The Future of Gaming

Gaming is a new media technology which is growing steadily at an alarming rate and this trend looks set to continue in the future. This growth is being fueled by the ever-broadening audience for games, with many women and older people now getting into the new generation of gaming.

There is also the new idea of user-generated content in games which this article on bbc.co.uk discusses. This is where "gamers, instead of being thrown into a universe created by teams of designers, can grow their own world, inhabited by any shape of creature they can imagine." This style of game reduces the costs of game designers and therefore increases the profits of the companies, whilst at the same time gives gamers a truly personal gaming experience.

I personally do not believe that the gaming industry can continue to grow at this rate and eventually the public will find other ways to amuse themselves. However for the time being at least I think that ideas such as user-generated content will help to keep the gaming industry expanding and growing at its present rate.

Key Terms - Gaming

Microsoft

Sony

Nintendo Wii

X-Box 360

Playstation 3

Demographics

Digitisation

High definition

Blue-ray

MMO (massive multiplayer online)

RPG (role-playing game)

EDi – Electronic Distribution initiative

Social interaction

Customisation

Personalisation

Key NMT terms

Convergence

Democratisation

Digitisation

Personalisation

Interactivity

Web 2.0

Linear / non-linear

Push technology

Pull technology

Digital divide

New media technologies

"global village"

Narrowcasting / Broadcasting

Area of Study 4 - Issues

A major issue in gaming at the moment is violence - Games such as Grand Theft Auto, Hitman and Manhunt have come under recent scrutiny for being too violent and people are questioning whether these games could be responsible for certain crimes.

Another major issue is that of obesity - Many children are spending hours in front of TV screens playing on games instead of being out in the fresh air.

Some games are also critised for being too gender specific - the vast majority of games have a strong male hero which could be seen as negative stereotyping as the men are portrayed as being stronger and more powerful than female characters. There are some exceptions, most notably 'Tomb Raider' who's hero is Lara Croft.

Area of Study 3 - Audience

Gaming is now a very fashionable commodity in the new market. For example it is now seen as a very important aspect of life to have the latest mobile phone or to have a portable console such as a PSP to play on. These are now perfectly normal activities and have become second nature to us.

Gaming can have a major influence on the audience and in some games like Second Life people actually live their lives by working and doing everyday activities such as shopping and talking on the internet in a 3D game rather than in reality.

Area of Study 2 - Institutions

Gaming companies are increasing their profits by converging their products with the film, television and music industries. They have also started creating games which are based on famous films, such as 'Finding Nemo' and 'Star Wars', this is designed to help them reach a wider market of not just gamers but also movie and television fans. Music fans can also buy games such as Singstar and Guitar Hero, which encourage personalisation and are very interactive.

Area of Study 1 - Technology

Gaming has undergone a massive change in the last few years, not merely with new games consoles that have been released but the new technology that they incorporate. The consoles or 'home entertainment systems' now play DVD's, CD's, and internet multiplayer games.

Gaming is primarily targeted at men between the ages of 10-30 although with the new trend of multiplayer online games the market is spreading to try to appeal to the female audience as well.

Gaming is a NMT that is developing at an extraordinary rate and in the future there is sure to be systems which can do everything a person wants from an entertainment console.

The market is mainly controlled by 3 major companies and they each have a console on the market. These companies are Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo who produce 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.

Playstation Home

PlayStation Home is a free service on the new Playstation 3 console which allows the user to create their own personal 'avatar' and play out their life in a virtual world. Each user has their own house and the fully interactive service allows them to talk to thousands of other ps3 users. There are a number of moral issues which are raised by this service, such as whether people in the future will be able to live thier lives without leaving their own home if this trend of converging everything a person needs into one system continues. There is also the issue of whether young people will lose their social skills if they favour virtual interaction over face to face contact, this could lead to all sorts of problems within society and the increasingly sedentary lifestyle would increase obesity levels hugely. Personally i believe that the thought of people living without leaving their homes is scary and could put serious strain on the human race's development. It would also mean that large companies could control people's opinions and views as they would be able to moderate what news the general public were given.

Hypothesis

The areas that i am going to be investigating are:

Which of the new consoles offers the consumer the widest range of services?

Who are the winners and losers of the gaming industry's constant development?

How is the gaming industry finding new ways of making money out of consumers?

What moral issues are online games posing to the young generation?

Second Life

SecondLife is the latest most contemporary virtual online game yet. It outshines its competetors such as 'The Sims' and is more popular than its rivals such as 'There'.It allows the consumer, referred to as 'residents' in the game to create and run their own virtual world.Its refined detail and provision of an advanced level of a social network service combined with conventional characteristics of a metaverse, hands down towers above any other virtual online gaming product to date. Consumers are able to create and mould their own avatar which they can then operate to their command, and interact with other gamers.From a cinema allowing consumers to watch film previews and videos uploaded by fellow gamers, to the consumer's own virtual house complete with furnishings down to the colour of the walls, Second Life has it all.It has the advantage of making gaming more of a social institution rather than an 'anti-social' activity which passively discourages one on one socialisation. It also actively encourages digital democracy as consumers are able to upload digital footage to share with whoever they wish. Alternatively, the danger of Second Life lies with the controversial debate that society is fast becoming more and more dependant on digital software. Not only are consumers dealing with the stress and expense of their own lives, but Second Life is also a game where the consumer can make money; from designing and selling add-ons to other consumers, and acting as an outlet for advertisers

Background Information

Microsoft Xbox 360:

• Released: December 2005
• Features: Plays high-definition games, as well as DVDs and CDs, and internet play allows global tournaments to be held.
• Sales so far: 10.5 million
• Price: £285

Sony Playstation 3:

• Released: March 2006
• Features: Sony's new blu-ray disks which can store vastly more information than existing disks, allowing for superb graphics. Also compatible with PS1 and PS2 games and HD dvd's.
• Sales so far: 1.5 million and rising fast
• Price: £325 or £425

Nintendo Wii:

• Released: December 2006
• Features: Its main selling point is its movement sensitive controller which allows the user to control the game by physically performing the required actions. Compatible with Nintendo GameCube games as well.
• Sales so far: 4.6 million
• Price: £180

Related Articles

The topic that i have chosen to report on is the gaming industry and there are a number of reports on this subject such as:

• This article on the guardian online which briefly compares the three new major consoles, the PS3, X-Box 360 and Nintendo Wii.
• This article which relates to the Sony Playstation 3 and gives some information about its launch and chances of success.
• This article about the problems with the Playstation 3 during its production and the effect that it had on its release.

The future of blogging

www.robinsloan.com/epic The following debates are raised by the above video:

• The moral issue of what would happen if the news was chosen by a computer and edited to suit our individual needs.
• The issue of who would be responsible for copyright.
• The idea of a custom content package which means that everybody is given different news and information depending on their personal interests and requirements.

Personally i have mixed opinions about this video. Although all of the events that take place are believable and possible i do not think that in such a competitive market there would be as much readiness for companies to allow themselves to be bought or merge with their rivals, it is this that makes me sceptical about the possibility of the events in the video taking place.

Journalism

"We're all reporters in the digital democracy" - Emily Bell

• The once passive audience now plays an active role in the media.
• Recording and sending images and videos of news events has now become second nature to the general public, allowing the news companies greater choice when reporting a story.
• National papers are becoming more like village locals in that they are influenced by the public.
• Some see it as an exploitation of the free material, although the nature of the participation is totally out of choice.

Conclusion

The professional journalists are now no longer the only source of news and in many situations the public can give a clearer insight into the story. The media is also becoming far more inclusive as the public are given a greater say in the news.

Bloggers and Journalism

"Writers who work for nothing: It's a licence to print money" - John Naughton

• Images taken from a mobile phone is an example of user-generated content, e.g. somebody involved in the Virgin train crash took a photo on their camera phone and sent it to the BBC.
• The 7/7 bombings were the first time that news networks had realised the need for user-generated content as their own photographers could not get access to the sites that were wanted.
• All over the world people are now publishing photos and videos on the web, with over 161 billion gigabytes published last year alone.
• Optimists see this new wave as an excellent way for people all over the world to express themselves freely using the internet.
• Media moguls have realised that creative consumers can help their businesses as they are willing to give information for free if you give them space.
• This means that the distribution of production is moving towards the general public but the economic rewards are going to a few rich businessmen.

Five areas of study

1. Technology What does the technology allow the audience and institution to do that they couldn’t do before? What is your chosen technology and how is it marketed? Who to? Which companies provide it and how much does it cost? Is it new media or old media undergoing radical transformation?
2. Institutions How are media institutions converging media interests to increase profit? How are they reaching audiences in new ways?
3. Audience What are experiences doing with their new media technologies? How are traditional experiences of the media changing? What are audiences not doing so that they can spend more time interacting with new media technologies? What advantages are there for the consumer? You will carry out audience research, asking opinions and investigating consumption patterns.
4. Issues Will shops close or people lose jobs as a result of the new media technology? Does it encourage illegal activity? Is it generating any “moral panics”?
5. The Future If the technology is extended, what could happen? How could media practices be different in future, based on the potential of current technologies?