I did mention in my last post that I do see gaming having another future other than 3D. It is with 3D but with a lot of other action!
The Wii controller vibrates when you hit your ball playing tennis giving you a nice effect. It also comes with a lot of other accessories which make you feel as if you are playing the actual game for e.g. the gun holder, the car wheel, the golf club. So far so good. The immediate next expansion can be things like shin guards and other soccer accessories. But the most important part of this is not only to provide the accessories like boots with which you can kick but also things like chest pads which can vibrate on being hit or a head band which can produce the effect of heading and arm bands for fouls! Accessories are not just to give inputs to the console they will be involve the players more in the game and give him the feeling of a real life like situation.
This effect specially comes into play in combat games. Younger generations are crazy about being spies or martial art heroes and war games. The next evolution to involve them more along with 3D will be to give them more accessories which bring them into the game. Like a pressure pad which works like a blood pressure gauge around your arm and when full inflated makes you quite uncomfortable. Activate it with a sensor and produce the effect with a bullet hit in a war game or a cut simulating pain during sword fight!
Back in 2008 I heard a rumour that adidas had bought a company which made made suites to check your body performance when you work out. Unfortunately it did not come through because the suites don't work if you sweat! But this won't be the limitation for long. These suites will be vital for professionals as they can check out of the field which part of the body needs more work to perform better. Move this suite to virtual games and you get some fantastic results like your right calf is strained and your have to stop cycling for the next 15 seconds or during a sword play you got a cut on the left arm touch the sensor to apply bandage and check the bleeding based on the arm activity. if more activity bleed more and hence the player still looses. Instead of having multiple chances you can have only 1 chance and make it feel more real!
Gaming is very popular in western countries but is just catching up in India and China. The sheer number of players that you can push to is overwhelming in these countries. But the need of these countries is different. I cannot speak of China but I can definitely write about India. The future games for these countries will be very different than those of the western countries
Many factors affect the gaming industry in India. First and foremost is the cost of the console. It will roughly cost 10-15K INR just for the console and then every game is just another 1k INR. Not easily convincing for any of the Indian parents because people outside the IT industry will be paid the consoles amount as their monthly salary. Only the affluent class (which again is not small) will move in for games. Second factor - Age - very few above 30 would spend time in games. So your main market is people who's finances are controlled by their parents. Another important factor is the idea that video games are addiction and distraction for a child. So even if you can afford this last factor kills.
But, there is one channel! mostly ALL Indian parents would sacrifice a lot beyond normal to give their children the best in the education field which can enhance their child's potential at an early age. Brain Training and maths and science are favourites.Games around these can fetch a handsome market if marketed correctly. Again a lot of Indian parents cannot afford to travel around the world but they want their children to know about the world and games relating to travel and increasing the knowledge of different countries can be sweet as heaven! And when the kids show progress in these areas fun is bestowed using other games.
What I have discussed is not very distant and can be achieved easily and fast. We have all the technology needed, we just need to put them together and move from a 2D space to a 3D virtual reality!
-v
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