PC Game Study Part 3

Revenue Streams

Usually the revenue streams of PC game industry are from retail sales, game subscriptions and online play revenues. And now there is a new stream of revenue emerging, which is In-Game advertising.

What is In-Game Advertising (IGA)?

In-Game Advertising (IGA) refers to the use of computer and video games as a medium in which to deliver advertising. (Wikipedia)

2005 spending on in-game advertising was USD$56 million, and this figure is estimated to grow to $1.8 billion by 2010, according to Massive Incorporated, although Yankee Group gives a lower estimate at $732 million. In-game advertising allows developers to offset growing development costs and to take more risks in game play.

Some advertisers see in-game advertising as a key to target the male 18-34 demographic, who are increasingly neglecting television in favor of computer and video games. Still others see in-game advertising as a way to reach into casual games. For instance, through NeoEdge Networks and titles like Diner Dash, and target a predominately female demographic, who are frequently harder to reach and impact.

Future of PC Game:

I would like to see in the future, PC Game will be used not only for playing games, but also will be used in various fields, such as educations. PC game can be developed as a useful tool for people to learn, practice and play.

PC Game Study Part 2

Major Players & Their Competitions

Some gamers who get used to play on consoles are no longer investing their time and money in a $400 console and $50 in a game. And now they are attractive by the convenience and low cost of PC Game instead of console. A gamer said that “computer games seem more sophisticated than console games and offer a greater sense of accomplishment.”

Not so long ago, PC titles were the mainstay of video gaming, but they have slumped in recent years, however, with the strength of one of the most popular video games ever for PCs, World of Warcraft coming out, now they are showing signs of a comeback.

In the current market, the major competitors will be game developers, such as Vivendi and EA. The intensive competitions between major players are not only the design of the PC game, but a new powerful competitive advantage on computer programs which aims at making PC gaming more attractive, incorporating console-like features and easier online play. Microsoft, an example of this new type of competitor in PC game industry, who plays role in both game developer and PC program developer, will become a major player in the future.

PC Game Study(Part 1)

What is PC Game?

A personal computer game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a video game played on a personal computer.

“PC games are created by one or more game developers, often in conjunction with game artists and other specialists, and either published independently or through a third party publisher. They may then be distributed on physical media such as DVDs and CDs, as Internet-downloadable shareware, or through online delivery services. PC games often require specialized hardware in the user's computer in order to play, such as a specific generation of graphics processing unit or an Internet connection for online play, although these system requirements vary from game to game.” (Wikipedia)

Revenue & Top 10 Games:

Consumer research firm The NPD Group has released the overview of U.S. PC game sales for 2006, with retail revenues over $970 million, and there is 1% increase over PC based revenue posted in 2005.

Listing below is top 10 PC games of 2006 by NPD:

1. World Of Warcraft, Vivendi
2. The Sims 2, EA
3. The Sims 2: Open For Business Expansion Pack, EA
4. Star Wars: Empire At War, LucasArts
5. The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack, EA
6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Take-Two
7. Age Of Empires III, Microsoft
8. The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff Expansion Pack, EA
9. Civilization IV, Take-Two
10. The Sims 2 Nightlife Expansion Pack, EA

NTT DOCOMO (Japan) Reaches World’s First Achievement in 5 Gbps Package Transmission in 4G Field Experiment

Hi! Eveyone, welcome to my blog!

Today is my first blog entry. Let me introduce myself first.

My name is Ting. I major in Accounting and Information System at USC. I am interested in all Japanese stuff, such as technology, stars, dramas and music. (my favorite idol group: KAT-TUN) I like collecting stamps and playing the piano.

On my blog, I will post something about Japan and new technology that I am interested in. And I hope these will be exciting to you.

NTT DOCOMO is a Japanese leading mobile communication company. Since Japanese cell phones cannot be used outside Japan, it is not strange that not many of you know it. At the very beginning, its various types of cell phone designs are eye-catching to me from its commercials. Its cell phone contains 3G features, which are common in Asia, but not in US, where we are still living in 2G to 2.5G. NTT DOCOMO is famous by its 3G FOMA (Freedom of Mobile multimedia Access) service, based on W-CDMA, which has now moved the mobile communication environment to the next level in Japan. FOMA not only provides voice transmission quality, it also supports diverse multimedia content.

NTT DOCOMO recently announced that it achieved a maximum packet transmission rate of approximately 5Gbps in the downlink using 100MHz frequency bandwidth to a mobile station moving at 10km/h. This field experiment of fourth-generation (4G) radio access took place in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture on December 25, 2006.

5Gbps is very fast transmission rate. If you use this transmission rate to download something, your download speed will reach to 625mb/s.

What is 4G?

“The Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) defines 4G as a network that operates on Internet technology, combines it with other applications and technologies such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX, and runs at speeds ranging from 100 Mbps (in cell-phone networks) to 1 Gbps (in local Wi-Fi networks). 4G is not just one defined technology or standard, but rather a collection of technologies and protocols to enable the highest throughput, lowest cost wireless network possible.” (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G)

This great milestone that NTT DOCOMO reaches is a revolution in data transmission in 4G technology field. Since it plans to launch 4G around 2010 in Japan, this successful achievement really pushes NTT DOCOMO a big step forward. I am looking forward to seeing this new technology used in future’s cell phone communication.