Well in the future, as the internet gets faster and our infrastructure gets better, we will have a radically different way to consume our games. What if instead of playing a game on a dedicated machine with limited specifications, we played through the cloud? Essentially what this means is our games will be running on advanced hardware in a data center thousands of miles away. We press left on our controller, it sends to that command to the data center, and the hardware sends back the video feed of our avatar moving left. To the player it seems like you are playing the game in your house, but it is a computer far away really doing all the work.

The implications of this technology are astounding. Virtually any device capable of decompressing video (an iPad, a computer or a small cheap box) would be able to play the latest and greatest games. As an added bonus, the technology that powers each of the games can be replaced in the data centers over time with new hardware, so your games would automatically look better as technology became more advanced.

A company called Onlive tried this approach to “cloud gaming” and the system worked pretty well, but unfortunately it was ahead of its time and didn’t catch on. Another company called Gaikai attempted to do the same thing as Onlive. Gaikai was bought outright by Sony Computer Entertainment last year. It is likely that the upcoming PS4 will feature some form of cloud gaming technology, but it is still too early for it to be the only avenue to get games for the system. Sony will probably have a mix of all three services: Gaming through traditional disc, Gaming through digital distribution, and Gaming through the cloud.

The next five years of console gaming definitely appears to be bright, but eventually there will be one box that will serve all of your needs. You will have one always connected box that has your cable provider content, Netflix plus other video on demand services, various music stores, and most importantly your Games. Once we get cloud gaming right, there will be no reason to get another console ever again. Who will be that provider? Microsoft, Sony or Steam? Will Apple make an entrance into the TV market and change the whole picture? All this remains to be seen, but you can count that in the years ahead, these companies and perhaps others will all be fighting for the living room.

No matter how it shakes out, Gaming will definitely not be the only use for the box, and it might not even be its primary function. The long-term future of dedicated gaming consoles may be bleak, but the future of entertainment as a whole is about to get very exciting!

The answer to this question lies in the trend of miniaturization and the trends of consumer purchases.

Back at the end of 2005, the Xbox 360 launched in North America. Its goals were to reach mass-market popularity by offering a connected experience to its users. This meant that users could access entertainment as well as their games, all while being connected to the Internet. Over the years, the Xbox (and its competitors) began to add more and more entertainment options to their platforms.

Today, it seems crazy for a console to come out without this multi-functionality built in, but just a decade ago game machines were just that: Game Machines. Today, the actual “game” functionality of our devices seems to be a bonus, rather than the main feature. For example: the iPad can web browse, watch videos, play music, draw pictures, video chat and oh, it can also play games. Games are becoming an “extra” when it comes to hardware functionality.

November 18^th 2012 marked the United States release of Nintendo’s WiiU. The WiiU is the first console to launch in this “Next-Generation” of video game hardware. So far, the WiiU is off to a decent start, but adoption is noticeably slower than the adoption of the original Wii. What we have been seeing in the last 5 years is a substantial rise of “Casual Gaming.” The original Wii created the mainstream casual market, but since then, Nintendo has lost their hold on the mainstream.

Casual gamers now tend to mostly be playing games with their smartphones and tablets. As portable processing power continues to increase, the experiences being offered by iPads and Smartphones are getting ever closer to console quality. No matter what, there will still be an audience who prefers to interface with their games through a more traditional controller. It seems that Nintendo is comfortable with living in this eventuality of a niche “Nintendo” audience.

The future of a dedicated game console is an interesting one. During this console generation (2005-2013) we have seen dramatic improvements in cloud technologies and digital distribution. On your Xbox or PS3, you can save your game to the cloud, drive over to your friends house, and pickup from where you left off.  The days of having a “memory card” are long gone. Far more impactful is Digital Distribution. Today, on Xbox 360, PS4, and the new WiiU, you can access an online marketplace and directly download respective games to each devices hard-drive.

These systems have gotten exponentially better over the years and the average speed of the internet definitely helped out with the time it takes to download each title. This means that you no longer would have to go to the store to get your new game. You would just boot up your system and download away. Storage space is really the only limiting factor, but as larger hard-drives get cheaper and cheaper, it might not be an issue in the future.

Stay tuned for part two to find out why the future of dedicated gaming consoles look cloudier than ever before and what the future holds for console gaming as a whole? Until then, gigga-peeps – come get some! 

We’re about 2 months out from the official launch of our app! We’re going to take a serious bite out of the digital promotions game. Stay tuned for more sweet content coming out of our gigga-team. Get ready, get pumped and above all else – come get some.

-Yoni

I’ve identified four overarching characteristics that really make mobile standout as unique strategy in the ever-evolving world of digital:

Convenience:  I’ll be short with this. Your smartphone is the most convenient invention of all time. I know, I know, that’s a lot to swallow. But think about it for a moment. You have your social life, your professional schedule, email, contacts, entertainment and now wallet – in your hands at all times. Within a moments notice, you could access virtually any facet of your life – while you’re actually living it! There’s no need to sit down, turn on a computer, open a book, find a dial-up connection (remember those?). Nope. Mobile does it all for you – and it does it instantly.

Accessibility: It’s said that 9/10 people keep their smartphone within arms length at all times. This means that for marketers and brands, your mobile device is their direct connection to you. Whether it be through SMS, an app or mobile web – they can communicate with you, right in the palm of your hand. You have to be at home, watching TV in order to be targeted by a commercial. You have to be driving your car in order to really listen to a radio ad. Print media? Well, you get the idea. Your mobile device is always on you! Well over 90% of SMS are opened. It takes 90 minutes to respond to an email, 90 seconds to respond to a text message. In short, a brand is getting more value out of a mobile strategy in comparison to another channel because you actually have your phone on you at all times – thus are accessible… at all times.

Relationship Quality: Due to mobile devices being some of our most personal possessions, it’s often harder for a brand to establish a mobile relationship with a consumer. BUT – here’s the kicker. If a brand is able to establish a trustworthy mobile relationship with a consumer, it’s a relationship they’re bound to receive value out of in comparison to other channels where consumers invest little to nothing.  How much do you really put into a TV commercial? Print? Radio? An email blast? Exactly. But when you download an app or subscribe to receive text message updates from your favorite brand, you’re taking a serious step in willingly establishing a relationship with that brand.

Technological Advancements: Take a moment and really think about all of the groundbreaking advancements we’ve had in technology over the last 5 years. What you’ll find is that a vast majority of them all have to do with mobile. We used to get pumped over new TVs and cars – some still do. BUT, innovation in mobile is moving at break-neck speed and showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Mobile is constantly delivering new products to the market – and literally inventing NEW markets when they have to! Example: Tablets. Take a good look at your iOS or Android-powered device and enjoy it, because 2 years from now – it’s going to look, act, feel and operate in a completely different manner.

So what’s next in mobile? I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Apple. Please let me know when you do. All I know is that as a mobile marketer, we’re truly seeing a renaissance here as the mobile age continues to take over and expand. My advice to you: continue to download cool apps, check out new mobile websites, study up on the capabilities of HTML5, scan some QR codes and opt-in to a few SMS alert databases to receive news and offers from your favorite brands. In other words, soak it in – because the age of mobile is upon us, and it’s here to stay.

But what is convergence?

Entertainment, news and basically all other content must be accessed through several different channels. These mediums used to co-exist separately and they included print media, television, movies, video games and radio. Since the advent of the Internet, we have been seeing these mediums start to blur into one giant source of information.

20 Years ago, we would have seen our fathers sitting in a chair reading the paper, but today that is hardly the case. We have seen a dramatic shift in how we consume our content. The question is no longer: “Should I read the news in the paper, or watch it on TV?” The question now is: “Should I view the New york times on my phone, or my laptop?”

We have become a “3 Screen” culture. We have our smartphones (iPhone, Windows, or Android), our intermediate device (Laptop or Tablet), and our “Big Screen” television. We now can access the same data on whichever screen we want. Services like “iCloud” allow our content to automatically update across our devices to guarantee that the changes are reflected across every device that we want it to.

Recently, video games have joined in on the trend. In an effort to make any TV a “Smart TV,” Microsoft geared its Xbox 360 platform as an entertainment device that can do far more than just play games. Expanding its abilities by joining forces with partners like Netflix and Hulu, the Xbox 360 has been a resounding success for Microsoft.

Smartphones continue to blur the lines between secondary device and a primary computer. As phones, tablets and laptops have continued to become more powerful, we have seen a drastic downturn in traditional PC “Tower” Sales. The Internet has truly unified and revolutionized all of our content. On the Internet, you can read the news, look at pictures, listen to music, play games and watch videos or movies. The mediums now all exist through one unified channel. The real question is, what kinds of devices will we be accessing all this content on in the future.

I for one believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that there are still plenty of untapped industries that can benefit from the era of digital convergence!