Showing posts with label t. Video/Digital Gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label t. Video/Digital Gaming. Show all posts
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Digital Culture - Emerging Opportunity
Much of the current debate about the impact of the digital age on arts and culture focuses on issues related to file sharing, intellectual property and how best to manage digital music technology. As a result, we often find ourselves defending arts and culture from an inevitable transition. This brief paper summarizes some of the opportunities we could be looking at if we took the 'glass half full' perspective. Consider:
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Access to Art:
millions of p2p users are online at any given moment - sharing music, images and video
thousands of new artists are getting exposure that the traditional music industry would have blocked
listeners who are excited about a new sound, etc. are sharing with friends over a coffee table, a distribution list, a blog - popular underground marketing at its best
access to hard to get music and movies is facilitated both by online distribution systems and social networks that identify and extol the virtues of little known talent
increasingly, art is available in digital format - see Digital Living Gallery, created by Bandai (a toy and game company) and the creation of a photoframe that looks like a traditional picture frame with artistic content both included and available (e.g. Renoir, van Gogh) - Deviant Art.com shares over 35 million digital artwork
online books have become a fact - dramatically reducing the cost per copy, with the potential to democratize access
increasingly music, visual art and performing art performers and groups will turn to mass distribution at a lower price (or even as a market teaser/loss leader) as the optimal means of attracting enthusiasts to their paying products, venues and performances - a possible win/win situation based on increased accessibility.
Virtual Institutions:
specialized galleries and museums will always have trouble finding critical mass in their narrow geographical market, but are now reaching out to any and all who share their relatively narrow interests around the globe
a number of organizations are engaged in the awesome task of putting millions of books online - Google is targeting the 10 million most popular, half a dozen other such projects have plans to scan the texts of over 60 million books by 2020 - clearly the world's greatest library
the European Commission has launched Eurpeana, a showcase to encourage organizations to donate digital content - it hopes to be the greatest online repository of European culture available (art, films, books, music)
our ability to curate online shows with content borrowed from instititutions around the world is seemingly endless - in time, the consumer may well be the curator, sharing his or her 'production' with others just as music playlists are shared today.
New Creative Opportunities:
a 2005 study found that 57% of American teenagers create content on the internet
PhotoShop, Corel and others have created a technical environment that has spawned a new generation and massive wave of digital art - while galleries and museums focus primarily on using digital technology to store copies of traditional art forms, not yet ready to embrace the new modern art
millions are creating and sharing writing, photography, video productions - Fotolog, Blogger, LiveJournal, Flickr, Broadcaster (to name but a few)
Creative Networking:
millions are creating and sharing writing, photography and video productions with friends and specialized interest groups every day - using social networking sites, blogs, YouTube, etc.
artists with specialized interests are in touch regularly using the same social networking supports - learning together, supporting one another, facilitating creative opportunities
increasingly we will be building virtual cultural spaces - where we expererience the same artistic stimulant and learn to appreciate each others culture-based response
Shared Spaces:
virtual worlds, of which Second Life is a part, comprise one of the fastest growing relms of virtual reality - once the domain of the gaming industry, many corporations and politicians are now creating virtual territory (press conferences, product demos, town hall meetings)
by 2007, there were almost 6 million Second Life residents the US and a study showed a single day expenditure of $1,636,815 in Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com/)
virtual travel is taking people to simulated cafes in cities around the world, to art galleries and museums, to parks, to events - and these 'travellers' are interacting in real time with people with shared interests from other countries
Intercultural Dialogue:
portals, blogs and partcipatory internet enable intercultural dialogue
even though we speak different languages, the digital age is supporting new ways of exchanging cultural opinion, views, services and products
language barriers are being overcome through technology - Web portal Lycos has a free translation service (Babel Firsh) making translation algorithms available to all; new Google tools are removing language as a barrier to communication across the full international scope of the Internet
digital culture changes our relation to one another and to knowledge transfer, removing previous boundaries inherent in traditional art/cultural communication and distribution systems - ultimately redefining cultural creativity
we have no idea where this potential convergence of cultures will take us - but digital technology is likely the 'game changer' that will define our global cultural future.
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Video Game Trends
Annual retail sales of video games now exceed each of music, DVD and box office revenues. And the industry is changing dramatically. The following big trends will influence how this significant leisure market evolves.
Trend 1: Broader Demographic
The average age of gamers is increasing from its current already high average age of 32 (US) and the percentage of gamers who are female is increasing at approximately 4-5% per year from its current level of 40%. This broader market is a response to:
Trend 1: Broader Demographic
The average age of gamers is increasing from its current already high average age of 32 (US) and the percentage of gamers who are female is increasing at approximately 4-5% per year from its current level of 40%. This broader market is a response to:
- Nintendo's Wii that makes participation much more active and appeals to new segments
- an increasing number of "games" that are no longer about competition
- the social aspects that come with online gaming.
Trend 2: Virtual Worlds
Increasingly games are providing a multi-sensorial experience - building a realistic, real world feel and context. Developers are investing much more in 'contextualizing' while making the immediate action much more life like.
Trend 3: Mobile Gaming
Gaming devices are shrinking in size and many no longer require a fixed link to the TV in the living room at home. The mobile game market is already a multi-million dollar industry and will grow even faster as a result of:
- integration with mobile phones (e.g. iPhone)
- the mobile game industry linking with online gaming
- gaming franchises developing with the smart phone in mind (not just gaming consoles)
- the increasing interest of branded programs in mobile gaming.
Trend 4: Game Hardware - All You Need?
Consumers know that they have too many boxes in their entertainment room/space. Increasingly they will consider their game console (XBox or PS3) as an option for accessing movies and talking to friends. Firms like Microsoft will capitalize on these convergence opportunities to compete directly with cable and telephone providers.
Trend 5: Physical Activity through Gaming
Wii has revolutionized the gaming industry and lifted gamers off the couch. Microsoft's Natal will support the next big step towards physically active gaming - a screen mounted camera that can recognize every movement that you make - with related 'game' software generating an appropriate response. Imagine the potential for the gamer moving about his or her own room relating to the virtual world, competitor or challenge presented on the screen.
Trend 6: Next Generation Social Gaming
Online gaming has definitely arrived: 76% of Wii users are online gamers; 70% for XBox360; and 70% for PlayStation3. MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games) have taken off, generating more that $1.5 billion in subscription revenues in 2008 - with projections to $2.5 billion by 2012. One game, World of Warcraft, has more than 11.5 million monthly subscribers. Developers are continuing to find new ways to use RTP (real-time play) to transform the gaming experience.
Trend 7: From Consumers to Contributors
With enhanced online opportunities, many gamers will no longer be content to simply buy or subscribe to a fixed product. They will be actively engaged in modifying, customizing and taking the digital experience to the next level - in the process, joining the game design and production process.
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Gaming - World's Biggest Entertainment Industry
The total value of worldwide annual retail sales for video game software now exceeds equivalent numbers for music, DVD or box office revenues. In 2007, consumers spent $20.7 billion on hardware and $34.7 billion on software.
Source: www.slideshare.net/EhOs/video-game-industry-trends
| Value of Purchases (billion $) | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
Hardware | 9.4 | 13.2 | 20.7 |
Software | 24.2 | 26.5 | 34.7 |
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Many assume that the majority of video game players are children and youth. The opposite is actually true with almost 60% of US gamers being over the age of 25. The current average age of US gamers is 32. Moreover, when we look at the ages of new gamers (having played for less than two years), this percentage rises to 67%.
Source: www.scribd.com/doc/16938922/Gaming-Trends-2009
60% of US gamers are male; 40% female. However this too is changing. According to a study by NPD Group (Gamer Segmentation 2009):
Changing Digital Gamer Demographics - US
Many assume that the majority of video game players are children and youth. The opposite is actually true with almost 60% of US gamers being over the age of 25. The current average age of US gamers is 32. Moreover, when we look at the ages of new gamers (having played for less than two years), this percentage rises to 67%.
Age Group | % New Gamers (under 2 yrs) | % Established Gamers (over 2 yrs) |
45 - 54 | 20% | 17% |
35 - 44 | 20% | 20% |
25 - 34 | 27% | 22% |
18 - 24 | 16% | 19% |
12 - 17 | 17% | 22% |
60% of US gamers are male; 40% female. However this too is changing. According to a study by NPD Group (Gamer Segmentation 2009):
- female gamers showed a four percentage point rise in 2009 compared to 2008 among both Heavy Portable and Extreme Gamers
- females increased by five percentage points among Console Gamers (from 23% in 2008 to 28% in 2009).
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