Week of February 4, 2008

PMG Prediction for 2008: Emergent Gameplay Goes Mainstream

Friday, February 8, 2008

Emergent Gameplay is the use of a video game for purposes other than playing the game in its intended fashion. Most emergent gaming involves creative solutions to in-game problems, but a small subset of emergent gaming has led to independent and creative derivative works, this includes machinima and in-game performance art.

The real influence of emergent gameplay will be in the realm of modern digital and performance art. Examples include the Velvet Strike pieces within the Counter Strike online game and the Dead In Iraq series within the America's Army online game. The artist creating Dead In Irag, Joseph DeLappe, has had his video game art displayed at the Nevada Museum Of Art and the Dead In Iraq series has been featured by Salon, Wired, NPR and others.

For more details about this and 18 other predictions, send an email to hq@pollackmedia.com and request our new media trends report--The New Media Landscape.

PMG Prediction for 2008: Major Games Go Minor Screen

Thursday, February 7, 2008

A wide range of games will be developed for the nascent mobile media player market. The iPod Touch, iPhone and Zune are prime real estate for the expansion of gaming.

While steeped in secrecy, expect Apple to launch a substantial suite of games via iTunes for its networked iPhone and iPod. Some of these games will extend wildly popular online experiences to a mobile environment.

For more details about this and 18 other predictions, send an email to hq@pollackmedia.com and request our new media trends report--The New Media Landscape.

PMG Prediction for 2008: Wii Gaming Parties/Clubs Take Hold

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The innovative Wii game console features a much more physical gaming experience than simply holding a joystick and pressing a button. This experience has led to the formation of organized Wii parties and actual clubs featuring Wii games and tournaments. We believe this trend will become much more widespread and important in 2008.

In 2008, more of these clubs will form and forward-thinking local radio and television stations will begin to sponsor weekly Wii clubs or events.

For more details about this and 18 other predictions, send an email to hq@pollackmedia.com and request our new media trends report--The New Media Landscape.

PMG Prediction for 2008: Mobile Media Breaks Out Everywhere

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

When you combine the fact that mobile phone manufacturers are moving quickly to outdo the iPhone in terms of media and Internet functionality and the open platforms being promised by Yahoo, Google, and others, this will be the year that mobile media goes mainstream.

Content will be driven by multiple sources, but major content providers have already made significant investments in the mobile content space to take advantage of this evolution, including ESPN and the major television networks. In terms of mobile video and audio, content will not be the problem.

For more details about this and 18 other predictions, send an email to hq@pollackmedia.com and request our new media trends report--The New Media Landscape.

PMG Prediction for 2008: The iPhone Becomes Old News

Monday, February 4, 2008

With the launch of two open source phone platforms and intense pressure on device manufacturers to reach the iPhone bar, 2008 will feature at least one phone that will gain significant consumer attention. Early leaks of the Microsoft Mobile 7 platform showed an impressive array of usability features high on the wow factor, including a similar touch screen interface as the iPhone only with additional functionality via hand gestures with the phone (think the Wii remote control).

Google is preparing to launch its Android platform, and it is widely expected to be a modest success at launch. However, with an open source platform and a nimble handset manufacturer, the possibility of truly spectacular advances in a short period of time are quite possible.

For more details about this and 18 other predictions, send an email to hq@pollackmedia.com and request our new media trends report--The New Media Landscape.