Gaming industry enters a new level

Gaming industry enters a new level

Gaming is good for you???

Gaming is good for you???

• Computer games are good for you, say researchers who studied the complex social interactions in the popular shoot-em-up Counter-Strike.
• "It gives people an option of actively participating in some kind of fantasy role they could not do in real life".
  Professor Talmadge Wright, Loyola University.

Which console is best?

Best high-end gaming console.Reviews agree that the PlayStation 3 is technologically superior to the Xbox 360 -- at least on paper. However, the same experts also say that it's going to take months or even years for game developers to really take advantage of the PS3's horsepower. Right now, reviews say graphics quality and realism for PS3 and Xbox 360 are equally excellent. But because Xbox had a 12-month head start over PS3, it has a much larger library of games. Both systems can play games in high-def if you have an HDTV. The Xbox also has better-integrated online gaming

Virtual Big Brother

Virtual Big Brother

• Three dimensional worlds such as Second Life, which allow people to create online versions of themselves, have built up a large following.
  Virtual Me will allow these avatars to compete in online versions of Deal or No Deal, Fame Academy and Big Brother.
• Bosses at the two firms said it was a concept that bridged the divide between traditional TV and video games.
• "With Virtual Me we are at the forefront of a new, hybrid form of entertainment that takes gaming beyond the console," said Gerhard Florin, Executive Vice President and General Manager of EA International.
• "Endemol is a great partner to help us bring together the best of TV and video games for an offering that can appeal to mass market audiences and change the face of entertainment."

My Hypothesis

1. Comparing of the game consoles. Which are better and why?
2. What are the audience views and responses to the consoles? ie. price, offers to users (add-ons) etc
3. What are the social consequences of the gaming industry?
4. Online gaming its development and issues.
5. What does the future hold for gaming ie the development of online gaming, the complete package etc.

Microsoft Unites Xbox, PC Instant Messaging

Microsoft Unites Xbox, PC Instant Messaging (April 9th 2007)

• Microsoft says it will expand instant messaging on its Xbox 360 game console so that players can chat with others running Windows Live Messenger.
• Microsoft promised that within four weeks it will expand instant messaging on its Xbox 360 game console so that players can chat with others running Windows Live Messenger on their PCs and mobile phones.
• This will become available with a free update on sale the week of May 7th.
• "Bringing the largest IM community in the world, Windows Live Messenger, to Xbox 360 makes sense, as Xbox Live has really become the largest social network on television," Jerry Johnson, product manager for the network, said in a statement.

Console sale figures

PS3
America - 1.37m out of 3m
Japan - 870,500 out of 3m
Europe - 920,000 out of 1m
Australia - 27,000 out of 1m
figures correct up till April 1st

Wii
America - 2.1m
Japan - 2m
Europe - 2m
Australia - 68,000

How will the PS3 fare when it finally reaches Europe?

How will the PS3 fare when it finally reaches Europe?

• Sony left struggling in competition in USA with Xbox and Wii.
• In the USA Xbox 360 came out on top in the ranking, coming out narrowly ahead of the Wii (of which sold 1.8m in 2 month period from late November). In comparison PS3 sold just 750,000 units in the same week it hit the shelfs as the Wii.
• Even in Japan where Microsoft has no market share the PS3 is still behind the Wii in popularity out selling 3 to 1 in December.
• PS2 is still the most popular console being sold in the world today!

Issues of Gaming

Youngsters in danger of becoming 'couch potatoes'

• 20% of day spent staring at TVs and computer screens or playing on a game console.
• Dieticians urge children to become more active.
• Children are on average spending 2 1/2 months a year staring at screens.
• British Medical Association research say that there estimates are that, if current trends continue, one-fifth of boys and one-third of girls will be obese by 2020.

Feedback on research #1

Well done Nick, this is an excellent start. You have responded to all the key areas. You now need to add depth to your study by backing up observations with quotations and statistics. We will be looking at gaming in class this week so you will get some ideas there.

Key areas will be Wii and PS3 and how the gaming industry, target audience is changing - more social interaction?

Well done

Area of Technology 5: The Future

• Games like 'Second Life' are merging reality and virtual reality together. It is felt that in the future interactivity will reach new levels with games becoming virtual reality and that we are actually in the games ourselves and will be able to control what we do in these virtual worlds is this a glimpse of the future and will it happen? only time can tell.

Area of Technology 4: Issues

There are many issues being formed in the world of gaming and they are:

• Obesity - Many children are now spending hours in front of TV and PC screens playing on the games consoles instead of experiencing the real world both socially and actively through exercise. Gaming is it encouraging children to stay inside and play on their new PS3 or x-box 360 and interating online rather than going out and interacting with real people and more importantly getting exercise while doing so it is a major issues concerning gaming.
• Does the new technology encourage illegal activity? Will people do anything to get their hands on the new "must have" game consoles and games, will they resort to anything to get them? This is a major issue to consider in gaming.
• Violence - is now one of the key issues in regards to gaming. Games such as Grand Theft Auto, Hitman and Manhunt have come under scrutiny for being too violent the later of which was banned in the UK and the US. Many are asking the question are video games too violent and too easy to get a hold of by younger children. Are they responsible for the increase in violence and attacks by children. It is a key issue that still being debated.
• Gender specific - Most games feature the strong male character e.g GTA, Splinter cell and Metal Gear Solid. These are pushing the fact that males are the stronger and more dominant of the genders as well as showing them in heroic status. However the game Tomb Raider which was a breakthrough in the gaming industry as the heroic character was not a male but a female. Lara Croft was a first for gaming in that it was a heroine character that "saved the day". However there are still critics over the way heroines in video games are depicted with the "beauty" image of the female characters which are made to be sexy which is also open for criticism.

Area of Technology 3: Audience

• Gaming is now becoming fashionable in the new market. For instance it is now seen fashionable to have the latest mobile phone with games playing on the way to work or school or to own a portable console to play on. These are now becoming regular activities and seem perfectly normal to us now but would not be 5 or 10 years ago.
• Gaming of course does have an effect on the audience. People stay inside to play on games and in some games like Second Life (see previous post) people actually live their lives by working, raising families, doing everyday activities on the internet in a 3D game form rather than experience their lives actually living instead of doing it in the form of a virtual them.
• Gaming therefore is not a hobby or something to do it is a way of life something that they are completlty devoted to at the launch of the new PS3 there were mile long queues of people waiting for the release it has almost become a religion for some in the audience that they are willing to live their lives virtually instead of in reality.

Area of Study 2: Institiutions

• ?

Area of study 1: Technology

• Gaming has undergone significant development in the last few years. Not only with new game consoles being introduced to the market but the new technology installed in them. For instance consoles are not just a one dimensional product that just plays games they now also play music, play DVDs and now can connect to network gaming online.
• Gaming is aimed mainly at a young male audience between the ages of 16-34 however it is now expanding with the type of games being introduced e.g. interactive online gaming is now tapping into the female audience which is widening the appeal of gaming.
• Gaming is a new media that is developing fast with the improvement of technology and the rate at which the industry is developing could lead to even more impressive and multi-compatible consoles in the future. The skys the limit for gaming.
• The market is genrally controlled by 3 major companies and there are currently 3 main consoles on the market. The companies are Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo who produces the PlayStation 3, X-box 360 and the Wii respectivly. However Nintendo and Sony are tapping into the portable consoles with Nintendo producing the DS and Sony the PSP.

Sony unveils a 3D MySpace with games

Sony unveils a 3D MySpace with games

• Ps3 can be used to connect online where people can meet and talk with other online gamers
• Development of consoles that they are no longer just about games that the ability to connect online is the future of consoles

Online Gaming

One of the most popular on-line games is 'Second Life'. This game is a virtual real world that almost 5.5million people currently play. People contol themselves in this virtual 3D world and live their lives building houses, going to work and even making money.
What is second life?
What is the world of Second Life?
Virtual land!
Finding friends!
Make real money!!

Second Life really is a world of its own and shows the development of online gaming as well as how strange some people can be!