Video Game Trends

Running head: GENERATION EIGHT: VIDEO GAMES

Generation Eight: New Changes in Emerging Video Game Technology

Kimberly Hogg

Mount Olive College

CIS 300

Dr. Barreto

Abstract

This paper describes the trends and future of the video game industry as consoles enter the emerging eighth generation. This paper will focus mainly on Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony as they prepare for the new systems. It will also explore the effects the iPad 2, Apple’s App Store, and casual social media-based games have had on the emerging trends in the gaming industry. It will discuss what the future of gaming will look like in the emerging generation, with consoles focusing on mobility and connectivity. This paper also discusses the struggles developers face as they try to please both the traditional, hardcore gamer and the new, casual gamer.

​Keywords: video game trends, eighth generation consoles, casual gamer

New Changes in Emerging Video Game Technology

Video games are currently entering the eighth generation, from a product life-cycle perspective. This generation is shaped by the seventh generation, which can be heavily characterized by a vast amount of experimentation, as developers and designers have tried to determine exactly what needs these systems should be meeting. This decade has seen incredible growth in technology, especially in social media, which consumers expect to be present in every well-made medium. According to Moore's Law, “the number of transistors per square inch on an integrated chip doubles every 18 months” (Kroenke, 2011, p. 4). Because of this, the price for online storage space is negligible, allowing web-based companies to specialize in streaming audio, video, and all sorts of other data files. Gaming consoles are expected to provide consumers with access to these applications as well as traditional games. Cloud computing has made it possible to render graphics on the server end. With the wide prevalence of...