"gaming" articles

Esports is going to be aired on ESPN during prime time. Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Overwatch , has announced a deal with Disney that will see the Overwatch League playoffs be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN 3, Disney XD, and ABC. While other esports such as Heroes of the Storm have been broadcast on Disney XD and ESPN before, this agreement will see the first day of the Overwatch League finals broadcast at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN with later highlights and analysis of the finals airing on...

Having seen a fair few products and services at CES 2018, one technology stood out to me as being particularly interesting from a consumer standpoint: cloud computing services for the consumer. Two companies in particular were showing off this technology on the show floor, NVIDIA and a smaller company called Shadow. These companies charge consumers a monthly fee to stream the processing power of a high-end PC to any broadband-connected computer, the selling point being that once you...

Some of the most interesting news to come out of CES this year had to do with virtual reality. With the upcoming release of the Windows Holographic System and VR headsets for around $300, it seems like 2017 may be the year that VR goes mainstream. But what does this mean for fitness and healthcare? One example of what we can expect in terms of fitness is VirZOOM. The VirZOOM platform includes a stationary bicycle that works in combination with a VR headset and accompanying software...

2016 has been a significant year for virtual reality (VR) headsets. CE manufacturers have developed models for any household budget. Parks Associates finds that in Q3 2016, 3.5% of U.S. broadband households owned one or more virtual reality headsets. This might seem like a small number; however, compared to Q1 2016, this is a significant increase (2.4% in Q1 2016). As the gifting season is here, many tech news sources are putting together lists of the best VR sets from 2016. Prices...

According to Parks Associates research, 63% of U.S. broadband households are not familiar or know nothing about virtual reality (VR), leaving a wide opportunity for industry players to educate and market these new products and services. Currently, only 3.5% of U.S. broadband households, or roughly 3.4 million households, own a VR headset. However, a new market snapshot by Parks Associates shows experience is key for wider adoption VR headsets. Consumer Strategies and Use Cases for...

Sony launched its much-anticipated PlayStation VR Thursday morning in a move that will likely have a drastic impact on the gaming experience. Brett Sappington , Senior Director of Research at Parks Associates, provided insight on the retail launch strategy, the impact of PlayStation VR on the market, problems to anticipate, and new games/content for the device. His comments are included below: Retail launch strategy: The launch strategy and advertising surrounding...

On July 5th, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued its opinion on whether password sharing violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). I read the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit opinion on password sharing , and I suggest you do as well. Judge McKeown and Judge Reinhardt make compelling and insightful comments. For those of you who don’t have the time or energy to read it yourselves, I’ve summarized the major points: The case which...

Nintendo has garnered a lot of attention over the past week, not just because of app downloads, but also in revenue gained from storefront businesses looking to lure customers by luring Pokemon. Restaurants around the world are turning into Pokemon gyms, and paying on a cost per visit basis, meaning that Nintendo's profits are dependent on heavy foot traffic above all. However, once enthusiasm wanes, Pokemon Go becomes about gameplay, and in that respect, it is not unique. Pokemon...