Video games are poised to "eclipse" all other forms of entertainment, according to games studio boss Mike Griffith. The Activision chief made the bold call during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He said video games were prospering as interest in almost every other category of entertainment declines. Mr Griffith said social gaming, more interactivity and better technology would help gaming dominate the entertainment landscape in future. He said: "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors." He quoted US market statistics which showed that between 2003 and 2007 sales of movie tickets fell by 6%; the number of hours of TV watched dropped by 6%, sales of recorded music slumped 12% and purchases of DVDs remained flat. Over the same four-year period, said Mr Griffith, the video game industry grew by 40%. "Video games are poised to eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the decade ahead," he said. The success of Guitar Hero, said Mr Griffith, showed how influential gaming had become on many other entertainment sectors. He quoted Nielsen SoundScan data which showed that artists whose music featured on Guitar HEro had seen a rise in download sales of 15-843%. The game had proved so popular that some bands, such as Metallica and Aerosmith, were bringing out a version of the game that only features their music. "Music has a history of evolving through technology and we are at the beginning of the latest chapter in that story," he said. Technology, community and interactivity were the three factors that would help the video game industry become the driving force in entertainment, said Mr Griffith. The powerful processors in consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360 meant that games were getting ever more realistic and immersive, he said. "Games are no longer pre-set trips through linear mazes," said Mr Griffith. "They are becoming a legitimate story-telling medium that rivals feature films." He cited the video game of the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace (QoS) as an example of how games were taking over. "The moviegoer is passive whereas the gamer is active and part of the game itself," he said, adding that anyone who played QoS would spend more than 50 hours in the company of James Bond compared to only 106 minutes if they watched the movie. The communities growing up around titles such as Guitar Hero World Tour also showed how entertainment was changing, he said. Owners of the game had created 141,000 tracks of their own using its in-built mixing studio and uploaded them to the Guitar Hero community site, which now has more than 600,000 members, he said.
More interactive controllers such as the guitars and drums in Guitar Hero and the Wiimote on Nintendo's gaming console were also helping encourage more people to take up gaming, said Mr Griffiths. "Those new controllers are encouraging new ways to become more socially active in gaming," he said. "They are bringing in a whole new group of consumers that have never before been involved in gaming." He concluded: "The one thing that is for sure is entertainment is changed forever with gaming." BBC JAN 09
Thursday 15 January 2009
Game industry finally notices girls
Design & baby-sitting video games target a growing market
Stereotypes aside, the booming video game industry is becoming less male-oriented. With the release of Nintendo DS and Wii, "we're starting to see a much higher influx of female gamers," said Rich Valiquette, director of development for Tornado Studios in Tulsa. And major publishers are starting to take notice. Tornado Studios is a new company based off an old one called 2015, which produced popular games like "Men of Valor" and "Medal of Honor: Allied Assault," Valiquette said. Now, they're working on a game that's geared largely toward girls. He couldn't give more details than that, but it's expected to come out this year. A recent study showed that game usage among girls jumped from 50 percent in 2006 to 57 percent in 2008, said Ann Hamilton, a senior brand manager with game publisher Ubisoft. The forum for girls has doubled in the past two years, so they're playing even more now. Everyone is, after peeking at the figures. With more than 3.6 million combined systems sold in November, Wii and Nintendo DS set new hardware sales records, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. The Wii console sold more than 2 million in November, a new all-time record for a non-December month. And the Nintendo DS system sold more than 1.56 million in November, which is now the second-highest total for a non-December month in history. In total, the Wii console has sold 15.4 million in the United States since it launched in November 2006, and Nintendo DS has sold nearly 24.6 million in the United States since it launched in November 2004.
"What's driving the Wii sales is the use of Wii by women, girls and families," Hamilton said. "It's a really female-driven platform." Ubisoft — whose popular titles include "Assassin's Creed," "Brothers in Arms" and "Prince of Persia" — has two lines of video games for girls, Hamilton said — Imagine and Ener-G. The 16 titles from Imagine allow girls to role-play in real-life activities, including fashion, interior design, baby-sitting, even acting. Ener-G was launched most recently as the first-ever sports line in video games for girls. "Girls wanted sports games to play, as well," such as gymnastics and horseback riding, Hamilton said. Ubisoft has a cheerleading game coming out in February and a figure-skating game in March, both on Nintendo DS. These interactive games are great for self-expression and creativity among girls, Hamilton said. Like with Imagine's "Fashion Designer New York," girls can create clothes (from picking necklines and lengths of sleeves to what color the garment will be), as well as accessorize the outfits, choose models to wear them and show their designs in a fashion show. Such games are great for socialization, too. "Video games kind of have this reputation for being a solo activity," Hamilton said, but 65 percent of children playing them are doing so with others. Companies doing the best job of reaching this growing market are those that realize girls are a key part of the gaming community, Valiquette said. TULSA WORLD JAN 09
Stereotypes aside, the booming video game industry is becoming less male-oriented. With the release of Nintendo DS and Wii, "we're starting to see a much higher influx of female gamers," said Rich Valiquette, director of development for Tornado Studios in Tulsa. And major publishers are starting to take notice. Tornado Studios is a new company based off an old one called 2015, which produced popular games like "Men of Valor" and "Medal of Honor: Allied Assault," Valiquette said. Now, they're working on a game that's geared largely toward girls. He couldn't give more details than that, but it's expected to come out this year. A recent study showed that game usage among girls jumped from 50 percent in 2006 to 57 percent in 2008, said Ann Hamilton, a senior brand manager with game publisher Ubisoft. The forum for girls has doubled in the past two years, so they're playing even more now. Everyone is, after peeking at the figures. With more than 3.6 million combined systems sold in November, Wii and Nintendo DS set new hardware sales records, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. The Wii console sold more than 2 million in November, a new all-time record for a non-December month. And the Nintendo DS system sold more than 1.56 million in November, which is now the second-highest total for a non-December month in history. In total, the Wii console has sold 15.4 million in the United States since it launched in November 2006, and Nintendo DS has sold nearly 24.6 million in the United States since it launched in November 2004.
"What's driving the Wii sales is the use of Wii by women, girls and families," Hamilton said. "It's a really female-driven platform." Ubisoft — whose popular titles include "Assassin's Creed," "Brothers in Arms" and "Prince of Persia" — has two lines of video games for girls, Hamilton said — Imagine and Ener-G. The 16 titles from Imagine allow girls to role-play in real-life activities, including fashion, interior design, baby-sitting, even acting. Ener-G was launched most recently as the first-ever sports line in video games for girls. "Girls wanted sports games to play, as well," such as gymnastics and horseback riding, Hamilton said. Ubisoft has a cheerleading game coming out in February and a figure-skating game in March, both on Nintendo DS. These interactive games are great for self-expression and creativity among girls, Hamilton said. Like with Imagine's "Fashion Designer New York," girls can create clothes (from picking necklines and lengths of sleeves to what color the garment will be), as well as accessorize the outfits, choose models to wear them and show their designs in a fashion show. Such games are great for socialization, too. "Video games kind of have this reputation for being a solo activity," Hamilton said, but 65 percent of children playing them are doing so with others. Companies doing the best job of reaching this growing market are those that realize girls are a key part of the gaming community, Valiquette said. TULSA WORLD JAN 09
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