Jon Peddie Blogs

Game Technology for Disaster Preparedness and Response

Posted by Ted Pollak on March 17th 2011 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Content Creation
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By Ted Pollak (contributions by Jon Peddie) Japan’s terrible situation with its nuclear power plant is heartbreaking. Especially sad are reports that some workers are exposing themselves to potentially harmful radiation levels. The bravery of these people is overwhelming. This got me to thinking about how game technology could maybe help in situations like this and also train and educate people about risk analysis. I will disclose right off the bat that I am not an expert in this kind of thing but believe that there must be some way to modernize how we deal with such a terribly dangerous energy source. International…

Calculating the Total Cost of Ownership

Posted by Ted Pollak on November 30th 2010 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, General Interest
Tags: gpu tco energy efficiency total cost of ownership graphics processors

The other day Jon was (halfway) joking that modern enthusiast GPU’s should be measured in horsepower, as they now consume about 1/3rd HP on the high end. This got me to thinking of a computer system expense evaluation tool I started working on a few years ago named RealCost. This tool could be used for just about anything electronic and is intended to estimate the total cost of ownership of a device based on its initial expense and the power it consumes. Consumer adjustable variables include average hours use per day, load weighting, planned life, and local energy expense. It is…

A New Model Cometh

Posted by Ted Pollak on April 29th 2010 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Games
Tags: gaming ea mmog subscription model battlefield bad company 2

One of the biggest challenges for PC gaming is the revenue and refresh models. When I refer to refresh model I am talking about creating sequels. Often there is so much pressure to crank out another version of the game that sequels can end up deflating the franchise and ultimately hurting the game. Generally MMOG’s avoid this phenomenon because they add content along the way. This refreshes the franchise without forcing the gamer to the cash register for a new base software package. This is a better model and the only time the gamer should be forced to the cash register…

A Theory of Wiivolution

Posted by Ted Pollak on May 28th 2009 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Games
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The Wii SD; Factors for Success. There’s no question that the Nintendo Wii SD (the current standard definition Wii) has been a huge success. With sales of over 50 million units, it has almost single-handedly changed the video game industry by drawing people to gaming that probably would not have made the shift with the other offerings on the market. The more obvious factors that Nintendo had going for it were a very large and devoted fan base and the revolutionary controller. Nintendo’s ultra-fan base, consisting of some 20 million gamers, are people with such rabid brand enthusiasm that they are…

The Biggest Untapped Opportunity in Home Entertainment

Posted by Ted Pollak on May 17th 2009 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Games
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The biggest untapped opportunity in home entertainment is interactive television. I know I am not the first to say this but there seems to be a belief that iTV has a tech barrier around it, and that we are not “there yet” technologically. I believe there IS a currently achievable form of iTV and think the first logical step, which would be widely accepted, economically viable, and a true a paradigm shift in home entertainment, is an alternative data presentation screen, or overlay, for sports programming. This type of enhancement for television sports viewing could actually start right now, with no…

The Art of Marketing and Selling PC Gaming Hardware Internationally

Posted by Ted Pollak on February 8th 2009 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Games
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What actually makes a gaming PC? High power processors? No. Neon lights? No. The factor that actually makes it a gaming PC lies in the mind of the purchaser. It is a measure of influence and motivation which can be measured as a percentage of total purchase motivation. It is a key factor in our PC Gaming Hardware reports. Once a person influenced by games decides to purchase PC hardware, there is another very important factor which influences the equation. What hardware do they need to satisfy their gaming requirements? There is an art to making a PC attractive to gamers. It…

A Cellular Suggestion

Posted by Ted Pollak on November 15th 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Games
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OK so I am pretty hard on the mobile game software industry. It’s important to understand that this is mostly directed at the revenue projections that the industry advertises. I remember going to an EA analyst day last year where billions were projected for casual mobile, yet EA Casual has now been disbanded those employees sent off on new paths. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Casual mobile phone games will eventually be free. The browser will dominate the interface of future phones, and once Flash is on there, pack your bags boys and girls, most pay-for-casual-mobile-phone-gaming will…

First Person Second

Posted by Ted Pollak on July 30th 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Games
Tags:

Here’s an interesting chart Jon found which tracks the use of the term “Doom clone” versus “First Person Shooter” (FPS) It’s fascinating how the term FPS stuck, I mean Mist is an FPE (first person explorer), rFactor is a FPR (first person racer), FSX is a FPF (first person flyer) – why does the shooter get the acronym? As a representative of JPR, and thus a connoisseur of the pixel, I propose a petition to reclaim FPS to its rightful and appropriate place in history…. ....of course we are speaking of Frames Per Second. So the takeaway is to remember Frames…

Missed the Boat

Posted by Ted Pollak on June 28th 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Games
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The loudest complainers about PC Gaming seem to have one thing in common - a failed strategy in this market.

Virtual Reality Resolution

Posted by Ted Pollak on May 20th 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, VIZ-SIM
Tags:

M.C Escher: Hand with Reflecting Sphere A number of months ago I visited a defense contractor who is making virtual reality training simulations for the military. To use the system people put on a VR headset which has a resolution of 800 x 600. At this meeting I asked the developers what the “virtual resolution” of their world was and the concept was lost to them. Well what I meant was how many pixels are in the universe from a single perspective around the user. Lately I have been flying Microsoft Flight Simulator X with a TrackIR head tracking device which…

Mobile Game Pricing

Posted by Ted Pollak on March 21st 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Games
Tags:

If you compare software prices to the cost of developing console, PC, and mobile games, something seems to be out of whack. World of Warcraft costs about $50 million to develop and market, Call of Duty 4 – probably $20 million total, Gears of War $10 million to develop and a few more in marketing. The prices of these games range from $30 - $50 (barring subscription fees). By contrast many mobile games cost $50 - $250K to develop. So how can the mobile game industry expect people to pay $10-$20 a pop when as a percentage of development the value…

A Theory About PC Gaming

Posted by Ted Pollak on February 4th 2008 | Permalink
Categories: Blogs, Games
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A simple proposition: most modern PC gaming requires deeper thought and higher analytical skills than console gaming, and therefore is better for the human brain. Pretty obviously, this is a theory of mine made without scientific research but I’m willing to wager there is a neuroscientist out there who would agree with me. I look to two major components to back up this theory: game play complexity and system complexity. Game play complexity The most obvious difference between PC Gaming and Console Gaming is the number of control combinations that are possible in PC gaming — essentially every key on a…

My CES

Posted by Ted Pollak on January 21st 2008 | Permalink
Categories: The Market
Tags:

Behold the Consumer Electronics Show, an almost legendary annual occurrence which draws well over a hundred thousand people to Las Vegas. Being a gaming analyst the acronym CES would be more aptly defined as the Computer Entertainment Show, at least that’s what I was looking for. My CES experience started before I even left the ground of San Francisco International Airport. I was flying Richard Branson’s new airline Virgin America, and Virgin has recognized that consumer electronics have become an important element in attracting airline customers. Their new entertainment, information, and communication system, which they call Red, allows passengers to watch,…