December 12, 2008
It’s official. According to a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the majority of American adults now play video games of some kind (e.g. console, computer, mobile, online, etc.). Age is still a large determining factor - although more than four out of five US adults ages 18-29 said they were video gamers, only 23% of respondents 65 + identified the same way. The study also showed that men are slightly more likely to define themselves as gamers than women, and urbanites are more likely to game than those in rural areas. Income is a non-factor, but respondents with at least some college education are significantly more likely to game than their less-educated counterparts.
In a similar vein, The LA Times is reporting that video game sales are continuing at a “blistering” pace, with the video game industry recording a 10% sales increase last month to $2.91 billion, up from $2.64 billion in November 2007.
(via eMarketer, LA Times)
November 3, 2008
Zelfi, a German mobile gaming start-up, recently released JOYity - a new app for Google’s Android that “let[s] you play games and go on adventures based on your location in the real world.” They’re referring to the interaction as “Massively Multi-Player Trans Reality Games” (MMTR) versus “Massively Multi-Player Online Games” (MMO) since, as JOYity puts it, “There is no save key or a reset button in the game. You are in the middle of what is going on, and you have to get along with anything because you are not alone in the game!”
When you download the app you can play one of three games (YouCatch, Roads of San Francisco, City Race Munich) or design your own. In Roads of San Francisco, for instance, you have to go around the city picking up clues. When you get to a destination, a text or picture message tells you where to go next. It is a Scavenger Hunt with a story line. You can also design your own Scavenger Hunt games and play them with large groups of people.
Another game that comes with JOYity, YouCatch, is a version of Manhunt. Players in the same city sign up for a game. Everyone acts as both hunter and hunted at the same time. The game assigns you a player that you are hunting, while assigning you to someone else as a victim. Everyone’s location is periodically flashed on the map. When you get within 25 feet of your victim, you press the scrollball on the phone for the kill. But every time you press the button, your location is shown to all the other players as well. The last person standing wins.
The games remind me of Pac Manhattan as well as Rhizome’s QueRy This. Great to see it becoming a bit more mainstream.
(via Tech Crunch)
It’s official. According to a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the majority of American adults now play video games of some kind (e.g. console, computer, mobile, online, etc.). Age is still a large determining factor - although more than four out of five US adults ages 18-29 said they were video gamers, only 23% of respondents 65 + identified the same way. The study also showed that men are slightly more likely to define themselves as gamers than women, and urbanites are more likely to game than those in rural areas. Income is a non-factor, but respondents with at least some college education are significantly more likely to game than their less-educated counterparts.