Archive for: video games
As males are usually the ones playing video games (or so it’s assumed), it makes sense that guys would make up the majority of the gaming industry. The number of women employed in the field is paltry in comparison. However, the Entertainment Software Association conducted research in 2011 showing the number of females in the industry is on the rise, and women now make up 42 percent of all gamers. Females over the age of 18 are one of the quickest growing gamer demographics. Although video game studies aren’t so prevalent a field yet that there are any PhD options online, dedicated game development education is also growing and seeing an influx of female students. Despite this swelling of the ranks, women still have a hard time finding their way into the professional field of video games. Not only do they remain in the minority, they’re also paid less than their male counterparts.
Females are rarely treated with the same respect as males in the gaming industry, both in online and real-life interactions. Women working in the world of gaming aren’t taken as seriously as men. What continues to makes things even worse is the prevalent portrayal of females in video games: many are dressed in provocative clothing to accentuate extra-large busts, like the archetypal Lara Croft. Tammy Yap, a video game programmer for six years, says she asked one of her male colleagues (she was the only female) why women were always dressed like Vegas show girls. After all, this might offend some women and drive them away from gaming. The reply she received was: “What difference does it make? Women don’t play games.” Her colleague’s retort serves as a good example of the general attitude of most men when it comes to women gamers.
Unfortunately, female gamers aren’t getting their opinions attended to in the video game world. With so few women working in the industry, the video game market is close to being entirely ruled by men. Without having a female representative making her voice heard in the industry, female gamers won’t find as many games that they’re interested in on the market. Famous video game producer Denise Fulton thinks if more women played video games, then more women would start landing jobs in the industry. The consensus is that they would if more games were available that were more appealing to female players.
Playing video games is still branded as a boyish hobby. Women looking to enter the gaming industry already have it tough, but the rate at which they are finding jobs may stagnate if fellow female gamers aren’t willing to step up. Thankfully, this path has already begun being forged by prominent gaming women such as Morgan Webb and Denise Fulton, and indeed the evidence suggests the number of girls playing games is rising. Perceptions are already changing, and it may be only a matter of time before women’s presence in the game industry better reflects their growing numbers among players.
This new device aims to enhance your multimedia experience, its called SMELLIT. SMELLIT allows you to smell you favourite movies and video games. It has a very interesting design that looks quite a lot like desktop speakers.
SMELLIT is still in prototype, so we still dont know the exact details on what smells the device will be able to produce. However, there are a lot of times when I watch tv when Im very glad I dont have smellivision.
via – Technabob
“Social” was very much the buzzword of 2010 and the eager smattering of the word throughout western media does not look to be ending any time soon.
Companies and their subsequent brands are realising that their audiences are largely located on social networking hubs online and are having to change their marketing tact to reflect the needs of their target markets. It has also been suspected for a while that social is becoming more important to the mysterious algorithm which determines the rankings of web pages in relation to certain search terms in Google. This was seemingly confirmed by the search engine’s recent announcement of Google “+1” (which provides SERPS based on a system similar to Facebook’s “Like” button) which is expected to be rolled out within the next 6 months.
Social elements have even been employed by the videogame industry too but for a different reason; to extend the longevity of interest in games. Well, at least one game anyway…
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (the 16th title in the NFS series) was released in November last year. The game’s trailer opens with the following statement:
“WARNING:
Those in relationships are advised against playing of this videogame.
Connecting to the NEED FOR SPEED AUTOLOG enables extreme competition through exact documentation of records and stats from your friends.
Hard feelings, creative profanity and grudge matches are likely.”
The NFS: HP Autolog comprises a “wall” akin to the type that you would find on social networking website Facebook but it is localised within the game only. When a players console is connected to the internet, Autolog automatically keeps connected friends updated with regards to new records set, career progress and challenges from peers. The feature also provides players with recommendations based on the latest activity of their friends. Players can also leave visual snapshots of in game moments on the wall and as well as comments next to the posts announcing newly achieved records. This makes for a dynamic competitive element and thus; helps longevity of interest in the game for as long as possible after their release date.
Autolog is to be featured in the next Need for Speed title (‘Shift 2: Unleashed’) but I am more interested to see whether other games developers follow suit and integrate this type of social arm into their own titles in the future. You think that they would when you consider the fact that Hot Pursuit won a BAFTA for its multiplayer element and the gaming press couldn’t commend the Autolog enough. NFS: HP is also the most highly critically acclaimed racing game of the decade (receiving an average of 90% in reviews) and it has shifted over 5 million copies to date, indicating that the feature was both embraced and loved.
Guest post by: Kat Cole is keen XBOX 360 gamer and thinks that her skills should not be underestimated simply because she is female! This year she is most excited for the release of the extremely long awaited Duke Nukem Forever which she has already pre-ordered from GameStop – even though it is not released until June!
Activision have confirmed that there will be no more Guitar Hero. Yesterday, Activision Publishing’s CEO Eric Hirshberg explained the cull in the firm’s Q4 2010 earnings call.
“Although we did well with the core gamer in 2010, we felt the effects of changing consumer demand for peripheral-based and mid-tier titles, which performed well below our expectations.
After two years of steeply declining sales, we’ve made the decision to close our Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on our previously playing Guitar Hero title for 2011.
Despite a remarkable 92 rating on DJ Hero 2, a widely well-regarded Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as well as the 90-plus rated release from our most direct competitor, demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace.
Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand. Instead, what we’ll do is focus our time and energies on marketing and supporting our strong catalogue of titles and downloadable content, especially to new consumers, as the install base for hardware continues to grow.
In addition to changes in music, we announced our decision to discontinue development on True Crime: Hong Kong. Even our most optimistic internal projections show that continued investment is not going to lead to a title at or near the top of the competitive open-world genre. In an industry where only the best games in each category are flourishing, to be blunt, it just wasn’t going to be good enough.
Since the day I arrived at the company, I’ve said that I believe the best way to achieve commercial success is to provide gamers with the highest possible creative quality. The decision to stop production on True Crime is based solely on that belief.
These are tough decisions, but we believe they’re the right decisions being made for the right reasons. And they reflect our ongoing commitment to delivering the games that gamers want to play. As a result of these decisions, we enter 2011 a leaner, more focused organization.
We intend to devote our time and resource to the areas, where we have true competitive advantages and the potential to make gaming experiences that are best-in-class. Our product line-up will be more focused, should be more profitable and will provide deeper online experiences than ever before”.
via InappropriateBunny
The WSJ is reporting that HTC has invested $40 million into streaming video game company OnLive. Does that mean that we will soon be seeing games on the OnLive cloud transfer onto phones also? Or could we see the HTC brand move onto more than just phones?
Tired of iTunes? Not liking the Amazon platform? The one thing we don’t lack is many ways to get the same thing we want. Both platforms along with a few lesser known platforms offer ways to acquire digital content. Music, movies, TV shows, all downloadable from these platforms, but the one “ring” to rule them all thus far has been Apple’s dominating iTunes store.
If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to disconnect from Apple, perhaps Sony has the option for you. It’s been rumored recently that an announcement could come, as early as tomorrow according to a post on 1up.com, on an iTunes competitor from Sony would be released on the PS3 and PSP devices, to be followed by other products in Sony’s lineup. According to the article, a reliable source from the Financial Times, states that the service will be subscription based and offer music and movies. The announcement is rumored to be made at IFA Berlin this week.
PS3 owners are already familiar with ordering and renting films from the Playstation Store, but a dedicated service across multiple platforms including their Bravia TV lines could be the next big thing to compete with Apple. The report states that while the service will be announced, it actually won’t be available until next year.
Can Sony do it? There no doubt iTunes has become the norm for many of us, but I’d like to think there’s a fighting chance for Sony in all this. Leave your comments below on whether you think this service has a chance on Sony’s products.
Two things that I can’t get enough of, retro technology coming back in a big way, and plenty of storage for all my digital data. Recently some of our favorite Nintendo NES titles are being given a new lease on life, but not as video games, or re-hashed HD titles on 3rd party systems, but as storage devices for our laptops and desktops.
The NES hard drives come a variety of sizes up to 1TB, now that’s a lot of storage. The NES cartridges come some some classic flavors such as Mario/Duckhunt, Metroid, Bionic Commando, Contra, Tetris, and Dr. Mario to name a few. The storage devices are built into the original casings for these games with game imagery and all. They feature a 2.5-inch Toshiba drive with USB interfaces.
NES hard drives range in price from $130 – $180, depending on the size. Their nondescript look will wow your friends who won’t expect the classics of yesterday to be used as storage devices today. As a fan of the old NES system seeing these cartridges again brings back memories of late night gaming and trading games with friends.
George Hotz, the famous geek boy who hacked for the first time an iPhone, said recently on Twitter that he won’t be trying any more bypass the security and controls from Sony’s console PlayStation 3.
Actually he completed an important milestone a while ago; by accessing the PlayStation 3 kernel; where he found several secrets of this console, but the result of getting it hacked was not completed. Sony did not object any of his tasks, even more they encourage him to take over control of this console; but failure was at the end of his trip.
George said: “It was a cool ride, and I’ve learned a lot about a lot. Perhaps one of these days I’ll do a more formal goodbye.” Which makes us wonder about if this “retirement” it is not actually a defeated soldier who just gave up trying?
Hotz credibility was also questioned a while ago when he distributed a fake photo when he said he just hacked the iPhone 4.
Besides all that, we have to admit: Even though I’m no expert on hacking devices, the work on PlayStation 3 by Sony has been incredible.
E3 has been a veritable treasure trove of announcements, especially in a time where the consoles are fighting it out for supremacy for a new year. Nintendo was sure not to be left behind, as the innovator in console gaming released information on the Nintendo 3DS as well as a small lineup of games.
Now, it can’t go without saying that Nintendo has released so many iterations of it’s hand held system that many are hesitant to pick up new devices knowing that another is sure to follow. Still, that being said, fanboys are fanboys and the Nintendo 3DS is an experience that many of us are excited to explore.
The Nintendo 3DS will come with a 3-D capable top and bottom 3.5 inch screen, a motion sensor, gyro, an analog nub, and three cameras. The system also has some premier titles attached including Kid Icarus, Mario Kart, Ridge Racer, and Kingdom Hearts. No special glasses are required to play on the system, and Nintendo is confident that the new system will be the future of gaming, at least in the mobile space.
What are your thoughts on the 3DS? Is Nintendo pushing too hard with yet another iteration of hit’s mobile system or is it something you welcome and wait for with anticipation?
OnLive was first mentioned some time ago much to the disbelief of many in the gaming industry. The concept of being able to play any game online without installing and using physical media created a level playing field for anyone who wanted to access games, regardless of platform or location. Recently OnLive announced it would officially launch on June 17th, literally in a matter of days. Access to high profile games like Dragon Age Online, Just Cause 2, Assassins Creed II, and so many more, the rush of the masses is almost guaranteed.
OnLive offers cloud gaming services for some of the most popular titles.
In a partnership with AT&T, OnLive is offering founding members free membership for an entire year, and then charging an optional 2nd year at $4.95/month. Sounds like they are really looking at ramping up a fanbase, and with this kind of offer, it just might work.
How do you become a founding member?
If you sign-up on OnLive’s page, gamers will be chosen at random to be a part of this opportunity provided they meet the qualifications (which are pretty standard based on what I’ve seen). The idea has had fans waiting anxiously for the cloud gaming service, and while system tests are provided via the site, it could change the way future console games are released.
Could this be the service that acts as the console killer? I personally don’t think so. There’s a huge number of gamers that don’t care for gaming online, and unless you connect your computer to your TV, it’s just not comfortable to sit in your computer chair for long periods of time. I personally prefer the couch or soft chair if I plan on gaming for a long time. But only time will tell what the gaming fans think once OnLive is launched.
