Sunday, May 24, 2020

Who Invented Computer and Video Games

It would be something of a misnomer to attribute the creation and development of video games to any singular moment or event. Rather, the process can be best described as an ongoing evolution, a long and winding journey of advancements with numerous inventors all playing pivotal roles. In 1952, A.S. Douglas wrote his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Cambridge on Human-Computer interaction. As part of the project, Douglas created the first graphics-based computer game: a version of Tic-Tac-Toe. The game was programmed on an EDSAC vacuum-tube computer, which relied on a cathode ray tube display.In  1958, William Higinbotham created the first true video game. His game, titled Tennis for Two, was devised and played on a Brookhaven National Laboratory oscilloscope. Using an MIT PDP-1 mainframe computer, Steve Russell designed SpaceWar!—the first game specifically made for computer play in 1962.In 1967, Ralph Baer wrote Chase, the first video game played on a television set. (Baer, who was then part of military electronics firm Sanders Associates, first conceived of his idea in 1951 while working for Loral, a television company.)In 1971, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney  created the first arcade game. It was called Computer Space and was based on Steve Russells earlier game of Spacewar! A year later, the arcade game Pong was created by Bushnell, with help from Al Alcorn. Bushnell and Dabney would go on to become the founders of Atari Computers that same year. In 1975, Atari re-released Pong as a home video game. Larry Kerecman, one of the first video arcade game operators, wrote:   The brilliance of these machines was that Nolan Bushnell and company took what was computer programming (in Space War) and translated it into a simpler version of the game (no gravity) using hard-wired logic circuits. The printed circuit boards that comprise electronics of these games use integrated circuits called small-scale integrated circuits. They consist of discrete logic chips and gates or gates, 4-line to 16-line decoders, etc. straight out of the Texas Instruments catalog. The shape of the rocket ship and flying saucer even are visible in a pattern of diodes on the PC board. In 1972, Magnavox released  the first commercial home video game console, The Odyssey, which came pre-programmed with a dozen games. The machine had originally been designed by Baer while he was still at Sanders Associates in 1966. Baer managed to gain his legal rights to the machine after Sanders Associates rejected it.In 1976, Fairchild released the first programmable home game console, the Fairchild Video Entertainment System. Later renamed Channel F, the system was one of the first to use a newly invented microchip  by Robert Noyce of the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation. Thanks to this chip, video games were no longer limited by the number of TTL switches.On June 17, 1980, Ataris Asteroids and Lunar Lander became  the first two video games to be registered with  the United States Copyright Office.In 1989, Nintendo introduced the popular Game Boy system, a portable handheld video console created by game designer Gumpei Yokoi. He was also known for creating Virtual Boy, Famicom (and NES) as well as the Metroid series.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Video Game Industry Essay - 591 Words

Released this past month where the next-generation gaming consoles. Hoping to capture a market dominated by Sonys PlayStation 2, Microsoft has earmarked $500 million for its marketing campaign and the hype alone is enough to make a certain people look at this console. A sizable investment at $299 for the Xbox and $199 for the Game Cube, getting past the price tag is only the first hurdle. The second is deciding which to buy. The worlds largest software maker followed familiar territory in developing the Xbox using a PC-based design. Powered by a 733-megahertz Intel processor, its the most powerful console ever created. It even looks cool with its jet-black with an eerie Aliens inspired slime-green quot;Xquot;. A built-in hard drive†¦show more content†¦The controller parallels the consoles sleek design. Unlike the Xboxs, it feels natural in the hands, with two analog control sticks, large buttons and triggers for both index fingers. Target markets for the systems show who these gifts should be intended for. According to industry analysts, the Xbox targets the coveted 16-26 year-old demographic, with more adult-themed games that feature realistic violence and scantily clad female heroes like Lara Croft of PlayStations Tomb Raider. Nintendo targets younger gamers and loyalists who arent swayed by technological superiority of one console over the other. Nintendo delivers affordable innovation and what its loyal fan base expects, new games featuring appealing characters like the Mario Brothers. Nintendos fans identify with characters like Mario, making superior graphics unnecessary. In this Nintendo is introducing Pikmin, a game invented by legendary game maker and Mario inventor, Shigero Miyamoto. The strategy game features the kind of characters Miyamoto is famous for and revolves around an alien who must plant seeds that become aliens who harvest flowers and kill there enemies. Pikmin, like Luigis Castle, is only found on the GameCube, and is exemplary of other future exclusives to be release like Sonic Adventure 2 and Super Monkey Ball. That people identify with Nintendos charactersShow MoreRelatedVideo Games And The Video Game Industry1290 Words   |  6 Pagesthe gaming demographic, but the industry hasn’t done much to make them feel welcome. During the last decade, the mainstream video game industry has seemed to opera te under the same apparent assumptions: girls don’t play big action games, boys like the sexualization of girls in video games and won’t play as a female character unless she is heavily sexualized, and that girls play video games for the attention of boys. These assumptions are what allows the gaming industry to continue to focus on theirRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game Industry792 Words   |  4 Pages The video game industry has changed a lot since its inception, and a large part of that is due to the video game crash of 1983. Despite this, the market itself has remained roughly the same except for the actual devices in it. The quality of the video games has drastically improved over the years. Unfortunately, something that will never change are the greedy companies looking for a quick buck. While the video game industry has grown and improved since the crash, some similarities are starting toRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game Industry1344 Words   |  6 Pages In the year 2016, the video game industry hit an important milestone. As seen in this 2015-2019 analysis, the industry hit a market value of over $100,000,000,000: (â€Å"THE GLOBAL GAMES MARKET REACHES $99.6 BILLION IN 2016, MOBILE GENERATING 37%†). Just like today, 1983 was looking great for the future of video games. However, unlike today, 1983 did not go great for the video game industry, it went awfully. In 1983, the video game industry crashed and has not fully recovered to the value of the marketRead MoreVideo Games : The Video Game Industry1574 Words   |  7 PagesThe video game industry is one that continues to grow exponentially with consumers spending over $22 billion dollars on the gaming industry in 2014 (association, 2015). This popularity brings the opportunity to produce a stream of games that continue to expand in their nature and impact on their audience. Video games are now artistic, social and collaborative, with many allowing massive numbers o f people to participate simultaneously (htt). The collaboration of the video gaming industry doesn’t stopRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game Industry2174 Words   |  9 PagesVideo Games and the Video Game Industry The video game Pong was introduced in 1972 and can be considered the beginning of the video gaming industry. Unlike the game Pong, the controversies surrounding video games today are not quite as simple. Certain media outlets often portray video games to be bad for individual’s health and behaviour. There are still some people in the world that believe video games are contributing to the decline of today’s generation. However, video games and their industryRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On The Video Game Industry791 Words   |  4 PagesAn Atmosphere Unknown This is the future of the video game industry. Imagine looking through the eyes of your favorite video game character but in reality, you are actual sitting on the couch. Look to the left and you see R2-D2 trying to communicate to you. To the right, you have rebel fighters shooting at storm troopers that are attacking your home planet. Virtual reality lets you do all of this from the comfort of your home. However, Augmented reality lets you do this as well, but it is less virtualRead MoreVideo Games And The Video Game Industry1258 Words   |  6 PagesVideo games are a part of our entertainment industry and are more accessible than they have ever been. The video game industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy. According to Wallace (2014), the video game industry generated about $78.5 billion in revenue and only fell behind the film industry at $88.2 billion. As the industry continues to expand, so does the technology that gives the games more realism and imme rsion. Games depicting violence is becoming more graphic and detailedRead MoreVideo Game Industry1949 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction: Video games are teachers that involve players into the virtual world. Nowadays, many video games include violence in many of its aspects such as war, stealing, slaying and many more. According to Video Games ProCon, â€Å"10 of the top 20 best-selling video games in the US contained violence.†(ProCon, 2014), they also believe that violent video games have not only cons but also pros; they stated that â€Å"Violent juvenile crime in the United States has been declining as violent video game popularityRead MoreCompetitive Positioning in the Video Game Industry639 Words   |  3 Pagesonline, PC, console, handheld and mobile game publisher with leading positions across every major category of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry.†1 The video game industry of today looks vastly different than it did 10 years ago, with the stark contrast being that many firms are designing their games to be more family-friendly; the stereotypes of video games no longer being just in the realm of teenage boys. All in all, the industry is faring well with reported sales ofRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On The Video Game Industry Essay1238 Words   |  5 Pagesnetwork effects in the video game industry? The network effects in the video game industry are derived from the console system that is sold to consumers. If a company is able to increase penetration in this arena, though at-cost/ below-cost pricing or pull created through the development of desirable content, it can potentially lock in the added value of the video games sold for the system. Which is to say, the console locks-in the network effects in the industry and the games serve to reap the profits

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Game Industry Forecast Shows Solid Growth Free Essays

The global game industry will generate $60 billion in revenue for 2011, and is growing at 10% annually according to a new research report by industry analyst Colin Sebastian for RW Baird. That growth rate should see overall industry revenue hit $80 billion by 2014, but the some areas of the business will remain flat or even decline, while other areas will be growing at an annual rate of 15% to 20%. The growth areas that Sebastian sees are in online and mobile games, â€Å"driven primarily by downloadable content (DLC) and mobile games† and social games to a lesser extent. We will write a custom essay sample on Game Industry Forecast Shows Solid Growth or any similar topic only for you Order Now These areas will be growing annually at a rate of 15% or more for the next several years, Sebastian believes. Unfortunately, other areas of the game business won’t be faring as well. He sees packaged software sales staying flat this year, with the growth in Xbox 360 and PS3 sales being offset by the decline in Wii and handheld game sales. This quarter will see strong sales with many big titles coming out, but that positive sales picture will only be enough to pull the sales out of the loss category for the year. The good news for the game business is that it’s the only media business with a strong positive growth forecast for the next several years. Newspapers, magazines, music, TV and other media businesses are struggling with the transition to a digital distribution model, but the high level of innovation in the game industry has kept the overall picture positive. That’s not to say there are no problems; Sebastian sees â€Å"many video game companies will continue to struggle through this transition. † Sebastian sees the mobile market as bringing in $2 billion in revenue this year, with growth continuing due to rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets. He cites studies showing that games are the leading applications on smartphones, and consumers consumers have been very willing to pay for games or for in-app purchases with â€Å"freemium† hgames, which now represent the majority of revenues for mobile games. Sebastian believes tablets can be the next great market for games, given that the form factor is better than a smartphone for playing games. Studies also show that gaming is the number one usage of tablets, with over 70% of tablet owners playing games on the devices. The difficult business climate for traditional game companies means there are fewer clear winners to invest in right now. Sebastian sees GameStop as a good holiday play given the large number of AAA titles coming out this quarter, and beyond that he picks Activision and Electronic Arts as the best performers for long-term investors, followed by Take Two. The nature of the game market is changing in the USA, according to studies cited by Sebastian. He points to the Entertainment Software Association study showing 72% of US households play games, with the average age of gamers being 37. Additionally, more than half of gamers play on their phones and other handheld game devices, and women now represent 42% of the gamer population. † It’s a far cry from the traditional â€Å"our market is teenage boys of all ages† that used to be the only demographic for game companies to care about. Sebastian sees hope for the core games segment, in that the broad appeal of casual games may get more people interested in gaming, and eventually looking for the deeper experiences that console games and PC games can offer. He sees the PC game market doing better in 2012, mostly on the strength of hit releases like Diablo III. Handheld devices, lead by the Nintendo 3DS and the Sony PSP (and soon the PS Vita) will be flat in 2012, with the launch of the PS Vita helping to offset the shift to smartphones, at least for a while. Sebastian believes the PS Vita may be able to take the leading position from the 3DS. Finally, Sebastian sees social games continuing to grow and develop in depth and richness, eventually being able to appeal more to core gamers. Console games will add more social elements, too, and eventually social games outside of Facebook will become more popular. He sees growth rates surpassing 10% annually for the next 3-5 years. The current leaders are Zynga, with 262 million monthly average users (MAU), followed by Electronic Arts with 203 million MAU. Overall, it’s a complex portrait of a rapidly growing and changing industry. Clearly there are dangers ahead for many companies as business models are changing, and once-profitable businesses are seeing their audiences depart for other types of gaming. Successful companies will be the ones who stay flexible as conditions continue to change rapidly. What’s your opinion on the future of the game industry? How to cite Game Industry Forecast Shows Solid Growth, Essays

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Strategic Management Business Policy -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Strategic Management Business Policy? Answer: Introduction Ripcurl was established in 1969 by Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick. Ripcurl is one of the largest surfing companies. It is a famous Australian manufacturer of surfboards and wetsuits. The company has stores in Australia, South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Middle East. Ripcurl is a private company and has competition from public companies such as Billabong and U.S Quicksilver. The Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC) was also involved with Ripcurl to search new material and innovations which can improve the performance of heating elements. It also results in reducing heat loss and low power battery consumptions (Anderson, et. al. 2015). The AIC introduced private companies to Ripcurl which provides technology in automotive, giftware and safety product industries. These companies also provide direct technology in new markets. It provides equipment, technology and knowledge to develop a new product. The company is also in talks with Techfast to enhance ran ge of wet suit product. In this report, PESTEL analysis and porters five force analysis of Ripcurl is discussed. Issue found in products of the company is analysed. Strategic recommendations are also explained to focus on the expansion of company. PESTEL Analysis The PESTEL analysis scans the external environment. A company operates in the external macro environment. PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Legal factors. These factors have important role in the value creation of company. A business usually does not have control on these factors and are assumed as opportunities. Opportunity: The opportunity of Ripcurl in the market is growing demand and new markets. The income level of the company is at constant increase, which can be helpful in the global markets. There are so many local surfing companies in the market, the company can acquire these companies and can expand market share (Berg, et. al. 2015). Threat: The threat in the market for Ripcurl is changing prices and increased cost of raw materials. Cash flow is also problem for the company which can be result of low prices. Political factors: The political factors show the complete support from the government. It can be evaluated from the redefined trade barriers and import duties which are effective to Ripcurl. The government made export procedure much easier. The rate of import duty is also reduced subsequently. The government has also made regulations to protect domestic clothing industry. It is also trying to reduce waste which is being produced from electrical products. World Trade Organisations bilateral trade agreements have affected Ripcurl (Snyder, 2014). All the businesses are required to submit financial reports to International financial reporting standards. Economic factors: The society spends more income on the products which promote physical activity. The improved standard of living has resulted in increasing purchasing power of the population. It also has increased popularity of surfing and skateboards. The majority of the revenue of Ripcurl is collected from other regions, so it is influenced by the fluctuations in currency. The company has created new markets and earns higher income from the global point of view (Jones, 2015). Social factors: The brand awareness of the company is influenced by the increasing popularity of surfing and skateboards. The taste of the customers depends on their traditional and cultures. Like people in Australia prefer faded colours and people of US like to buy bright colours. The demand for clothing shows that eco-friendly products are more preferred. Ripcurl fulfils such demand (Ross, 2016). The company also has non-profit organisation which is committed to enhance the quality of life for the community of board riders by supporting education and health projects. Technological factors: The technological trend is significant in clothing industry. Ripcurl is using technology to achieve exposure in industry. Television and internet has helped in gaining exposure and attracting customers in surfing and skateboarding. E-commerce has helped in simplifying logistical and organisational difficulties while operating global business (Wilkinson, Wood Demirbag, 2014). Environmental factors: Consumers prefer to buy more of eco-friendly products. They focus on the source of materials, where it is sourced and whether the production process has any negative impacts on the environment. Legal factor: Ripcurl ensures to complete all legal proceedings such as protecting intellectual property right issues such as logo of brand, name and trademark (Park,Campbell Bremmer, 2014). Porter five forces The competition is high in the clothing industry. There are big competitors in the market such as Billabong, Millers, Bonds and quicksilver. The threat of new entries is high because it requires less investment to enter in industry. The buyer bargaining in the market is high because of the various alternatives available in the market. Porters five forces used to better understand Ripcurls global expansion strategy. Competition: Since 1970, there was growing popularity of surfing and then Ripcurl, Billabong and Quicksilver were prominent players in the market for surfing. These companies have still established their brand image in surfing subculture. In the 1990s the company started to pursue international exposure by making available backpacks, wetsuits and watches to gain market share. New entrants: New companies are entering in the industry as the demand for surfing apparels is going strong. For example Abercrombie Fitch and Hollister have moved into manufacturing surfing clothes. Afrends is one of the small brand, has gained popularity among young surfers (Soederberg, 2016). Suppliers power: Ripcurl is a well-known international brand. To keep economies of scale, the company outsource its manufacturing unit to small companies. The company has sourcing division in North Korea to provide its products to Singapore and New Zealand. They have no bargaining power. Consumer power: The consumers do not have enough bargaining power due to the size of population. Usually consumers prefer to buy products that would be cheaper than the existing ones. Product substitutes: According to the survey and findings, Nike has overtaken lead from Ripcurl as the best choice of youth. Many rival brands have also attained popularity such as Billabong and Quicksilver (Schaltegger, Burritt Petersen, 2017). Females prefer to buy disposable fashion with cheaper prices. The brands such as Country Road and Colorado are substitutes for Ripcurl, but they are different in quality and style. Issue Analysis Confusing price is the issue of Ripcurl. The company lacks a clear pricing strategy. The company offers lower prices when its compared to competitors like Billabong and Quiksilver. As, a result the profit margin of company is low for competing with rivals. As a result, the high rate of loans and interests create burden for the company. So the low prices fixed by company creates problem to buy raw materials at increased prices. It is also problem for the company to maintain standard of products through innovations. Maintaining low standard can lack brand image. The innovations are done to gain competitive advantage (Dyck, 2017). Acquiring local companies are also sometimes problem for the company. Sometimes these local companies are not capable to produce as per requirement. Their technology is quite old and cannot compel to the requirements of customers. The company needs to set a clear pricing strategy in such a way that it can save profit margin appropriately. It can distinct company from other competitors. The prices should be fix in such a way that cost of raw material is quite low than the cost of product. It increases revenue of company. The local companies should be acquired only after checking the relevancy and working system. Management recommendations The company uses strategies such as Porters generic strategy to avoid problems, attain competitive advantage and to be successful in future. Emerging youth label: Ripcurl need to acquire emerging youth labels such as Nixon watches, DC Shoes, RVCA, Rossignol Skis, Dakine and Mrs Palmers surf gear to increase market share. As, Youth tend to buy more products. Most part of population is youngsters. It can help in increasing sales of company. The business can incorporate business operations by funding new retail stores and buying existing chains. It should be relevant. It not only expands the market but also helps in attaining new technologies and methods. Techniques differentiate products from other companies and helps in building new products (McKenna, 2017). Resistant to change: Ripcurl should focus on the resistance to change to run activities and operations successfully. The workers do not like to adopt new changes and technologies as it increases their burden of work, so they avoid making any changes in the process. The managers and top management should maintain a reciprocal relationship with employees to resolve their problems and issues. Resistance to change can actually bring efficiency and specialisation to an organisation (Buono, 2015). To facilitate goals of the company it continues to invest in global platforms and concentrates on customer centricity. Space to grow: The demand for surf style products is expected to remain strong despite the trembles in the market. Ripcurl should use the unique leadership style to influence employees in the company. It helps to handle the grievance and complaints of customers. The company should try to be first to introduce and produce new products and technology. The company should take all the necessary measures to improve service and provide satisfaction to customers. Ripcurl has established craft association along with authentic nature of the surf products. This way the company can increase number of customers (Albert Beatty, 2014). More efforts to reconnect customers can also involve focusing on design and style of clothing different from local markets. Advertisement and promotional strategies should also be focused to increase sales and profitability in the future. Focus on the strategies: The single important thing done by company is putting customers at centre. The company tries innovative ways to attract audience. Ripcurl should focus on the business and corporate level strategies to maximize revenue and outputs of the company. It helps to maintain sustainability within the organisation. The company should also make attractive strategies to connect and link with customers and local companies with dignity. These strategies also provide estimation and understanding of doing business effectively. It must also create valuable and non-place competitive strategy by creating strong core competencies, which helps to survive operations in future. Technology is also helpful to remove global shopping barriers (Christopher, Laasch Roberts, 2016). Conclusion From this report it can be concluded that Ripcurl is an established Australian company. The company has issues in the form of price and acquiring local companies. It was determined by the threat and opportunities available in the market. These issues are analysed from PESTEL analysis and Porter five forces. These issues can be resolved by emerging in youth label, resistant to change and by focusing on strategies. The company can solve the issue of acquiring local companies by focusing on the strategies used by them (Wheelen Hunger, 2017). The price issue can be resolved by resistance to change and giving space to grow. All these recommendations not only help to resolve issues of company but also help to gain competitive advantage and expansion of business. References Albert, M., Beatty, B. J. (2014). Flipping the classroom applications to curriculum redesign for an introduction to management course: Impact on grades.Journal of Education for Business,89(8), 419-424. Anderson, D. R., Sweeney, D. J., Williams, T. A., Camm, J. D., Cochran, J. J. (2015).An introduction to management science: quantitative approaches to decision making. Cengage learning. Berg, D., Mani, H. S., Marinakis, Y. G., Tierney, R., Walsh, S. (2015). 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(2016).Introduction to e-supply chain management: engaging technology to build market-winning business partnerships. CRC Press. Schaltegger, S., Burritt, R., Petersen, H. (2017).An introduction to corporate environmental management: Striving for sustainability. Routledge. Snyder, R. A. (2014). Lets burn them all: Reflections on the learning-inhibitory nature of Introduction to Management and Introduction to Organizational Behavior textbooks.Journal of Management Education,38(5), 733-758. Soederberg, S. (2016). IntroductionRisk Management in Global Capitalism. InRisking Capitalism(pp. 1-20). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D. (2017).Strategic management and business policy. pearson. Wilkinson, A., Wood, G., Demirbag, M. (2014). Guest editors introduction: People management and emerging market multinationals.Human Resource Management,53(6), 835-849.