"gaming" articles

Despite the decline in the global economy, electronic gaming still shows strong growth in a variety of areas. Social gaming has become a $1 billion industry while Internet connectivity among different platforms has given consumers more online and multiplayer gaming options. However, data on consumer spending and behaviors in areas such as virtual items are currently scarce. To compete for the consumer’s shrinking entertainment budget and remain on the leading edge of gaming, industry...

Today’s consumers want TV content not just in the web browser, but on smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, etc. In order for “TV Everywhere” to succeed, the industry cannot offer content on a multitude of devices alone, it must also surpass the viewer’s search and discovery experience, known as metadata. Metadata is the in-depth descriptive information about programming that includes title, storyline, cast, genre, release date, images and more. Metadata drives TV...

Microsoft might expand the Avatar Kinect application beyond gaming. Microsoft isn't claiming to be game-centric, but instead it might use things like set-top boxes and business videoconferencing and add elements of Kinect within those. One possible use of the Avatar Kinect is within an entertainment experience, such as watching television. Microsoft has demonstrated Kinect with Sky in the UK and having the avatar represent the user within a chat room, where viewers can come...

Google+ is Google's most aggressive effort yet to crack the evolution of the Web from a place that connects people to information to a place that connects them to one another. It has amassed 20 million users in three weeks, according to research firm ComScore Inc. The addition of social games could liven up Google+, which has far fewer users than Facebook's more than 750 million and fewer bells and whistles. Google+ still requires an invitation. The market for social games in the...

Almost one-third of people in the U.S. over 13 play mobile games monthly, and the number of gamers in older demographics more than doubled since 2007, according to Parks Associates. The international research firm's new report Mobile/Portable Gaming: Market Updates finds the user base for gaming has expanded into nontraditional segments thanks to the popularity of mobile apps and titles such as Rovio’s Angry Birds. These changes will also force creation of new business models to...

Parks Associates Analysts, Pietro Macchiarella and Heather Way, provide insight on social game advertising opportunities for ZDNet Asia . Social game ad revenue will grow through brand integration within gameplay and branded virtual good offerings. Parks Associates' In-Game Advertising industry report will offer further insight on the ever-expanding gaming ad market.

More Q&A with a reporter, this time covering smart TVs and connected game consoles: What are your estimates for the total worldwide sales for all major consoles? Kurt: We expect sales of the major consoles to remain fairly steady over a five-year period – from 40.7 million units in 2011 to 45.1 million units in 2015. Do you have stats on the total adoption of XBLA, PSN and Wii network worldwide (or in the US)? Kurt: The last Xbox LIVE subscriber count I...

Parks Associates announced a new design for its company website www.parksassociates.com and its hosted events. The new site features improved navigation, better search functionality, and an integrated Newsroom with convenient access to white papers, Webcasts, newsletters, analyst blogs, and industry reports. This new website streamlines access to current industry data and analyst insight on such topics as social gaming, digital music, and TV Everywhere,” said Tricia Parks,...