David M E Taylor asked:


With Sony’s PlayStation 3 finally launched across the globe, the next-gen videogames wars can start in earnest. Microsoft already has a reasonable installed base for Xbox 360, but not enough to guarantee dominance, while Sony’s consumers’ brand loyalty is being tested to the limits by the PS3′s high price point.

Nintendo, meanwhile, has carved out a nice niche for itself by making next-gen not about hi-def, with its ridiculously named, but extremely popular Wii.

Within the industry though, most pundits are expecting a much more level playing field this time around, with Microsoft and Sony battling it out, but neither gaining significant domination over the other. This is, frankly put, a disaster for Sony whose PlayStation 2 console defined a generation, and not just of consoles.

What is the reason for this shift? One word: exclusivity. In the good old days, games publishers were convinced to launch their game on a single console, and then perhaps later allow it to grace the competitors’ machines, and so Lara boosted the original PlayStation and GTA helped the PS2 explode. With the next-gen, exclusivity is all but gone. GTA will launch on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 and Lara is two-timing the PlayStation all over the place. There are even rumours that Snake will turn tail and that Metal Gear Solid 4 will not be a PlayStation 3 exclusive. In fact, the only games that remain exclusive to a format tend to be those developed by the console manufacturers themselves, first party games as they are known.

So, what do Microsoft and Sony have up their sleeve? Sony has a game called Heavenly Sword, which has games journalists very excited, but apart from this its near-future release schedule is quite embarrassing.

Microsoft on the other hand has a machine mature enough to be expecting its second-wave of titles, games which should really be starting to take advantage of the next-gen hardware (to date, only Gears of War has really shown its next-gen credentials to gamers). And its line up is looking OK, and not just first party: Bioshock, from 2K, Mass Effect, a highly anticipated game from Bioware, who can do no wrong, Halo 3 to arrive one month after GTA IV on both platforms – you don’t have a bucket big enough to describe how many bucketloads this game will sell, Fable 2, from the well-liked Lionhead Studio and then later more Project Gotham Racing and Halo action.

Essentially, this year Xbox 360 has some good triple A games, with 2 tent pole releases in GTA IV and Halo 3. Sony has GTA IV and Heavenly Sword and then many more third party, multi-platform games.

So, expect Microsoft to shift some units with their line up, but Sony will also be hoping for a GTA effect on its console. This pinkish, if not rosy, outlook for Microsoft could change next year though. Sony has more development staff than anyone else, and while it might be taking its time, you have to expect its first party games to start coming through.

All of this, of course, is only considering the games consoles as just that, and it remains to be seen what effect, if any, the Blu-Ray (PS3) vs HD-DVD (Xbox 360) hi-definition formats for videos have on sales.



Kimberly

Roberto Sedycias asked:


A videogame console is an interactive entertainment device which apart from acting as a gaming console also acts as a device for playing music, videos, DVD and online connectivity. So, we can say that the gaming consoles not only targets the gaming fraternity but it also acts as a complete entertainment and infotainment device.

Selecting the right gaming console is a big consideration which requires study of different features offered by different leading brands and the selecting the right unit according to one`s requirements and needs. There are 3 major producers of video game consoles who have made their brand leaders amongst the various available in the industry. They are Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft`s Xbox 360, Nintendo`s Wii products and Sony`s Playstation are three major contenders for the top slot in the Video game console industry.

By discussing the major features and the corresponding advantages and disadvantages of these leading models, we will be in a position to decide upon selecting the right video game console for ourselves. There are several factors such as the price of the console, graphics capability, games selection and other features such as touch screen, portability and online features which guides in the selection of right type of video game console.

The Nintendo DS is perhaps the lowest priced videogame console at about $ 129 while the Playstation 3 at $ 599 tops the Price list amongst the leading consoles. The price of buying new games also factors in while considering the price of the console. The Nintendo games are also available for far les than the games for Xbox and Playstation.

As far as graphics quality is concerned, they are directly linked with the technology used and one is sure to find better technology in the latest models and versions of the consoles. So it is understood that the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 of Sony have much better graphic capabilities compared to other gaming consoles. Although the Nintendo Wii has lower graphic capabilities, it is quite satisfactory for the casual gamers who enjoy gaming a lot. The older models have more or less same graphical capacity in them.

The contents of the games in the system are a very important for kids whose main purpose to buy a videogame console is to enjoy their choice of games. It is prudent to check the games library in the device before making a final decision. The Playstation and Playstation 2 of Sony and the Super Nintendo have a wide collection of games in it.

If one likes the Mario series of games then they are to be found on the Nintendo series of consoles, the Halo series of games are only included in the Microsoft`s consoles such as the Xbox and Xbox 360 while the Final Fantasy series of games are available only on Playstation 2 from Sony. The Nintendo`s gamecube series carries lots of games which are most popular with kids such as the GEMs collection, the Pokemon series etc.

Then there comes the super features of the consoles such as touch screen which is available in Nintendo while the Xbox has the most versatile online gaming capabilities. So, before finally deciding upon a gaming console, if one weighs all the above options one is sure to get guided in the selection with due consideration to their budget and other requirements. A detailed listing of the features expected by you in your videogame console will help you in proper comparison and evaluation of the various models depending upon your requirements.



Nicholas

Martinapp asked:


Soprattutto negli USA che sono sempre un passo avanti nelle mode come nelle crisi, ma anche dalle nostre parti si sta diffondendo un nuovo modo di divertirsi. Con stipendi e mancette sempre più tirate, ormai i sabati sera non serve più uscire ed andare per locali per divertirsi.

L’ultima tendenza sembra infatti quella di trovarsi tutti a casa di qualcuno ed organizzare serate di giochi e svago con l’ausilio delle varie console di gioco, prima fra tutte la Nintendo Wii, che con i suoi giochi interattivi e adatti ad ogni tipo di pubblico è divenuta la console che nel minor tempo ha venduto nel mondo ben 50 milioni di esemplari.

Nonostante la crisi, l’industria dei videogame sembra non registrare perdite troppo preoccupanti. Le vendite globali hanno toccato quota 32 miliardi di dollari l’anno scorso, riducendo le vendite di dvd a 29 miliardi per la prima volta. È una somma enorme e che probabilmente continuerà a crescere esponenzialmente nei prossimi anni. A quanto pare l’industria dei videogame dimostra di poter resistere alla crisi molto meglio della maggior parte delle altre.

Qualche decade fa, quando hanno iniziato a comparire i primi videogame, soprattutto negli Stati Uniti, nessuno si sarebbe aspettato il travolgente boom di questi anni. A dominare la scena negli ultimi anni sono però soprattutto le aziende giapponesi, come la Sony con la Playstation e la Nintendo che con Wii e Ds sta davvero spopolando. Entrambe le console di casa Nintendo hanno adottato software e giochi che si basano su filosofie di vendita differenti dal passato, ovvero diffonderne l’uso anche alle fasce di società che finora non erano interessate ai videogiochi. Sul Nintendo Ds è inoltre possibile utilizzare la r4 card e giocare quindi a moltissimi giochi.

Il 3 aprile inoltre è uscito il nuovo Dsi, nuovo gioiello di casa Nintendo, con ben due fotocamere integrate, lettore mp3 ma che introduce anche la possibilità di regolare la velocità di riproduzione (pitch control), funzione fondamentale per lo studio delle lingue straniere. Si può quindi immaginare quali software – oltre a quelli puramente ludici – verranno presenti sul mercato. Finalmente è stata introdotta anche una porta per leggere schede SD.

È evidente la differenza anche col mercato dei PC, i cui prezzi, come quelli dei cd vergini stanno pian piano calando, anche in questo settore pare si avvertano segnali di crisi. La flessione potrebbe essere tra l’11,9& e il 4,5% circa. In un periodo di crisi sembra abbastanza scontato, però ci sono settori invece che risentono molto meno della recessione globale come per esempio quello dei notebook che sembra già più in buona salute.

Per ora è la Nintendo ad esultare, dato che pur in un momento di non felice congiuntura economica le vendite delle sue console e dei videogame prosperano. Ma in un settore industriale alla perenne ricerca di innovazioni e novità per soddisfare i gusti del pubblico la situazione potrebbe anche cambiare da un momento all’altro. Soprattutto se Sony e Microsoft decidessero di ispirarsi alla Nintendo nelle scelte e nelle filosofie da adottare per i propri prodotti.

A cura di Martina Meneghetti

Prima Posizione Srl – Marketing media



April

Martinapp asked:


In the latest years, confirming the tendency by now established in many countries of the world, even in Italy a new household appliance has made its way into our houses: the videogame console.

The newness is not so much a matter of sales increasing of these devices, which have been very popular among teenagers and keen hardcore gamers for a long time, as of a different approach, that is of its target.

The videogames console has now become part of the daily life of many families: no more children playing alone in front of the screen but whole families spending together their spare time challenging each other in a joypad battle.

In the beginning there was the Playstation, that marked its opening to a new audience through a new pink colour: a marketing strategy aimed at approaching the girls to this typical masculine object.

From then on, the videogames producers have carried out the most various strategies in order to expand their customers base, even through unusual marketing choices, like having as testimonials fifty year old man and women from the show business.

Nintendo, for example, not only chose Nicole Kidman to advertise its portable console Nintendo DS, but created a domestic background commercial where mum and dad were satisfied to observe their sons learning English and Maths in their bedrooms till late.

Not to mention the wide success obtained by another Nintendo console: the Wii. In one of its first commercials Giorgio Panariello was defeated in his living-room by his grandma’ playing tennis. The innovation of this console is, in fact, the immediacy correspondence between the movement of the body and what is reproduced on the screen: instead of a joypad you use a sort of remote control which has inside it several detectors that recognize the real action and cast it on the video.

By using this device, a wide range of accessories has been created: you can buy peripherals of different shapes like a guitar by which you can identify yourself in a rock singer or a steering wheel to emulate a car driver. You can also connect a balance board to measure your weight and lose the overweight with the help of the personal trainer offered by the videogame.

The other characteristic which contributed to expand the videogames users is the possibility to connect these consoles online. In these field, the best one has been developed by Microsoft: the Xbox 360. The name itself gives the idea of a multimedia center suitable for every member of the family, created to play, listen to music, watching movies, images and pictures and to which you can connect devices like digital cameras, MP3 players, DVD or PC. Connecting a microphone you can also interact with other players from all over the world in order to exchange advices and game’s strategies communicating in real time.

In this way these devices have been transformed from niche products addressed to a limited target into common objects that you can easily see in everyone’s living room, maybe next to a television or a computer and by which you can do a lot of things: not only a game but real entertainment.

Looking at the current technological panorama, finally, it is possible to identify two different evolutionary lines of the videogame medium: on the one hand the simplification of the interfaces to widen the user-consumer base (Nintendo), on the other hand the boost toward a combined use of different media to offer more entertainment solutions (Microsoft).

This article was written by Michele De Capitani with support from cd r 80min for any information, please visit vendita dvd vergini or for insurance visit modifiche ps2.

 

 



Victoria