The Future of Gaming

Posted Tuesday 19th February 2008 by Tom P in Uncategorized.

A meeting of the most forward thinking minds in the video game industry is ongoing this week in San Francisco. The purpose of the meeting is to reflect on what has been an amazing year for the industry and where they can build on this success. The Game Developer’s Conference pools the work of all the major industry players and asks their views on the last twelve months; so far games such as Halo 3 , Bio-shock and Uncharted have been regarded as the must have titles of 2007.

Figures show that the revenues generated by video games increased by forty three percent during 2007; a whole third more than 2006. The reason for this growth has been attributed to the targeting of ‘casual gamers’ rather than hardened ‘game nuts.’ Such ‘casual’ games take less time to complete and are more suitable for families and younger players; the Nintendo Wii can be seen as one console that has wholeheartedly attempted to corner this market.

That is not to say that the hardcore gamers were ignored throughout 2007; Halo 3 was clearly aimed at the hardcore gamers and recorded the largest earnings on its release day than any entertainment release in the past. The popularity of games such as Guitar Hero has however shown that casual gaming is certainly going to be a major element of the industry in the coming years.

One item for debate will be how the human-computer interface is likely to change in the future. The Wii has already experimented successfully with new forms of interface control with its multi-gyro handset. Companies at the conference will be showing developers technologies such as headsets and sensors that detect brainwaves as a means of control. Also camera equipment will be promoted that allows for depth of movement around a computer generated environment. The hope is that eventually the controller will become obsolete and just swinging your arms and moving around the room will control game characters and actions.

Mobile gaming will also be a matter of debate at the conference. With increasing profits and more powerful mobile phones out there, the importance of this medium to the gaming industry is becoming apparent. With keynote speeches from major players such as Microsoft the conference will be keenly followed by the video gaming fraternity. As the decision makers in the industry, what is discussed here will most likely make it into our living rooms in a matter of years.

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