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Is the video gaming industry the future?
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With a couple of years under the belts of the next-generation gaming consoles, it is more apparent than ever that the industry has evolved beyond the simple notion of entertainment. Gaming has become a lifestyle, and a more common and socially accepted lifestyle at that.
The Nintendo Wii is not the only console to be successful at hooking the "non-gamers" into this lifestyle. The Xbox 360 from Microsoft has become a household name, offering numerous family based games on their critically acclaimed Xbox Live service. The Playstation 3 (PS3) features many options including a Blu-Ray player, which allows for users to watch their favorite movies in High-Definition as well. But at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this month, all three companies announced new technologies that will blur the line between gamers and non-gamers more than ever before.
The Xbox 360 outed their latest attempt to draw in a new crowd with Project Natal, a brand new camera system that detects dozens of points in the user's body, allowing them to play games without using any sort of controller. While the more hardcore gamer group may not find use for this when playing Halo 3, this technology is a huge leap forward in terms of interacting with a computer interface, without even touching a keyboard, mouse or controller. The applications for this particular project may seem directed toward video games being that it will be released for the Xbox 360 (most likely sometime in 2010), but look for this technology to have a profound effect on the personal computer market as well in the coming years.
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Sony also made a move with new technology for the PS3 and it's own camera system, the Eyetoy. Sony showed off a new motion-based controller that is designed to be tracked with pin-point accuracy by the Playstation 3 camera accessory, and they made sure to point out it is not limited for use in gaming. Several demonstrations including writing digitally in cursive, drawing pictures, and painting with the utmost accuracy make this controller a rival to Microsoft's Project Natal. However the currently unnamed PS3 motion controller could have several unique forms of usefulness, including digital signatures, internet browsing and even modern digital art.
Nintendo is continuing along the usual path it has been taking since the release of the famously successful Wii console. New technologies including the Wii Balance Board and the recently announced Vitality Sensor allow for many creative developers to move into the fitness realm, creating programs for use on Nintendo's system that promote exercise and health improvement. This market has attracted the attention of a wide array of people who would not normally think of buying a game console. With the Wii still at the very affordable price of $250, this trend will most certainly turn out very well for Nintendo.
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All of these developments bring up the same question that each new generation of gaming consoles has to endure: "Is the video game industry finally growing up?"
These new technologies are mostly seen as just ways to get more consoles into the homes of people around the world who do not partake in video gaming. In that sense, these products will remain just that; products. However in the realm of technological advancement, all of these items becoming affordable and available to the public is astounding. These companies have found ways to make brand new technology marketable, and by effect, advancing the technological standards of the middle-class citizen. The controller will never truly leave the hardcore gamer's hands, but the creative minds behind these projects combined with the marketability and growth of the industry provide a brand new way to bring the future tech into our homes.
Today, somewhere, a true gamer gains the right to say: "I told you video games were the future!"
