we play it, some companies are beginning to figure out that even though they are now directly responsible for dealing with their irate customers, that relationship is becoming as important as the product itself, and that if you treat them with respect, and give them what you want, it’s possible to thrive, even while other people are claiming that the apocalypse is just around the corner.

Businesses as diverse as Netflix, Vivendi, Steam, and iTunes all managing to make a tidy profit by defining their core of what they do around an ongoing relationship with the customer rather than simply focusing on the end profit, or trying to use DRM to redefine their software so that they can get back the control they’ve “lost”

The first on is up now. You can check it out here

Here’s a taste:

While there’s lots to love about the iTunes experience as a customer, if you’re a publisher you only have very limited ways to connect with your audience. There’s the main page, some top ten lists, and even a bit of advertising scattered throughout the app store experience. Heck, there’s even a “What We’re Playing” list, although how you go about getting on it is something of a mystery, and it makes you wonder who “we” is actually supposed to be. But that’s it. There’s no social community to reach out to, no viral thought leaders, and no magazine or blog where you can really reach the players who “matter”.