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.