Everyone expected Mark Zuckerberg to squirm in the hot glare of the publicity surrounding the Hollywood film "The Social Network."  

Instead, the 26-year-old Facebook founder, who started his company in a Harvard dorm room, seems to have finally found his comfort zone. Gone are the sweat-sopped, red-faced, awkward moments that betrayed just how much he would rather be building products than making public appearances. In recent weeks, he has come across as cool-headed, calm and confident.

That was never more true than during a one-hour onstage interview Tuesday evening with Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle, who put on the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. In the interview, Zuckerberg's third and by far most interesting appearance at the popular conference, he handled tough questions and tackled policy issues with intelligence and humor.

He talked expansively about how Facebook would play a crucial role in disrupting and restructuring any number of industries to make them more social. Gaming was the first industry to become more social on Facebook, and he predicted that other industries, such as music and television, would follow suit.

"Over the next five years, most industries are going to be rethought and designed around people," Zuckerberg said.

His message to those resisting change: "Get on the bus."

But when asked if his company might be preparing the paperwork for an initial public offering, Zuckerberg deadpanned: "Don't hold your breath."

He cast himself as young and fallible as an entrepreneur, admitting he had made "every mistake you can make." Yet more than 50% of Facebook's more than 500 million users visit the site at least once a day. "If you're building a product that people love, you can make a lot of mistakes," he said.

Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Facebook might not be "100% right" on privacy issues and in its current spat with Google.

"Frankly, it's one of the reasons why being at Facebook is so exciting," he said. "We are at the forefront at some of these issues, which are really unsolved issues in the industry. The correct answer isn't completely obvious."

When asked about the "Points of Control" map onstage, the theme of the conference showing the power consolidation of large companies on the Internet, Zuckerberg replied that the uncharted territory online should be the biggest part of the map.

"Your map is wrong," Zuckerberg said. "The biggest part of the map has to be uncharted territory. This map makes it seem like it's zero sum, but it’s not. We’re building value, not just taking it away from someone else."

The audience burst into applause while Battelle and O'Reilly nodded in agreement.

Perhaps most telling: Zuckerberg fielded no questions about "The Social Network" and his Hollywood hazing.

Looks like Facebook and its CEO have officially grown up. Which means that the world is going to expect a whole lot more from them now.

Related:

Mark Zuckerberg braces for "The Social Network"

-- Jessica Guynn

Photo: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, right, talks with employees in August. Credit: Tony Avelar / Associated Press

Patience is a virtue that some video game fanatics apparently don’t have.

With the hugely anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops going on sale at midnight, two men jumped the gun when they stole more than 100 copies of the game from a retailer Saturday night.

The robbers busted into a GameStop in Bel Air, Md., right before closing time, armed with semi-automatic handguns, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s office. Though no one was harmed, the men forced two customers into a storage area before making off with four crates full of the Call of Duty games.

Before police arrived at 9:20 p.m. EDT, the culprits also snatched cash and some X-Box video game systems, fleeing in a white minivan or Dodge Caravan.

Perhaps a way of life imitating art, the game puts players in several combat roles. The offering from Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard Inc. involves salty language and extreme blood and gore -- earning it a “mature” rating -- as well as a commercial featuring Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: A box advertisement for "Call of Duty: Black Ops" is displayed at a GameStop store in Las Vegas. Credit: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Dan Rosensweig is leaving his post as CEO and president of Activision Blizzard's Guitar Hero franchise to take over as CEO of online textbook-rental company Chegg.com.

The former Yahoo chief operating officer and Quadrangle Group partner, who is well known and well liked in Silicon Valley, joined Guitar Hero in March to run the Activision Blizzard division in Silicon Valley. Activision bought Guitar Hero from RedOctane in 2006. Activision Chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick served on the Yahoo board. Rosensweig, with his depth of Internet and consumer experience, had been considered for a number of high-profile gigs.

Running a consumer brand is a no-brainer for Rosensweig. And, though video-game makers are sliding, Chegg.com is a hot company in a hot space. In November, the Santa Clara, Calif., company raised $57 million in venture capital. The round was led by Insight Venture Partners. Previous investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Foundation Capital. Chegg.com has raised more than $160 million. 

The way it works: Students pay a fee to rent a textbook by the semester, quarter or summer. Renting versus buying can help students, who might spend up to $1,000 a year on textbooks. Chegg.com, which opened its online store in 2007, has rented more than 2 million titles and has an inventory of 4.2 million. It says it has saved students at more than 6,400 colleges $137 million.

The idea of renting textbooks has been around for decades but caught fire on the Internet. Even more competition is jumping in after Congress last year set aside $10 million to give grants to college bookstores to start textbook rental programs. Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. recently said it would launch a textbook rental program for college students through campus bookstores and websites.

-- Jessica Guynn

Related:

Activision's Guitar Hero chief exits after less than a year

If you're still looking for a gift, the Times' Technology staff has compiled a list of our 10 favorite gadgets of 2009. Check out the full list, with details.

Grandmaster Flash. DJ Shadow. Z-Trip.

Most hip-hop heads revere these names as turntable legends. But it’s likely most video gamers have no clue who these guys are.

Activision, the publisher of the highly successful Guitar Hero franchise, is hoping to change that with its new title, DJ Hero.

The music and mixes of these notable turntablists are featured in the game along with more than 100 licensed songs, which make up more than 90 unique mixes.

Having a familiarity with actual DJing is not necessary to enjoy DJ Hero.

In fact, DJ Hero replicates the work of a real DJ about as much as Guitar Hero replicates what a real guitarist does -- which is to say not much at all.

But that’s not the point.

Simple, straightforward is what DJ Hero is about, and it succeeds in...

 

Tony Hawk, the renown skateboarder who landed the notoriously difficult "900" maneuver a decade ago at the X-Games, next Tuesday comes out with Ride, the latest title in the blockbuster video-game franchise that bears his name.

This time, the 41-year-old is adding a new trick to his virtual routine — a skateboard controller that looks like the real thing -- but without the wheels. Loaded with high-tech sensors, the controller gets players off the couch and doing flips on the floor. Hawk gives a demo that you can watch by clicking on the video above, composed by Times videographer, Don Kelsen.

Will it be enough to revitalize the 10-year-old series?

Hawk’s past titles have sold about 43.5-million units worldwide, generating more than $1.5 billion dollars in sales for its publisher, Activision Blizzard, according to market research firms NPD Group and GfK Chart-Track. But sales and critical scores slipped for the last two iterations, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground and Tony Hawk's Project 8.

So, two years ago, both Hawk and Activision decided to take a different path. They switched from the franchise’s longtime developer, Neversoft Entertainment in Woodland Hills, to Robomodo in Chicago. And they added a sophisticated controller.

Hawk, whose home in Encinitas, Calif., has a custom-built 4,000-square-foot skate park, spoke with us today about his latest title and whether he thinks players will spring for the $120 game when it comes out on Tuesday.

Here’s an edited version of the interview.

Tell me about what you went through to create the skateboard for the game.

We have a graveyard of prototypes. The first version was a blank skateboard with the equivalent of a Wii remote. We tried roller balls that you could slide your foot on and digital compasses that can tell which direction your board is pointed in. We also tried adding a camera. We also had a board with buttons that you could step on, like with Dance Dance Revolution.

With one of our first prototypes, I tried to do a kick flip on it. It’s a maneuver where you jump in the air and make the board do a full rotation. The board snapped in half.

How does the skateboard controller compare with the Wii Fit Balance Board?

The Balance Board only measures weight distribution. Our controller captures every motion. Every time you...

Video game sales this holiday aren't likely to top last year's, said Robert Kotick, chief executive of Activision Blizzard Inc., the world's largest video game software company.

"If the consumer materializes and spends money, we'll do well," Kotick said in an interview today. "If not, things will be a challenge. And today, you really have no way of knowing what will happen. Shopping season hasn't kicked off. Consumers saw significant discounts last year after Black Friday, and they're waiting for it to happen again this year."

Kotick's sober remarks came just before the company released its third-quarter earnings report. Although sales were down 1% to $703 million, Activision swung into a $15-million profit, up from a $108-million loss in the same quarter last year. It earned a penny a share in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with an 8-cent loss a year earlier. The numbers beat Wall Street expectations on a non-GAAP basis.

Activision -- anchored by a trio of blockbuster franchises including Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft -- has been better prepared to weather the economic storm that has eroded software sales and dampened consumer's appetite for game consoles and other consumer electronics.

This quarter, the Santa Monica-based game publisher released DJ Hero last week, followed by Band Hero on Tuesday. Upcoming titles include Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, due out next week, and Tony Hawk Ride on Nov. 17.

More after the company's earnings conference call with senior executives.

-- Alex Pham

Follow my random thoughts on games, gear and technology on Twitter @AlexPham.

Boom! Not even John Madden and his trademark expressions could avert the crash in video game sales in August, which fell 16% from a year ago.

The drop was the industry’s sixth consecutive monthly decline, according to a report released today from market research firm NPD Group Inc.

That means sales of games and game consoles must grow 14% in the last four months to the year in order for 2009 sales to be flat with 2008, said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Last month, even sales of Madden NFL 10, a popular football simulation game developed by Electronic Arts Inc., were down from a year ago, prompting EA Chief Executive John Riccitiello to say, “It is discouraging that one of our highest-rated and best-marketed Madden titles in years is facing strong headwinds.”

Here are last month’s top-selling titles:

1. Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360)
2. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo Wii)
3. Madden NFL 10 (PlayStation 3)
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360)
5. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)
6. Madden NFL 10 (PlayStation 2)
7. Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PlayStation Portable)
8. Wii Fit (Wii)
9. Mario Kart (Wii)
10. Fossil Fighters (Nintendo DS)

Source: NPD Group Inc.

-- Alex Pham

Follow my random thoughts on games, gear and technology on Twitter@AlexPham.

Chill out, folks. You will be able to fire up your laptops and play StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty on the plane.

Last week, when we wrote about the anti-piracy efforts Blizzard Entertainmentwould be taking next year with StarCraft II, fans fumed. (Many assumed, though Blizzard would not confirm, that the same anti-piracy mechanisms would also be used for Diablo III, which the Irvine game developer said would come out sometime after StarCraft II.)

The stipulation that players must verify their copies of the game over the Internet by phoning home to Blizzard wasn't sitting well.

The concept reminded users of the bad taste left by digital-rights management locks that plagued the early days of legitimate music downloads, with Apple's iTunes at the forefront.

To clarify, you will indeed need an Internet connection when you first install the game. You'll also need a connection to play with other people. (To the chagrin of many players, Blizzard won't include LAN support-- the ability to play with others on the same computer network, such as at a dorm -- without going online.)

But you can freely disconnect and play single-player or challenge modes, wrote Blizzard spokesman Shon Damron in an e-mail. Obviously, you won't get ...

The music video game genre has been in a profound slump this year, with sales down 46% so far, according to the NPD Group.

Part of that is due to the recession, of course, but part of it may be waning consumer interest in Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The games' publishers, Activision Blizzard and MTV Networks (owned by Viacom) have seen the impact on their bottom lines and are taking big steps to shake up their businesses as a result.

As a story in today's Times explains, the biggest change comes in the form of The Beatles: Rock Band, a risky bet worth tens of millions of dollars in royalties alone.

But as MTV launches the game with its distribution partner, it's also implementing a new strategy: Flee the hardware business. Sure, there's a limited-edition, $250 hardware package, but quantities are limited. And there's a $160 "value bundle" featuring original Rock Band hardware that MTV is eager to get rid of.

If you're new to music video games and want controllers for The Beatles: Rock Band, MTV has a preferred solution: Buy Guitar Hero.

“The opportunities around hardware are really limited,” said Scott Guthrie, general manager of MTV Games. “We are getting into a focus on software and [downloadable song] revenue streams.”

MTV Games senior vice president of electronic games and music Paul DeGooyer puts it even more abruptly: “Let others take on the burden of getting those super-tight margin instruments out there."

The "others," of course, is really one company, Activision Blizzard. And its CEO Bobby Kotick admits it's time for a change as well.