“The Oculus Rift has come a long way from a Kickstarter concept piece to billion dollar acquisition by Facebook.”

Oculus VR are not breaking new ground for the integration of VR technology and innovative motion controls into video games.  It has been attempt before in various different guises, from Nintendo’s Power Glove to Victormaxx’s ridiculously expensive Cybermaxx headset. Peripherals for video games have never really improved on the overall gaming experience, at least not enough to make gamers shell out cash on the high priced products. The Oculus Rift is really a refinement of the technology laid down by Jaron Lanier, Thomas G. Zimmerman and others alike. The wide field of view, HD display and head tracking the key selling points of the new device and may well be the final piece of the puzzle that was missing previously. The other issue that held back many devices prior to the current day equivalents was a simple matter of size. One of the first virtual reality head mounted displays was so heavy and cumbersome it had to be suspended from the ceiling, users nicknaming the device the “The Sword of Damocles”. Even Nintendo’s Virtual Boy seems bulky and unwieldy by today’s standards. There is no doubting that Oculus VR have put their work in trying to make their device slip seamlessly into the gaming experience and make the interactivity as intuitive as possible.

“Virtual Reality has come and gone in the past can the current trend maintain prolonged interest and more importantly sell in sustainable numbers.”

However it is not as if the company has a monopoly on the VR market as both Sony and Valve are looking to enter the arena with their own interpretations. At this year’s Games Developers Conference in San Francisco Sony came out swinging with their own version of a VR headset dubbed Project Morpheus. The Japanese tech giants have been working on VR prototype headsets for a number of years, integrating their own Move controllers into the system. Sony has the slight advantage of having a long history in the tech industry and all the experience that comes with it. However the Oculus team can boost about the veteran developers that have joined the company, with id Software founder John Carmack the chief technology officer at Oculus VR. Even Valve’s own VR specialist Michael Abrash has switched sides and joined the Oculus Rift team. It would seem that at any rate gamers will be spoilt for choice when these devices make it market, when that will be is still up in the air. Some hints point towards a late 2014 early 2015 launch for the Oculus Rift, but another important question arises in response to that is the devices proposed price point. Again no official pricing structure has been announced only guesstimates can be made at this time, the most recent Dev kit version of the device going for $350 (€254). $250(€180) to $300(€220) the price range been floated around by some market analysts. Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey has stated that he may adopt a similar model used by the console manufactures, dropping the price and making up the money on licencing deals with game publishers. This is integral to the success of any of the current VR headsets in development, the support of the video game developers to integrate the technology into their games. At the end of the day if there isn’t an extensive catalogue of titles that will support VR then the Rift, Morpheus, Gameface or any of the other VR headsets will ultimately fail.

“The Oculus Team have had VR market all to themselves the last two years but now competition is heating up with others jumping on the VR bandwagon.”

The decision by “Notch” to pull his official support for Oculus Rift integration with Minecraft doesn’t help with publicity for the VR company. Not that ‘Minecrafters’ desperate to see their blocky creations up close and personal are out of luck, as there are mods that support Oculus Rift input. However an official release of a VR compatible version of Minecraft could have been a big boon for the Oculus Rift over it soon to be competitors. The Rift is definitely carving itself out as a PC peripheral as opposed to Sony’s VR which obviously will be supported by their PlayStation console. Sony already demonstrating their eye tracking technology working with the current PS4 release Infamous: Second Son. So just like the console wars that take place between Sony and Microsoft it is the exclusive titles that can often sway customers moreover than hardware specs. There is even now a host of tech companies that want to take VR even further, not happy with just tracking movement of the player’s vision they want get them on the move. Companies like Virtuix with their Omni motion tracking device want to have Oculus Rift users get of their seats and start moving. The demonstration of Valves new VR headset at Steam Dev Days also incorporated spatial awareness and the capturing of full body movement. This entire aside the current generation of VR is still in its infancy with projects still in development and release dates still TBA. It would seem that there is enough momentum behind the VR push this time that it is unlikely to be a flash in the pan. Whether or not it will be a revolution in video game interaction is still out to tender. A quick review of interactive peripherals of video games past doesn’t paint a great picture. Even the evolution of the video game controller has been fairly stagnant for the last decade, although Valve might have something to say about that. The coming years and eventual product launches will offer a clearer idea for the future of Virtual Reality.

By Colm O’Sullivan

The post The State of the Industry: Virtual Reality The Future or Fad? appeared first on Game Design Ireland.

The Xbox One has been steadily lagging behind its rival the PS4 since the launch of the two consoles in November of last year.  Sony have got the jump on Microsoft this time around are looking to be the console of choice among gamers for the current generation. However with so many variables to many of the facts and figures surrounding next-gen console sales it really isn’t fair to say that the Xbox One lost the console war. Latest PS4 sales figures as of February state that 5.3 million units have been sold, whereas as of January the latest figures available for Xbox One sales put Microsoft’s console at just over 3 million. Granted with the boost in sales from the release of Titanfall this number will have jumped significantly, more than likely nearer 4-5 million at this point. This is one of the many problems when trying to extrapolate any argument for which console is more successful.

“The PR war of words has been going strong ever since the consoles were announced early last year and it hasn’t abated since.”

Microsoft in particular has been very cagey about releasing console sales numbers, probably due to the fact they just haven’t managed to sell as many units as its rival. Yet this leads to the other problem with using sales figures as a measurement of success due to the fact that the PS4 has a wider global reach than its competitor. The PS4 is available in 57 regional markets, whereas the Xbox One is only available in 13 with an expansion to a further 26 markets promised by the end of 2014. If you are to approach it from purely a financial viewpoint again it is difficult to compare the two, with the Xbox One featuring a higher price point then the PS4. Breakdowns of the two consoles internals suggest that the PS4 is slightly more costly for Sony to produce meaning that Microsoft makes more of each unit sold. However such cost analysis is purely speculative with consoles traditional been sold at a loss, the manufactures usually recouping their investment with third party licensing deals.

“The consoles hardware is irrelevant as it is the software on the devices that count, who has the better line up of games is the true determining factor.”

This is where a deal with Respawn Entertainment to make their game exclusive for the Xbox One comes into play. It is the sales of a game like Titanfall and the subsequent increase in Xbox Live subscriptions that determine success as far as the Microsoft executives are concerned. The first task with a new console release is to accumulate a large enough user base that they can use to negotiate better licencing deals with publishers and developers. The same goes for Sony who might see a significant boost in PS4 sales with the release of their exclusive title Infamous: Second Son. It’s interesting that Infamous: Second Son like so many of Sony’s exclusives is only available on the PS4. Whereas for any PC gamer Titanfall is readily available, how many lost sales of Xbox One consoles are accrued from this fact? Taking into account that Titanfall sits on top of the PC games sales charts there is a sizeable number of gamers, who might have been forced to buy a new console to play the game.  EA on the other hand need a game like Titanfall on the PC, in order to attain more legitimacy to their digital distribution platform Origin. That has been trailing behind its competitor Steam since it launched over three years ago.

“Which exclusive title will prove to be the bigger draw, open world superhumans or FPS mechs?

The console war has only been raging for less than six months at this point and early reports would suggest that the PS4 is coming out on top. Granted from a quick observation of the sales figures it is clear that Sony has sold more console, but it is not so easy to declare a winner based on such facts. The myriad of other factors that play into the analysis of sales figures can allow anyone to massage the numbers to achieve a desired result. This is what has led to the PR battle between the two companies with both sides manipulating the figures to make one seem better than the other. At the end of the day it is clear that both consoles have done very well and will likely see continued growth in the near future with games like Watchdogs, Destiny and Elder Scrolls Online all on their way this year. The only clear fact that can be drawn from all these figures is that with a yearlong lead on its competitors and just under 6 million units sold. Nintendo and their WiiU are set to be the biggest losers in the current console war.

By Colm O’Sullivan

The post Gaming Sidenote: Titanfall and the future of Xbox One appeared first on Game Design Ireland.

“Chinese history and culture has traditionally been viewed through the eyes of Western and Japanese developers.”

The 14 year old ban on selling video game console sold by foreign companies has been temporally lifted. The lifting of the ban will open the doors for the likes of Sony and Microsoft to sell their consoles to Chinese consumers, convenient timing with the two manufactures recently launching their new line of next gen consoles. Of course it will not be the first time Chinese gamers have had a chance to play Microsoft’s or Sony’s devices, with the black market for consoles ever present during the ban. It is also not the first time that foreign console developers have entered into the Chinese market. In 2003 Nintendo launched the iQue Player that was only sold in China and was an attempt to curb the rampant piracy that has plagued the video game industry in the country. China’s policy of keeping manufacturing in house has led to a culture of imitation. Where making counterfeit versions of popular western products is seen as more beneficial for the economy then spending money to import the goods from other markets. Any video game developer or console manufacturer will have to compete with an industry where the term copyright infringement doesn’t quite translate into mandarin. Although the ban has been lifted it is not open season for console manufactures with all devices to be sold in the country having to pass government review. If it meets the requirements it is then only available within Shanghai’s free trade zone. So combined with this and the extreme levels of piracy it will be an uphill battle for any foreign video game company to establish themselves within the Chinese market.

“The iQue Player was based of the outdated N64 system and never really gained much favour with Chinese consumers.”

Not deterred by these facts many western companies have already cast an eye on new digital hubs within the country as potential base of their Asian operations. Companies like Ubisoft have already gained a foothold in the Chinese market establishing Ubisoft Chengdu in 2007. Others like Activision and Blizzard have made deals with Chinese based companies to distribute their games, in what is becoming one of the fastest growing markets for video games. The one sector of the Chinese market that has seen the biggest growth is the PC market, in some part due to the lack of access to consoles and other devices. PC’s taking up two thirds of the industry as a whole and pulling in over $6 billion in revenue in the year of 2011 alone, with that number more than likely increasing in the intervening years. The PC market in China is one the largest globally, mainly thanks to the proliferation of free play games. The free to play model proving very popular in China, where the average worker only earns about 4,000 Yuan a month; just under €500 a month. The high price point of console and console games alike will be an inhibiting factor for many in China wanting to get their hands on the new consoles, with both the PS4 and XboxOne costing as much as an average worker’s monthly salary. Another reason why cheap counterfeit games and consoles are so prevalent in China with video game piracy also at above average levels.

“The Chinese game Final Combat strangely resembles a certain multiplayer title developed by Valve. Just can’t put a finger on it?”

China is not the only Asian region that has lacked investment by foreign companies with the Middle East also a relatively untapped market. Although many developers have published and distributed games to the Middle East, the translation of the games material over to the Arabic culture has been more an afterthought for the games creators. Just like China there are certain government restrictions that have hampered many major titles from been distributed throughout the region. Alcohol, sex and excessive violence all running afoul with the government’s censorship boards. Countries likes Saudi Arabia enforcing far stricter constraints than others. Again Ubisoft in its goal to grow its global presence has established an office in Abu Dhabi in 2011 to help localize many of its titles for the Middle Eastern audience. The Arabic language and its grammatical form proving to be the biggest challenge for western developers to interpolate. However with a market that is estimated to draw in $1 -2 billion in revenue each year, it should be in the interest of the big developers and publishers to investigate the potential for the expansion of their operations in the region.

“Skeletons seem to put the frighteners on Chinese officials, a comparison of the undead character from World of Warcraft stands as a testament to this.”

For a long time Japan has for the most part been the sole country with a substantial video game industry in Asia. Long established through companies like Nintendo, Konami, Sega, et al. However many analysts and industry professionals have been extolling the merits of other potential markets in Asia, China been the most enticing. The industry in China is still very localized and may take a decade or so to reach the same levels of revenue as its western counterparts, but its exponential growth his hard to ignore. Companies like NetEase and Tencent could be the next big players in the video game industry. Tencent over the last few years acquiring stakes in western developers such as Epic Games creators of Gears of War and Riot Games the studio behind the popular MMOBA game League of Legends. It might not be long before gamers will be playing titles that are made in China and disturbed to western audience, but importantly come from a Chinese cultural perspective. A game where the Chinese are the good guys and it’s the Americans who are the warmongering invaders.

By Colm O’Sullivan

The post The State of the Industry: The Rising in the East appeared first on Game Design Ireland.

The post The State of the Industry: Year in Review 2013 appeared first on Game Design Ireland.

“A relative comparison between the two works out pretty evenly, my advice just flip a coin to decide.”

The real point I’m trying to get across here is that you have to think of the long term lifetime of these devices. If you look at the lifespan of the previous generation we have at least half a decade or more before well see the PS5 or gods knows what Microsoft will call the next Xbox. With live TV integration on the Xbox Microsoft is looking to the future not just the immediate time we are in now, just cast your minds back to the original Xbox360 and how horrible and featureless its dashboard was as compared to today. PS4 went as far as to make a parody of the furore that is surrounding Microsoft second-hand gaming policy but what everyone is missing is that in 5 to 10 years will we even have physical media I certainly hope not, you only have to look down any Irish high street to see that shops selling physical video game media are dead and gone. Microsoft are trying to drag us albeit kicking and screaming into the future where all games are in digital form whereas PlayStation are still clinging to the past.

“In an ideal world Sony & Microsoft would come together to make one console and stop the fighting, one can only dream of such a device.”

Personally I could see the war between the two consoles ending the same as it did the last time, with everyone tied to their particular system through achievements, trophies or online subscriptions the market shares will remain as they were with the Xbox dominant in the US and the PlayStation doing well in its home market in Asia and Europe being split 50/50. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what anyone says about one console versus the other it is your own personal choice that doesn’t need to be justified to anybody. It’s a question of what games you want to play whether you prefer Nathan Drake over Master Chief or Marcus Fenix over Kratos, and if that is too difficult a choice then you could always just buy a WiiU and then you won’t have to worry about defending your console against the rest as its universally agreed that Nintendo have surrendered and lost the war.

N.B* None of this really matters anyway as the PC beats them all hands down. Thank you Steam for your ridiculously cheap games.

By Colm O’Sullivan

The post Sidenote: Xbox One vs PS4 appeared first on Game Design Ireland.

“It’s all about integration for Microsoft, gaming is just a side note on the new console”

Sony is primarily a hardware company spending years dominating the electronics market and so it is no surprise that they have heavily focused on the power end of their new device and are looking to outdo their competitor with better hardware specs much in the same way they approached the development of the PS3. However after the dust has settled on the Xbox One event it would seem from a quick comparison that both devices have a very similar set of hardware specification’s. Both have 8GB RAM, three of which on the Xbox will be reserved for apps and the new OS based of the Windows 8 architecture; the PS4 only needs 1GB to run its OS. AMD will be working with both Sony and Microsoft to provide the processers for both machines which boost similar specs and interestingly although not surprising the Xbox will feature a Blu-Ray drive that lest we forget is made by Sony, which must have being and interesting business call for Microsoft to ask Sony for use of their technology. If you go down the list of other technical features they all match up with built in Wi-Fi, USB 3.0 input and native gameplay sharing which was Sony’s real focus at their press conference announcing a deal between them and Ustream to offer easy gameplay video recording. The only ambiguity left is the Hard Drive space which Xbox have revealed to be 500GB which is comparatively little when compared to what is on offer for the PC market and Sony is still leaving the storage capacity of their device a mystery for the moment. On all accounts there is little to choose between the two with cross platform games most likely to be looking very similar whether played on the PS4 or Xbox One. Microsoft being the tech company that they are have put much more emphasize on the software and interface side of the device.

“It’s style resembles what people in the 80’s thought future devices would look like”

The ticket that Xbox hopes to be the winner for them is the live TV integration, which offers side loaded applications that will give viewers a more interactive way to watch TV. The improved Kinect also plays a role in this with fast switching between gameplay and Live TV through its improved voice recognition software. Microsoft also looked to roll out the big guns with Steven Spielberg announced to be working with 343 Industries on a new exclusive Halo TV series, what his involvement in it and the details of this series is still a question but it clear from the Xbox One event that Microsoft see’s their device more in terms as an advanced set-top box that happens to play games more than a dedicated gaming console. It is difficult to say if that is the same view that is taken by Sony as their press conference offered little in the way of information, granted their announcement came three months previous and most would expect them to have a large presence at E3 with some more information and hopefully a physical device to be revealed this coming June. E3 will also undoubtedly see the reveal of many of the gaming titles that will launch with these devices. Some like Assassin’s Creed 4, Madden 25, Thief, Battlefield 4 and Watchdogs have already been announced, but of course it will be the exclusive titles that will swing the balance of power between Sony and Microsoft. Microsoft Studies hinted at 15 exclusives titles in the works for the new console Forza 5 being one of them, eight of the fifteen are said to be new IP’s and more than likely some of these will be revealed at E3. Sony on the other hand will be standing behind their stalwarts of Infamous and Killzone and like Microsoft will be set to announce more titles come June.

“Watchdogs is set to be the showcase game for the new generation of consoles”

To return to the question posed at the beginning of this article is either device worth handing over how many euros they are likely to cost when there is an alternative in the PC. Sony and Microsoft have touted the hardware specs of their devices will allow for high speed performance along with top quality graphics. However how long will 8GB of RAM and an 8 core CPU be able to deliver the ever increasing demand by gamers for better looking and faster running games. The PC market can feed that hunger for high end gaming although many would raise the small caveat of the money needed to build a decent gaming PC. That is definitely true with the cost of a high end performance machine easily reaching above a thousand euros when all is said and done, this is where the console manufactures look to capitalize revealing the comparatively low price of their device and stating there is no need to spend time and money upgrading and retro fitting your machine. Again valid points that do show up the few short comings of being a PC gamer. The one thing that often isn’t factored in the initial purchase of the machine is that it might be a bit of an outlay to get started, but the cost of games for the machine is significantly more cost effective then the console market. The Steam marketplace is chiefly responsible for the low cost of games on the PC market with the digital content delivery service regularly offering sales on many of the games in their ever growing catalogue. Whereas games released on the console start off at the regular retail price and stay at that relativity high price for a longer time then on the PC, in the past the second hand market offset this high price but with the closure of Game, HMV and Xtravision also in financial trouble the market is ever shrinking. The other argument that is often raised against PC gaming is the lack of support by developers for the simultaneous cross platform launch of many AAA titles, an argument that is becoming more and more irrelevant with Steam and Origin paving the way for same day launches of titles that were previously console exclusives. The current game in the Bioshock series demonstrates the changing attitude towards the PC market with Steam offering the game for direct download on the same release date as the major consoles.

“Will the Call of Duty: Ghosts exclusive content make the Xbox One top dog? Yes”

The freedom that comes with PC gaming is also a more attractive prospect rather than the closed off systems that Sony and Microsoft develop in order to have tight control on what is available on these consoles. A case in point would be the outcry by gamers over the hold ups caused by Microsoft’s approval process that prevented Bethesda from releasing the much needed patches for their RPG fantasy game Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. On the PC side patches for the bug infested game where more readily available. For those hard-core gamers the ever growing modding community is another attractive side of PC gaming with DLC on the console market hitting the bank accounts of gamers on the Xbox and PlayStation alike. The issue of choice is really one of sacrifice, do you buy into Sony or Microsoft’s closed off and more restricted system for the promise of exclusive content and hardware stability or do you choose a more open and free system that does require more technical knowledge and patience to wait for those timed-exclusives that will eventually come to the PC a year or so later.

By Colm O’Sullivan

The post Xbox One Review appeared first on Game Design Ireland.

Within the next year the video game market is set to reshuffle as Microsoft and Sony gear up for the release of their next gen console. A battle that will be fought and won by whoever can spend the most to attract exclusive titles and DLC and which side can muster enough hype to keep their loyal fans happy and possibly turn a few from the other side.
We can rewind back to 2005 and the release of the Xbox 360, it was Microsoft’s second outing in the console market and with a year on its main rival they easily won a place in gamer’s hearts and emptied their wallets. After the dust settled Microsoft had sold over 75 million units with Sony trailing behind on 70 million itself. Although Nintendo’s console outsold both of them with nearly a hundred million units, it failed to earn respect from gamers and developers alike with most title ported to the Wii failing to sell, which might have something to do with Nintendo’s poor reputation with third party developers. A reputation that was formed in the video game crash of 1983 where Nintendo were one of the few companies that survived the oversaturation of consoles on the market. Is the modern video game industry heading towards a similar faith? The Xbox 720 and PS4 are forecast to release before the end of the year with Nintendo’s latest iteration the Wii U already on the market and the android based Ouya and rumour Valve steam box also in the pipeline, not to mention Xi3 highly anticipated pc/console hybrid the Piston also coming out this year the video game industry is set to become a battleground, that might change the dynamics going forward or send us all back to early 80’s levels of recession.

“Let the fan boy flame wars commence”

All avid gamers and journalist are marking off their calendars waiting until May 21st the rumoured date for Microsoft’s big unveiling of its latest console. Although some have said that E3 which is taking place from the 11-13 June is the more likely candidate which would make a more appropriate setting for a console announcement this fact is backed up by the ever present countdown to E3 on Microsoft Director of Programing Major Nelson’s blog post. This would also fit with Microsoft’s previous announcements regarding its other consoles also happing at E3 in the past. The announcement will merely be a formality as the hype for this console is already at its peak with most of the hardware specifications been leaked over the last few months. A decent press event for Microsoft might be due all the same with one it’s employees getting into hot water on Twitter in the last week. Adam Orth the Creative Director at Microsoft Studios has left his position following the outcry from his comments on the social media site. Orth was discussing the concept of Online DRM which is rumoured to be present in the new console and how gamers must “deal with it” the comment that caused more outrage was in response to a question posed of living in a rural location such as Janesville, Wisconsin or Blacksburg, Virginia that would result in poor internet connection to which Orth responded “why on earth would I live there”. Orth has now removed his digital presence online which is understandable with the amount of backlash caused by his comments. ’Always Online’ is an issue that Microsoft would rather gloss over at the moment especially with the bad taste left by the latest Sims City still felt by gamers and an upcoming announcement would help soothe their tempers. Microsoft also have to contend with Sony who have already had their unveiling back in February with a host of social media and entertainment features announced, but little in the way of technical details or even a glimpse of what its  latest offering looks like. The PS4 is set to boast a similar level of hardware specs as the Xbox720 possibly with a better processors although it’s hard to make comparisons when no official specifications have been released. The next generation of consoles look to catch up with the pc market in terms of hardware with the memory, processing and graphical power of the new consoles equalling a high performance gaming machine. However it is unlikely that it will be the hardware or even the social media features that will persuade gamers to turn out their pockets, it will be the games that Microsoft and Sony can provide that will decide who wins the battle. Sony have announced both the Witcher 3 and Watchdogs as upcoming PS4 titles although more than likely these games will also come to the next Xbox, it is the exclusive titles that hold gamers attention and if it is the exclusive titles that will decide which console reigns supreme then if Valve are determined to enter the console market with the rumoured Steam Box then by purely measuring statistics they will easily win with the PC market boasting the largest number of exclusive games most of which can be found on Valve’s digital marketplace Steam.

“We can only hope to see such level of detail on the next generation of consoles”

Steam has being the saving grace of the PC market with its effectiveness at refocusing the attention of gamers and developers from the console back to the home computer. Since its launch in 2003 Steam has set the trend for the online gaming marketplace being able offer low prices by avoiding high street retailers and selling games straight from publishers to the customer direct and promoting indie developers through its Greenlight program, with the likes of EA taking years before they realised the potential of digital content delivery with their Origin platform launch in 2011 and unable to garner as much favour with gamers. Valve now looks set to take Steam into the living rooms of gamers and compete for space in the TV cabinet alongside the Xbox and PlayStation. The seeds have already been sown with Valve releasing the Big Picture mode which a software update to Steam that allows the user a more console friendly interface for use with a PC hooked up to a TV screen. The question would be do gamers really want another console like this when at the moment a high powered laptop connected to the TV can do what Valve has stated they want their own console to be able to do. A laptop that can also be used as normal computer and not built to be a closed off system which is the one reason for Steam success and the division between console and PC gaming. It would seem Valve have fallen for the bait of the console market and believe there is success to be found but that remains to be seen as it is not the piece of hardware that makes the money but the contracts and deals between the console manufactures and third party developers that have led to Microsoft and Sony’s financial bounty. If the Steam box becomes a more limited and closed off system as with other console on the market they may turn away third party developers who prefer the open and unlimited system that exist in the current PC market. It’s a trap that the makers of the Ouya console have also fallen for.

“Is this the face of Sony & Microsoft’s doom”

The android based device is set for a retail release in June of this year and is priced at $99 dollars. The project was funded by Kickstarter and raised over $8 million dollars and became the sites second highest earning project. Was all that money worth it however, from the initial reviews of the developer’s version released last month it would look like it has potential to become an alternative gaming platform but it’s just not ready yet to compete in the cut throat console market. The critics have panned it for it cheap controller design which could be expected from a pre-release version but it seems it’s biggest problem is that even before its official release it is already a generation behind other android devices already on the market. In a benchmarking test carried out by Futuremark it ranked 78th among other android devices which is not really good enough even with its lower price tag then some of the other devices above it on the list. If the Ouya is looking to set itself up as a legitimate gaming console then it needs to give gamers a reason to switch from their current devices an buy the Ouya. The Ouya is trying to compete on two fronts with the mobile phone market that already holds the vast majority of android game sales and to convince the console gamers that their device is a cheap alternative to the already established consoles. It is hard to see why gamers would ditch their phones that have so much more functionally beyond gaming or how they can be turned away from major AAA titles in favour of casual android based games, it is a similar problem that has plagued the Wii U with third party developers not willing to make games for the console and causing poor sales for Nintendo’s newest console.

Over the next year we will hopefully see the release of all these consoles that will allow us to judge for ourselves whether they will survive in the turbulent seas of the console market or will they sink to the bottom without a trace. It is unlikely that Sony or Microsoft will be too worried about the young pretenders looking to compete with them with both the PS4 and Xbox720 looking set to gain their respective companies a large financial windfall before the year is out. It is the likes of Valve and Ouya that will have a harder time convincing gamers to part with their money regardless of how cheap they price their console and the loyalties that they have built up with other longstanding companies.

 By Colm O’Sullivan

The post The State of the Industry: Ready To Level Up appeared first on Game Design Ireland.