Study: People Buy PS4 for Graphics, Xbox One for Brand, Wii U for Fun

What makes major gaming consoles such as PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U so different? Consumers might not even know themselves! This study shows what people look at when buying a gaming console.

"For gamers aged 13 and up, "better resolution" was a top driving factor for PlayStation 4, while "brand" was the leading quality for Xbox One. Meanwhile, people gravitated most toward the Wii U for its "fun factor.""

"The results showed a significant difference in reasons, between all three console, with only the processing speed being a popular response among both Xbox One and PS4 owners."

While reading the study there is a link to a video that demonstrates what people look at most when playing a game on a console or PC. It shows that there really is no major difference to what you purchase, whether it's an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 or even PC, so long as it works properly.

This study is very important to understand because it raises many questions. One being if it really does make a difference to spend more or less money for a certain type of entertainment system? Even though PS4 has been in the lead for how successful it has been, what has made it so successful? What does it have that the Xbox One doesn't? All these questions are being asked when all that consumers should worry about is if the system does its job and brings entertainment to the table.

Makuch, E. (2015, February 26). Study: People Buy PS4 for Graphics, Xbox One for Brand, Wii U for Fun. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.gamespot.com/articles/study-people-buy-ps4-for-graphics-xbox-one-for-bra/1100-6425537/

eSports Organization Apologizes, Changes Course After LGBT Rules Controversy

League of Legends publisher Garena+ apologized to the participants of their annual online gaming tournament after receiving a great deal of negative feedback from the gaming community and the developers of the game, Riot Games, because of a controversial rule that limited a gaming squad to only one gay or transgender woman over the fear that they "probably have some unfair advantage."

"Our original intent when we put this together this tournament was to promote diversity in the competitive gaming community" -Garena+

"LGBT players are welcome at official LoL tourneys. We're working with partners to ensure consistency with our values across all regions." - Riot Games

There should never be a concern on whether or not a person is gay or transgender, male or female. The purpose of a gaming tournament is to demonstrate and individual's gaming skills and primarily to enjoy themselves while doing it. I believe Garena+ made the right choice of eliminating this rule because there is no reason to believe that someone has an advantage over anyone based on their orientation.

It was also pleasing to see that the developers of the game stepped in to support the people who were against this controversial rule. It shows that they not only want everyone to be able to play their game, but that they also care about their players. Hopefully, this won't be a problem in the future. Everyone should be able to participate in anything no matter what decisions they have made or what they believe.

Makuch, E. (2015, February 4). ESports Organization Apologizes, Changes Course After LGBT Rules Controversy. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://www.gamespot.com/articles/esports-organization-apologizes-changes-course-aft/1100-6425098/

Amazon Will Buy Twitch For Over $1 Billion

Twitch, the most popular game-streaming website, is to be bought by Amazon.com Inc. This article gives an inside look into the details of the deal. This is considered a very important purchase by Amazon, being that Twitch is considered the fourth largest source of peak Internet traffic in the United States. What does this mean for Twitch's gaming community? How successful or unsuccessful will this merge be?

"Amazon, not Google, will be the corporate host of Twitch, the popular game-streaming service."

"Google was widely expected to purchase the firm for around $1 billion and that deal was generally thought to be sewn up. That Amazon managed to pull off the deal is notable."

"We've also heard that Twitch had many suitors and that the Google deal fell through because Google's offer undervalued the company." 

The question of how this purchase will affect Twitch's gaming community is under examination to see what is to come in the following days. It will be interesting to see two different companies that provide different services come together. Amazon gives people the ability to find and buy almost anything there is to buy. Twitch, on the other hand, only provides people the chance to enjoy watching others play video games. It's a community for gamers to come together and chat about a certain game or topic.

This is actually a very intelligent purchase for Amazon.com Inc. because of the continuous increase of viewers that join Twitch's community. Twitch will allow wide exposure for Amazon and vice-versa. This will increase the amount of people going to each website and could potentially make both websites peak Internet traffic sites. Another major question is how different Twitch will look and if its will stay true to what it has always offered to their audience.

Wilhelm, A. (2014, August 25). Amazon Will Buy Twitch For Over $1 Billion. Retrieved December 6, 2014, from http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/25/amazon-will-buy-twitch-for-over-1-billion/

Tablet, smartphone games taking over?

A thought-provoking video that gives a glimpse into how successful tablets and smartphones, and their downloadable apps have become. These devices are now competing against consoles for how much more time and money people invert into something simple and portable.

"Certainly, if you compare the average cost of making even a high quality game on a tablet, for example, if you compare that to making a next generation game on Xbox or PS4, a high quality game on a tablet will cost you, perhaps, 4, 5, maybe even 6 or 7 million dollars, you contrast that to a game on Xbox One or PS4 which could run you north of 40, 50, 60 million dollars, and that's even before your marketing or distribution costs."

"Last year alone, according to Gardner, we saw almost 200 million tablets sold, globally, which is, on average, well over half a million tablets every single day. Compare that to the most popular selling console of all time, which was the Wii, that console sold a little over 100 million units in six years."

It seems as if tablets and smartphones will become the highest used platform for games in the coming years. I believe it is because these games are able to played wherever and whenever, where as consoles need to be in a stable place to use. The amount of revenue that comes from tablet and smartphone apps are also becoming something of high interest. It is said that it is relatively cheap to make an app and use it's consumers to generate the revenue for the creators. It is simpler and more cost-effective to make an app as compared to a console game. Soon, it seems, tablet and smartphone apps will gross more revenue than console games in the future. Apps are introduced quicker than console games, giving these devices the lead in how much quicker they generate a smaller amount of revenue, but much more often.

Tablet, smartphone games taking over? (2014, May 29). Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/3520184491001/tablet-smartphone-games-taking-over/#sp=show-clips

Video games are getting respect—as big business, entertainment, and creative discipline

Take a look into how the gaming world is becoming more popular amongst the general public. With this increasing popularity, we give recognition to the upcoming generations and the new entertainment that awaits us. Be introduced to a deeper understanding of how the video game industry has and will continue to influence our lives.

"It may be hard to imagine such a thing happening in the United States. But, in fact, 60 percent of Americans play video games, according to the Entertainment Software Association, an industry trade group."

"Increasingly, gaming companies are looked at as a source of innovation beyond the entertainment sector."

From smartphone apps to billion dollar deals, this article informs the reader of the growing interest in the video game industry. It's fascinating to see that people are just now realizing that video games have always been a topic of interest, even since the very first video games. The reason it is now gaining recognition is because of how video games developers have veered the attention of big name companies their way. It has attracted companies such as Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft to want to help fund future developments so that they appeal to current and future generations. These companies are stressing the importance of being able to let people show their creativity and imagination; to spread ideas and inspire others; and to bring joy to everyone. This is what video games are striving to do.

Tsukayama, H. (2014, November 22). Video games are getting respect - as big business, entertainment, creative discipline. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/video-games-are-getting-respect--as-big-business-entertainment-creative-discipline/2014/11/21/c7fd4e78-6f64-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html