Feedback #2

Well done - some evidence of thorough research. You still need to add some depth (moral panics / future of gaming?) however you are nearly there.

test out your blog.

Test out your case study.

Write a list of general terms related to NMTs.

- Convergence.
- Linear/non-linear.
- Digitisation.
- Personalisation.
- Interactivity.
- Democratisation.
-Peer-to-peer.

Write a list of key terminology related to your chosen technology.

- Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft X-Box 360, Nintendo Wii.
- MMO (massive multiplayer online).
- RPG (role-playing game).
- EDi – Electronic Distribution initiative.
- Sony’s Game 3.0 philosophy- emphasising social interaction, community, customisation, open -source.
- Blu-ray disc.

From your blog, select 10 statements (stats, quotations) that you have found during your research which relate to debates on audiences’ changing experiences, institutions response on technology, the future etc. NAME ANY SOURCES.

- "It's about community, collaboration and customisation," said Sony's Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco. "The industry is on the threshold of a new era of creativity, collaboration, communication and commerce embedded into an experience to empower games.” – BBC News article.
- "Online gaming is now more interesting than offline living, and when you can get everything from your food to your benefits delivered to your door, there really is very little excuse for going out." – Guy Browning, The Guardian.
- "The new machine includes an advanced Cell processor, which Sony claimed would make it superior to anything else available in the console world, as well as a Blu-ray high definition disc drive which the company hopes will become the successor to the popular DVD format." – Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent for The Guardian.
- “Teenagers about to scramble for the "Rolls-Royce" of games consoles" – Paul Lewis and Bobbie Johnson, The Guardian. Teenagers and children now judging each other on the type of games console that they have.
- In the first 6-7 months of ‘Second Life’ over 5 million accounts were created.
- "Gamers today, instead of being thrown into a universe created by teams of designers, can grow their own world, inhabited by any shape of creature they can imagine."
- "Too often in today’s society we want to push the blame elsewhere, and not accept personal responsibility for those things over which we can have a great deal, if not full, control. All this finger pointing may make us feel better about ourselves, but it does precious little to solve any real problems."
- "As a parent or guardian, do you not have the power to turn off the console, take away the potato chips, and simply order your child to go outside and play???"
- "Gamers today, instead of being thrown into a universe created by teams of designers, can grow their own world, inhabited by any shape of creature they can imagine."

other NMT's

Digital Television.

1984 – Sky channel satellite television.
1998 – Digital satellite television (DST).

T.V. becomes a multimedia station – convergence.

New advances: remote controls, plasma screen, surround sound, HDTV, personal video recorder, timeshift technology.

Digital T.V. broadcasters make use of established means of television reception to carry digital television signals: aerial, satellite dish and cable.

DDT (digital terrestrial T.V.) – ITVDigital, Freeview, picked up by set-top box.
DST (digital satellite T.V.) – SkyDigital, signals are received by satellite dish.
DCT (digital cable T.V.) – Telewest, NTL, fibre optic cabling connected to subscriber television texts.

Narrowcasting – niche audiences based on specific interests or genres.

The Internet and Music.

• How has the music industry changed by the development of new technology?
• New media technology has touched the production, content, performance and reception of popular music in a profound way in the last 20 years. These developments have been driven by the music industry, the musicians and consumers. The internet is at the centre of today’s most contentious debate concerning music – distribution.
• Digital technology democratises music making. An artist is now often a producer, performer and engineer – a “digital auteur”. Digital technology has converged everything.
• Independent distribution has been made possible by the internet – do you really need a record deal anymore when you can put yourself out there yourself? Power has been taken away from those that own and control recording studios.
• New media technologies have massively opened up the ability for popular music to penetrate home environments, and has opened up the way that music is listened to, experienced and consumed e.g. Hi-Fi, PC, DVD player, games console, radio, music stations etc.
• Digital music empowers the listener in ways that were never possible with vinyl or cassette tape. They can re-order tracks, create new “narrative” by repeating or skipping, and listening therefore becomes a creative form of production.
• Stereos mean that listening to music becomes a private but mobile experience. It provides a private soundtrack to what might be an otherwise soulless encounter e.g. tube rides, bus journeys and fitness training. This therefore domesticates the external world and blurs the boundaries between public and private.
• Convergence in other technologies such as mobile phones.
• Negative technological determinist: But is it an anti-social technology? Surely it stops or at least limits real human interaction?
• Internet allows for live performances to be transmitted, and for music videos to be streamed.
• Napster in 2000 was the leading technological development of this kind.
• Peer to peer networks e.g. Kazaa and Gnutella allow users to transfer digital files between their PCs but with a huge backlog of viruses and spyware.
• 800 million illegal files are available on the internet. Kazaa cannot be prosecuted itself as it doesn’t “hold” any copyrighted files, it just provides the peer to peer service, however a user can be prosecuted for downloading copyrighted material from Kazaa.
• DRM – digital rights management – refers to technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to or usage of digital data or hardware. If tracks are digitally rights managed they cannot be copied. Are they protecting the copyright or just trying to monopolise the market?

Film.

is the Playstation 3 really any better than the Playstation 2?

What different services does PS3 offer which were not available on the PS2?

• This article describes the features on the PS3's "home" facility and how it could change the way we look at gaming and the way in which we socialise with each other.

advantages and disadvantages of gaming for the audience.

Advantages.

• Console gaming allows the user a very interactive form of escapism, in which they can get compeltely lost in a world which would not be possible in real life. It allows the gamer to become someone who they could never realistically be, and escape from the world around them.
• Online gaming such as 'Second Life' allows the user to socialise with people from all over the world and effectively learn about other cultures. It enables the user to form friendships with people whom they would not usually have the oppurtunity to talk to and meet.
• Gaming can also prove educational in many instances - the logical puzzles which need to be completed in many games provide a challenge for the mind which cannot be obtained from other places and technologies.

Disadvantages.

• Instances of violence have been linked with gaming, and it can be argued that small children are being subjected to violent situations and images through gaming, and these can cause children to think that this is the right way to behave.
• Implications on our social lives - although socialising through games such as 'Second Life' can introduce us to people we would not usually have the oppurtunity to meet, it can also draw attention away from our own REAL social lives, and our "friends" which we have "met" (but not actually met!) online can take over and even replace the friends which we have in real life.
• Gaming is another technology as well as television and film which is argued to be contributing to the growing problem of obesity in children in Britain.

Article about how and why parents need to control their children when it comes to how much time they spend gaming each week. - This could prevent the disadvantags such as violence and obesity from happening.

how is the gaming industry finding new ways of making money out of the audience?

• Online gaming such as "Second Life", as well as free interfaces such as the PS3's "Home" facility, has opened up a whole new world in which money can be made by practically anyone. In "Home", spaces are available for advertising for up-coming new releases of games and movies, through which the institution can make money beause this advertising space will be popular as it will reach its target audience of gamers straight away. A similar advertising service is available in "Second Life", but here there is also another way of making money. People have now begun to actually live their real life jobs through "Second Life". By purchasing houses and shops etc. in game, users are now selling and exchanging property and items for real money, and a comfortable living can be made out of it.
• Institutions are now selling us "home entertainment systems", not just games consoles, so more people will want to buy one. They are effectively aiming to create a machine which will be able to cater for all of the audience's technological needs, and have a number of customers who are currently loyal to their products so they know that they will be able to sell them when they finally develop the technology. They can then seriously jack up the prices of the games on the market because they know that they will sell to the millions of people who have bought this box which can do everything.
• Add-ons for games are becoming more and more popular, especially with the release of the new PS3, which has a Playstation Store in the main menu in which the user can purchase extra levels and chapters for games, extra characters, locations and weapons etc. For the core gamer who has bought the PS3 in the first place, this is the kind of service which they want, and they will buy into it as it will enable them to get the full experience out of the technology.

hypothesis.

The hypotheses which i am going to investigate in order to focus my study are:

• Is the Playstation 3 really any better than the Playstation 2? What different services does PS3 offer which were not available on the PS2?
• Which of the three new main games consoles currently available on the market offers the widest range of services for the audience?
• How is the gaming industry finding new ways of making money out of the audience?
• Is online gaming posing a threat to the way we live our lives today, both in terms of our social human interaction and our physical health? Advantages and disadvantages of gaming for the audience.
• Is online gaming creating a digital divide between those who have the financial means to use the technology and use this new oppurtunity for social interaction and those who do not?

READ THIS ARTICLE.

AREA FIVE: THE FUTURE.

• Virtual reality is predicted to become the future of gaming. We could walk down the streets with creatures from another world, taking interactivity to a whole new level.
• Games such as Second Life will also be taken to the extreme as with virtual reality technology we will be able to live out a whole different life simply by being in a game.
• "Gamers today, instead of being thrown into a universe created by teams of designers, can grow their own world, inhabited by any shape of creature they can imagine."
• Click here for an article about the future of gaming.

AREA FOUR: ISSUES.

• Obestiy - are children spending too much time on computers rather than excercising and socialising? A growing issue concerning gaming is that in a nation where obesity in children is a growing problem, is gaming to blame? Does it encourage children to stay inside when they could be doing other things?
• Violence in children - games such as 'Manhunt' were banned in Britain and in the US for being too violent. In America incidents of violent behaviour in children have been linked with children playing computer games. But is gaming really the reason behind this behaviour? Or are we really just looking for an excuse as to why today's children are behaving in this way?
• Roles of women - representation of women is a big issue as games are usually marketed towards men and have a dominant male main character rescuing a female somewhere in the plot. Females in games are generally represented as weak, 'damsel in distress' type characters. However, when females are used as main characters e.g. Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, they are still sexualised with, in this example, hot pants, large breasts and full lips.
• Click here for the article "Stop Blaming Video Games" which highlights the fact that parents should take responsibility for their children.

- "As a parent or guardian, do you not have the power to turn off the console, take away the potato chips, and simply order your child to go outside and play???"

- "Too often in today’s society we want to push the blame elsewhere, and not accept personal responsibility for those things over which we can have a great deal, if not full, control. All this finger pointing may make us feel better about ourselves, but it does precious little to solve any real problems."

AREA THREE: AUDIENCE.

• Traditional views of the media are now changing as we are being encouraged to do things such as play games through our televisions and not just be passive watchers, whether its in an interactive "red button" game or through consoles.
• Audiences are now (in the instance of online gaming) using gaming as an escape from their own lives. You can now date, dance, make friends, socialise and "go out", even go on holiday in online games such as Second Life. People are missing out on this part of their REAL lives to do these activities online. It has also been suggested that children are spending less time with their families and doing excercise etc. to play computer games, bringing up issues such as the ones in the issues section.
• Click here to see an article "Cute is fine for some, but violence is forever". Apparently, 'according to most mainstream media sources, the Nintendo machine has changed videogame players into benevolent family-orientated consumers of harmless fun'. But does this mean that audiences will forget notoriously violent games like GTA just to go and play their Wii? Surely motion sensitive controller based consoles are just a fac which will pass? Core gamers will not be eternally satisfied with the novelty of a motion sensitive controller, which is why games such as GTA will always sell.

AREA TWO: INSTITUTIONS.

• Gaming institutions are increasing their profits by converging with the film, television and music industries. By creating games based upon famous films such as Star Wars, and television shows such as Spongebob Squarepants, they are reaching a wider audience of not just gamers but also movie and television fans. Music fanatics can also now play related games such as Singstar and Guitar Hero, which encourage personalisation and are very interactive.

AREA ONE: TECHNOLOGY.

• Gaming allows audience interaction like no other new media technology. Digital television can allow interactivity to a certain extent, but it is nowhere near as involved and advanced as gaming both online, on p.c. and on consoles.
• The main institutions in the industry are Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. The main consoles on the market at the moment are the X-Box 360, the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii.
• Gaming is marketed generally towards children and young adults, however the adult market is quickly expanding with games now appealing to a wider audience such as Second Life. The target market is mainly male, however female gaming interest is also increasing.
• Gaming is a completely new media technology, which is intriguing for the target market as we do not know the limit of what it can do.
• It is a non-linear experience as the experience in all games is the individual player's own experience, and it will change from person to person.

not to do with gaming but...

I found this article about Myspace on The Guardian website which is interesting and SO true. Here's a few quotes from it:


"The social networking phenomenon is getting way out of hand. A friend has listed one of her hobbies as simply "MySpacing". Which, when I'd first seen it, made me laugh a lot, but I swiftly realised it was a Friday night and I was sat reading profiles in the early hours."

"Ironically, the invention of social networking has discouraged everyone from being, erm, sociable. I send messages to my housemates rather than just, you know, talking to them."

"Just as I try to tear myself away, someone will post something that'll keep me there for another 10 minutes and before I know it, it's 3am."

"Back in the days of the glorious Sega Mega Drive, my mother allowed me to play computer games only on certain days of the week. As you could expect, this was a unanimously unpopular decision. The Sega Days meant that I wasn't wasting my entire youth trying to thwart that pesky Dr Robitnik. Instead, I'd be out with my football boots on - and having a much better time than I've ever had playing Sonic the Hedgehog, of course.

MySpace has no such motherly protection. Boy, how I wish it did. Every day is now a MySpace day. What bliss it would be if after an hour of pointless surfing an error message appeared, telling you bluntly: "Dear User, session expired, get a life."

Your only choice would be to click OK, pop outside, have a kickaround and maybe even try talking to your friends in the old-fashioned manner that involves use of your vocal chords."

Second Life.

As well as console games, I have also been doing some research into MMO games. I found this article, "This year's hottest destination: cyberspace", in which Gemma Bowes "goes on holiday" online in the online game "Second Life".

Below are the main points from the article:

• The most famous virtual world, Second Life, has attracted 4.6 million members since it was developed in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Lab, and now big corporations are using it to contact customers and market their goods.
• In Second Life, these movements are coming together as travel companies start to recognise the possible benefits to their industry. The Starwood hotel group has created the first virtual hotel as a way of gathering feedback on the designs for its Aloft chain, due to launch in the US, Europe and the Middle East over the next few years. Avatars can wander round the different rooms, swim in the pool and go to events (singer Ben Folds performed recently), and are encouraged to comment on its design.
• ‘What we will see is a very sophisticated form of travel brochure, where people can experience their holiday before they book it.' – people actually basing their lives and real experiences on what they see in Second Life.
• 'Virtual travel could involve wearing a helmet like an astronaut's and being wired up, so if you take a cruise down some rapids in a virtual world, it will feel like you're really doing it,' says Frank Shaw, of the Centre For Future Studies.
• ‘My attempts to start the Second Life programme prove stressful. As someone who has been thwarted by their iPod, even downloading the software (for free) over the net proves a stumbling block. I resort to ringing the IT department at work for help, and luckily a Second Life user answers the phone. It's like I've found a member of a secret society as he whispers conspiratorially: 'Once you start, there's no going back.'
• (On Second Life) – ‘It's all relatively simple and self-explanatory, and I'm struck by the quality of the graphics and complexity of the 3D world. But after a few hours I feel confused and frustrated. I'm not sure how a lot of functions work, can't find nice places to go or friendly people and the only way I feel like I'm on holiday is that I feel jetlagged from screen exhaustion.’
• ‘Are there countries with different cultures? 'Absolutely,' says Aimee. 'They aren't official, with borders, but there are simulations of real countries, and regions with their own cultures and populations.' There's a Little Italy, Dublin has Irish pubs and Ihla Brasil, which attracts Portuguese speakers. Then there are the 'furries' of Luskwood, who have animalistic avatars, and a place called Gor, where the resident Goreans live according to a novel by John Norman, The Cycle of Gor, with courtesy, slavery and female subservience as key beliefs.’ – OH DEAR. Surely this is taking it too far. When did our own lives become so boring that we needed to derive cults and other religions based on our real world and NOVELS?
• ‘Exploring the complex landscapes is certainly fun for a while, occasionally stimulating, sometimes relaxing. It offers some sort of escapism, but I think I agree with Frank Shaw, who says that, fundamentally, the point of a holiday is to move yourself somewhere different physically - and virtual reality can't really come close.’

comparison.

In this article there is a comparison of three new games consoles which could come in handy for statistics and stuff:


Microsoft Xbox 360
Launched: December 2005
It does: Plays high-definition 360 and standard Xbox titles, as well as DVDs and CDs, and can connect to the internet for global tournaments.
Has sold: 10.4 million
How much: £279


Nintendo Wii
Launched: December 2006
It does: Less powerful than its rivals, but a 'motion-sensitive controller' has been worked into every game, so playing tennis or conducting an orchestra by waving the wand is a little like the real thing. Plays discs made for the Wii's predecessor, the GameCube.
Has sold: 4.62 million
How much: £180


Sony PlayStation 3
Launches: This month in Europe, earlier in US and Japan.
It does: State-of-the-art games consoles with the potential for photo-realistic graphics. Plays high-definition Blu-ray discs, some original PlayStation and PS2 games, DVDs and super audio CDs. Owners get free online gaming and web surfing access.
Has sold: 1.65 million
How much: £425

some articles worth looking at.

Below are some links to articles from The Guardian website which might be worth looking at for reference.

gaming search for articles from the guardian


"Why will Sony start off selling only the pricier PS3 here?"

"Writers who work for nothing: It's a licence to print money" - from the NMT handout.

"How to... be a recluse" - "Online gaming is now more interesting than offline living, and when you can get everything from your food to your benefits delivered to your door, there really is very little excuse for going out."

"Playstation 3 launched in UK" - "The new machine includes an advanced Cell processor, which Sony claimed would make it superior to anything else available in the console world, as well as a Blu-ray high definition disc drive which the company hopes will become the successor to the popular DVD format."

"Game on for Sony's giant PS3 gamble" - "Its strength as a digital Swiss army knife could, in fact, also be its weakness, according to critics."

"PS3 launch: crash barriers and a queue of dozens" - "teenagers about to scramble for the "Rolls-Royce" of games consoles" - teenagers and children now judging each other on the type of games console that they have.

blogging: the future?

Click here to see the short video "Googlezon".

The video at the link above showed a fictional representation of what could possibly happen to the future of the press due to blogging and the internet.

The video suggests that Google and Amazon might combine into "Googlezon", which would take content and mix it up to construct new individual content for each reader. The New York Times could then sue Googlezon for violation of Copyright laws, which would be taken to the High Court. Googlezon would win the case.

The video predicts that a personalized package to which anyone could contribute known as "Epic" would create individual news for each reader.

The issues raised from this video are as follows:

1. Copyright Laws - will these be completely abolished? When everyone is able and permitted to post comments and blogs about news, do any of us really have any rights concerning the Copyright Laws?
2. News by Computers - is there not a moral ethical issue about having our news controlled by a computer? Do we really want all of our news to be selected and delivered by an automated system?
3. Custom Content Package - if news is selected for the individual reader based on their past viewings and interests, an already engaged reader will receive news that is basically an in-depth summary of the world. However, if someone logs on all the time just to watch TV sitcoms and gossip about their friends, the only news that they receive will just be a 'sensational collection of trivia'.

five areas of study.

1. Technology
What does the technology allow the audience and institution to do that they couldn’t do before? What is your chosen technology and how is it marketed? Who to? Which companies provide it and how much does it cost? Is it new media or old media undergoing radical transformation?

Convergence – the process of multiple technologies being brought together to form a new product.

Linear/Non-linear – linear experiences move in a straight line from start to finish, whereas non-linear experiences give the individual a unique experience of the programme by pressing the red button e.g. alternative voice over, extra video footage or explanatory text.

Digitisation – the material can be reproduced perfectly by a computerised system (like a Sky Box) or a computer and transported more effectively in any order.

2. Institutions
How are media institutions converging media interests to increase profit? How are they reaching audiences in new ways?

3. Audience
What are experiences doing with their new media technologies? How are traditional experiences of the media changing? What are audiences not doing so that they can spend more time interacting with new media technologies? What advantages are there for the consumer? You will carry out audience research, asking opinions and investigating consumption patterns.

Personalisation – the ability to offer users a personalised experience e.g. Sky+ allows users to pause live television and record their favourite programmes.

Interactivity – encourages the audience to be less passive and to engage with the media rather than just consuming e.g. red button on Sky.

Democratisation – the ability to communicate your opinions and ideas, or share your creative output e.g. blogging.

4. Issues
Will shops close or people lose jobs as a result of the new media technology? Does it encourage illegal activity? Is it generating any “moral panics”?

5. The Future
If the technology is extended, what could happen? How could media practices be different in future, based on the potential of current technologies?