tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/games-consoles-37848/articlesGames consoles – The Conversation2022-01-23T19:09:06Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1754332022-01-23T19:09:06Z2022-01-23T19:09:06ZMicrosoft buys Activision Blizzard: with the video game industry under new management, what’s going to change?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441917/original/file-20220121-9603-268giy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=70%2C64%2C4199%2C2778&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1979, a group of disgruntled Atari employees decided to quit and create their own company. Activision was the world’s first “third-party” game development company, producing and publishing titles for other companies’ platforms.</p>
<p>Fast-forward 43 years and the company that is now Activision Blizzard has been bought by one of the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-19/microsoft-buys-activision-blizzard-call-of-duty-warcraft-maker/100765894">major platform owners in the industry</a>, Microsoft, for a blistering US$68.7 billion dollars (around A$95.6 billion) – the largest sale in the history of the video game industry.</p>
<p>This sale is also massive in terms of the game franchises Microsoft now has control over; it now owns blockbuster franchises such as Call of Duty, Diablo, Starcraft, Candy Crush and World of Warcraft. And tens of millions of fans of these titles will now be wondering: what does this change in ownership mean for them?</p>
<h2>Why now?</h2>
<p>Big dollar acquisitions aren’t new in the video game industry. Activision Blizzard itself became one of the largest video game companies in 2008, when Activision merged with Blizzard <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080801174639/http://wii.ign.com/articles/887/887251p1.html">in a US$18.9 billion dollar deal</a>. Microsoft and Sony regularly buy successful pre-existing development studios to take over their intellectual properties (IP) and make them available exclusively on their platforms.</p>
<p>But Microsoft has become particularly aggressive in its approach. In the last decade alone it has made a number of high-profile purchases, including <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-17/keogh-digging-for-gold-the-%242.5-billion-video-game/5749598">Minecraft developer Mojang</a> in 2014 for US$2.5 billion, and <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2020/09/21/microsoft-to-acquire-zenimax-media-and-its-game-publisher-bethesda-softworks/">Elder Scrolls and Doom publisher ZeniMax</a> in 2020 for US$7.5 billion. With the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft is now the third-largest <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22889258/microsoft-activision-blizzard-xbox-acquisition-call-of-duty-overwatch">company in the industry, behind TenCent and Sony</a>.</p>
<p>This is all part of Microsoft’s current video game business strategy, which is less about selling game products and more about increasing subscriptions to its Game Pass service. Similar to services like Netflix and Spotify, Game Pass gives subscribers access to a massive digital catalogue of games in exchange for a monthly fee.</p>
<p>In its announcement of the Activision Blizzard purchase, Microsoft also boasted Game Pass has <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22406059/xbox-game-pass-subscribers-25-million-microsoft-activision">surpassed 25 million users</a>. With each user paying US$16 a month, that’s about US$400 million (or A$556 million) in monthly revenue.</p>
<p>With Activision Blizzard, Microsoft now owns a huge new range of franchises it can make available through Game Pass, attracting even more users.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441915/original/file-20220121-9469-6xr4is.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441915/original/file-20220121-9469-6xr4is.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441915/original/file-20220121-9469-6xr4is.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441915/original/file-20220121-9469-6xr4is.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441915/original/file-20220121-9469-6xr4is.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441915/original/file-20220121-9469-6xr4is.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441915/original/file-20220121-9469-6xr4is.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">While Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard, players can still play the company’s games on other consoles and platforms such as Sony’s PlayStation or Valve’s Steam, but it remains to be seen if this will continue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Gaming landlords</h2>
<p>If it wanted, Microsoft might even make these franchises <em>only</em> available through Game Pass, forcing customers away from other consoles like PlayStation and distribution platforms like Steam. In other words, it could pull consumers into its own exclusive sphere.</p>
<p>This is now a common strategy. Now, through subscription-based digital platforms, we have all stopped being owners of product and instead have become renters.</p>
<p>This is also true of individual video games. Call of Duty, Hearthstone, Fortnite (and many others) are no longer games that players purchase once, but are instead their own ecosystems in which players are encouraged to continuously <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1469540521993930">spend money on battle passes, cosmetics and access to new content</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the companies that own these titles can <a href="https://overland.org.au/2019/04/when-the-game-plays-you-dotaplus-and-surveillance-capitalism/">constantly farm new data from their millions of players</a>, further increasing their company value.</p>
<p>With the purchase of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has effectively purchased a city of existing renters in the player ecosystems of Call of Duty, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft and many other titles.</p>
<p>That’s tens of millions of players already committed to closed ecosystems, including many in the difficult-to-penetrate Chinese market playing Blizzard titles Hearthstone and World of Warcraft. All of these players can be farmed for more personal data and more rent.</p>
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<h2>So what does it mean for players and developers?</h2>
<p>In the short term, probably not a whole lot.</p>
<p>Over the coming years, however, Microsoft might decide to keep more of these newly acquired franchises for its own platforms. For a PC player, this might simply mean having to transition away from Steam to the Microsoft Game Store if they want to access the franchises: an inconvenience, but hardly a radical change.</p>
<p>For PlayStation and Mac players, the situation could be more dire, and they might find themselves having to purchase a PC or an Xbox if they want to play new entries to these franchises in the future.</p>
<p>Some are also worried ongoing giant mergers will stifle creativity and innovation across the video game industry. But this is unlikely since the bulk of the revenue generated by the industry has always been concentrated in a relatively small number of risk-adverse companies. </p>
<p>In her book <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Global-Games-Production-Circulation-and-Policy-in-the-Networked-Era/Kerr/p/book/9780415858878">Global Games</a>, researcher Aphra Kerr estimated that in 2015, the top ten video game companies accounted for 49% of the entire industry’s revenue. In spite of this concentration of capital, the creativity and innovation that produces new genres almost always emerges at the periphery, in much smaller, independent groups working with far fewer resources. </p>
<p>The explosion of new and diverse genres we’ve seen over the past decade occurred, in large part, because independent creators are now able to access far more powerful tools, such as game engines Unity and Unreal, and greater audiences through digital marketplaces, such as Steam or Xbox Game Pass.</p>
<p>The situation is far from ideal, but the companies that control most of the capital in the video game industry – and the companies that are the most innovative – have rarely been the same. So this latest acquisition is unlikely to stifle creativity.</p>
<p>But there’s more at stake in this historic sale. Activision Blizzard is facing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/08/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-women-sexual-harassment">accusations and lawsuits of harassment, abuse and sexism across its offices</a>, and CEO Bobby Kotick has been under <a href="https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-11-19-more-than-1300-activision-blizzard-staff-call-for-bobby-kotick-to-resign">intense pressure to resign for months</a>. Kotick is now set to walk away from the company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/activision-ceo-bobby-kotick-400-million-payout-microsoft-acquisition-scandal-2022-1?r=US&IR=T">with US$400 million</a>; the allegations of a toxic workplace are now Microsoft’s responsibility to clean up.</p>
<p>Perhaps this is the important question coming out of the recent sale: not which piece of hardware will have access to which games, but whether Microsoft will take responsibility for improving the work culture and working conditions for game developers? We’ll have to wait and see.</p>
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Read more:
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175433/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Keogh has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>The recent acquisition is the largest in video game history. Here’s what it will mean for players, developers and the future of video gamingBrendan Keogh, Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1233592019-09-17T04:25:01Z2019-09-17T04:25:01ZApple Arcade and Google Stadia aim to offer frictionless gaming, if your NBN plan can handle it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292734/original/file-20190917-19059-xioc33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C21%2C2035%2C1339&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Google's Stadia will be available through the Google Chrome web browser, on smartphones, smart televisions, tablets, and through Chromecast.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stadia_Cloud_gaming_Gamescom_Cologne_2019_(48605890597).jpg">dronepicr/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two of the biggest tech companies in the world, Apple and Google, are launching cloud-based gaming services this year. </p>
<p>Apple Arcade, due for release in two days, will ultimately go head-to-head with Google’s Stadia when the latter launches in November. And both will also be battling a surprising foe: friction.</p>
<p>In this context, “friction” means anything that increases inconvenience for the user. Friction makes you take extra steps, think more than necessary, or work harder to get the service you want. In designing a gaming platform, friction is bad. </p>
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<p>Both companies will attempt to reduce friction by using <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-au/overview/what-is-cloud-computing/">cloud technology</a> to store digital resources and services on their own servers, and deliver them to clients through the internet. </p>
<p>The game files will thus be stored and shared in much the same way that documents or photos are currently handled via DropBox, Google Drive, and Apple’s iCloud.</p>
<p>Specifically, Apple Arcade will use a model called “infrastructure as a service”. As long as you have an Apple device, you can play hundreds of games at any time, from any location, including offline (once you’ve downloaded the game). </p>
<p>This model outsources the problem of data storage to remote data centres around the world. The user’s device remains responsible for the operating system, maintenance of the software (such as <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24537/patch">patches</a> and graphics drivers) and real-time processing of data.</p>
<p>Google Stadia is planning to use a slightly different model, called “platform as a service”. This means Google will take care of all the maintenance and processing requirements too, so the user’s device acts only as a receptacle for hosting the application and user data.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292149/original/file-20190912-190031-15mafrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Google’s Stadia has a ‘platform as a service’ model which requires the user to maintain only certain aspects of data and the application on their device.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laura Bernheim / Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>Budget-friendly gaming?</h2>
<p>Both services will use a flat rate, monthly subscription model to let users play a multitude of games that would otherwise cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. </p>
<p>For Apple Arcade all games are included in this fee, but you need suitable Apple hardware. </p>
<p>Ambitiously, Google’s Stadia promises to eradicate the limitation of hardware cost. Google will handle the hardware requirements, software processing and maintenance. </p>
<p>Instead of needing an expensive PC with the latest hardware and software, or dedicated gaming console, Stadia users simply need an inexpensive computing device such as a phone, Chromecast, or smart TV. All of the heavier processing requirements will be handled by Google, and the games simply beamed to your device. </p>
<p>However, unlike Apple Arcade, Stadia requires payment for individual games (neither of the services will have in-app purchases requiring additional payment).</p>
<p>When it comes to mobility, both Stadia and Apple Arcade will offer gameplay across multiple devices, from any location with all progress saved. </p>
<p>Sounds great right? What could possibly be the downside of these services?</p>
<p>We should heed culture critic Neil Postman’s <a href="https://mcluhangalaxy.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/neil-postman-on-technologys-faustian-bargain/">warning regarding technology</a>:</p>
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<p>New technology is a kind of Faustian bargain. It always gives us something, but it always takes away something important. That’s true of the alphabet, and the printing press, and telegraph, right up through the computer.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Faustian bargain in this context involves privacy and data, connectivity, and user control. </p>
<h2>Privacy and data</h2>
<p>As with any network technology, as soon as you opt into Apple Arcade or Google Stadia, your data becomes part of their system. </p>
<p>In digital games, it’s possible to track all kinds of user behaviour as you play. </p>
<p>While this might not lead to the building of psychological profiles and user manipulation on the scale of the Facebook <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/17/facebook-cambridge-analytica-kogan-data-algorithm">Cambridge Analytica scandal</a>, Google and other Silicon Valley giants have <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/should-big-tech-own-our-personal-data/">an awful record of respecting user privacy</a>.</p>
<h2>Network connectivity</h2>
<p>Bad internet connection? Sorry, you’re out. </p>
<p>If you opt for Apple Arcade, this is less of a problem as you can download the game and play offline, but depending on your connection it can take minutes or hours before you can start playing - and let’s hope you don’t have a monthly data limit.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, to achieve 4K resolution streaming using Stadia, you require a steady flow of 20 megabits per second (Mbps). This will require a National Broadband Network (NBN) connection, but the <a href="https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Guides/what-nbn-speed-do-you-need">entry-level NBN plan achieves a meagre 7Mpbs average</a>.</p>
<p>Even for 720p resolution, <a href="https://www.videosolo.com/tutorials/screen-resolution-comparison.html">which barely qualifies as high-definition</a>, you need 10Mbps. Simply put, you’re going to need to pay for an upper-tier NBN plan, assuming that’s even possible in your area.</p>
<h2>Mods and extras</h2>
<p>Apple Arcade and Google Stadia also remove the potential for mods in gaming. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/au/a-beginners-guide-to-mods/">Mods</a> (an abbreviation of “user modification”) are extensions that offer new levels, items, quests, or characters. These are made by amateur game developers and made available, generally for free, across the internet on various platforms such as Valve’s Steam.</p>
<p>The mod scene has had an <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/9/2/4672920/moba-dota-arts-a-brief-introduction-to-gamings-biggest-most">enormous influence</a> on gaming culture. The World of Warcraft 3 mod, Defense of the Ancients (DotA), popularised the now enormously successful Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre. Counter-Strike began as a mod for Half-Life.</p>
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Read more:
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<p>Both Apple Arcade and Google’s Stadia operate as closed systems, not allowing user modification in any substantial way. Any mod scene for these services is, at the moment, impossible by design.</p>
<p>And although Google is an enormous company, if the Stadia service is cancelled, all of its users will lose their individual game purchases.</p>
<h2>A frictionless bargain?</h2>
<p>We all want less friction in our lives. </p>
<p>We want things to be easy and accessible. In this sense, cloud technology offers a seductive bargain, encapsulated in one of Apple’s slogans: “it just works”. </p>
<p>Yet, in pursuit of things “just working”, we make sacrifices. We offer up our privacy, data and control.</p>
<p>The question becomes, what are we willing to lose in striking this bargain? Because, as Neil Postman reminds us, we will always lose something.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123359/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Conway does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Google’s Stadia and Apple Arcade will rattle the gaming world this year. Both aim to solve current limitations, but as user experience improves, issues around connectivity and cost arise.Steven Conway, Senior Lecturer - Games and Interactivity, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1193012019-07-03T20:00:42Z2019-07-03T20:00:42ZUsing virtual reality could make you a better person in real life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280879/original/file-20190624-97757-1z0kibw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=418%2C440%2C4653%2C2699&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">VR gives the user a sense of body ownership over a virtual avatar.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://assetbank.deakin.edu.au/asset-bank/action/viewAsset?id=24730">Deakin University Asset Bank</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever participated in a virtual reality (VR) experience, you might have found yourself navigating the virtual world as an avatar. If you haven’t, you probably recognise the experience from its portrayal in film and on television.</p>
<p>Popular media has brought us characters like Jake Sully in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/">Avatar</a>, Wade Watts in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/">Ready Player One</a>, and Danny and Karl in the Black Mirror episode <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8503298/">Striking Vipers</a>.</p>
<p>In these examples, the character’s virtual alter-ego is physically different from who they are in the real world. The connection between the real person and their virtual avatar is called “embodiment”. If you have a strong sense of embodiment when using VR, you might feel as if your virtual body is your own biological body.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/crEU1pcoWiw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The moment in the film Avatar when Jake Sully experiences his virtual body for the first time.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Virtual embodiment provides an opportunity to explore the world from a different point of view. And studies have shown that experiencing new perspectives in the virtual world can alter your behaviour in real life.</p>
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<h2>How virtual embodiment works</h2>
<p>Virtual embodiment isn’t entirely new. PC or console role-playing games generate a <a href="https://theconversation.com/gamer-disclaimer-virtual-worlds-can-be-as-fulfilling-as-real-life-29571">similar effect</a>, albeit to a lesser extent. VR technology creates a far greater sense of immersion in the virtual world than two-dimensional screen experiences.</p>
<p>That’s because successful 3D virtual environments use more senses, compared with just visual and audio in 2D screen-based technologies. This approach ensures the user is fully engulfed in the synthetic world, which they experience through their virtual avatar.</p>
<p>Immersive visuals in VR trick the user into believing they are elsewhere, such as <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/virtual-reality-tourism-4129394">atop Mount Everest</a> or at the Eiffel Tower. By presenting separate images to each eye, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscope">3D</a> effect can be achieved when the user incorporates the information from each screen in the VR headset.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281075/original/file-20190625-81733-18kvjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281075/original/file-20190625-81733-18kvjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281075/original/file-20190625-81733-18kvjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281075/original/file-20190625-81733-18kvjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281075/original/file-20190625-81733-18kvjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281075/original/file-20190625-81733-18kvjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281075/original/file-20190625-81733-18kvjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Stereoscopic view of the Eiffel Tower.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://myvrgoggles.com/how-to-use-google-maps-street-view-in-vr-mode-pid-280366">Google Maps Street View in VR</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These visuals are captured with <a href="https://realvision.ae/blog/2014/08/the-language-of-visual-storytelling-in-360-virtual-reality/">360-degree photography or video cameras</a>. Alternatively, actual photography or video can be used in VR environments. </p>
<p>Appropriate <a href="http://thevrfilmmaker.com/2016/01/12/virtual-reality-sound-design-is-the-key-to-successful-storytelling/">360-degree sound</a> also plays an important role as it can help convince the user of the authenticity of the virtual world.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/walk-inside-a-plant-cell-or-glide-over-a-coral-reef-three-ways-virtual-reality-is-revolutionising-teaching-117022">Walk inside a plant cell or glide over a coral reef: three ways virtual reality is revolutionising teaching</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Touch, smell and ‘body ownership’</h2>
<p>The sense of touch is a common form of sensory feedback. Every time you feel your mobile vibrate in your pocket, you’re interacting with “haptic” technology. </p>
<p>In VR, haptic devices simulate physical sensations that are triggered when avatars interact with virtual objects. There are devices that can alter an avatar’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UJIGggLQWM">weight distribution</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiNHqsaoJxc">aerodynamics</a> to mimic what is happening in the virtual environment. Real physical props can also be used to introduce <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orpd5cYX4Z4">real-life challenges to VR sports</a>. Haptic sensations can even be created in mid-air.</p>
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<p>Smell, or olfactory sense, is another important mechanism that improves engagement within a virtual world. A Kickstarter campaign for a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/feelreal/feelreal">VR mask</a> that can simulate the sense of smell using aroma capsules has exceeded its funding target, demonstrating the level of interest in multisensory VR. </p>
<p>In addition to extra senses, VR gives the user a sense of body ownership over the virtual avatar. Body ownership refers to the self-attribution of a (virtual) body. This can be achieved by synchronising multiple sensory feedback. </p>
<p>For example, when the user can see their virtual hand being touched and can feel the haptic sensation at the same time, they are more likely to believe the virtual body is theirs. This is demonstrated by the famous rubber hand experiment.</p>
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<h2>How virtual bodies affect behaviour</h2>
<p>People respond differently to virtual avatars depending on who they are and the characteristics of the avatar. For example, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyOmFtJJC7k">recent study found</a> that women dislike their virtual avatar having male hands, whereas men are more likely to accept avatar hands of any gender. </p>
<p>Another study found that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcBJ1sCPv_I">racial bias decreases</a> when caucasians are represented by avatars that have darker compared with lighter skin. </p>
<p>The body shape of the avatar also affects behaviour. Researchers found that game players showed increased <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-02-thin-obese-avatars-motion-controlled-gaming.html">physical activity</a> in the real world if they regularly played games with thin avatars as opposed to obese ones.</p>
<p>This suggests that the identities of virtual avatars can take precedence over our usual identities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-virtual-reality-is-giving-the-worlds-roller-coasters-a-new-twist-101395">How Virtual Reality is giving the world's roller coasters a new twist</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Choosing the right path</h2>
<p>The ability to embody a virtual avatar blurs the lines between what’s going on in the headset and what’s happening in real life. It feeds the freedom to explore and experiment, whether that’s with a different personality, gender or physicality. </p>
<p>But the option has to be available in the first place if it’s going to have an impact. PC Gamer <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/rampant-racism-and-toxicity-are-driving-players-away-from-mordhau/">reported this week</a> that the developers of the medieval multiplayer game Mordhau were considering introducing female and racially diverse skin tones into the game. The suggestion (which <a href="https://twitter.com/mordhaugame/status/1145867144225316864">they deny</a>) that they were also planning to give players the option to turn off this diversity if they don’t like it led to a wave of backlash within the gaming community. </p>
<p>Our own research with older adults has also <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320280765_To_be_Me_or_Not_to_Be_Photorealistic_Avatars_and_Older_Adults">revealed frustrations</a> with the lack of flexibility in avatar creation tools, such as the inability to modify personal characteristics like facial features and fitness levels.</p>
<p>Embodiment is powerful. It can influence your self-identity, perception, and behaviours both in and outside of virtual worlds. The onus is on the future designers and developers of this technology to ensure this power is used for good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119301/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thuong Hoang received funding from Australian Research Council Discovery Project for his work on Ageing Bodies, Embodied Interactions, and Social Inclusion (DP160101368)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guy Wood-Bradley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In VR you can explore the world from a different point of view. And studies have shown that experiencing new perspectives in the virtual world can alter your behaviour in real life.Thuong Hoang, Lecturer in Virtual and Augmented Reality, Deakin UniversityGuy Wood-Bradley, Lecturer in IT, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/985182018-08-15T10:20:56Z2018-08-15T10:20:56ZFinding nostalgia in the pixelated video games of decades past<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231779/original/file-20180813-2906-f0h17k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Instruments of nostalgia and psychological well-being?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manitou-springs-cousa-september-6-2016-756724900">Brian Kenney/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every day, it seems, new ultra-high-resolution video games are released, <a href="http://recipp.ipp.pt/bitstream/10400.22/8209/1/DM_JoanaOsorio_2015_MEI.pdf">syncing with players’ social media accounts</a> and <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstation-vr/">ready for virtual reality headsets</a>. Yet old games from the 1970s and 1980s <a href="http://time.com/money/4352311/old-video-games-worth-money/">are still in high demand</a>. The Nintendo Corporation has moved recently to both quash and exploit that popularity, <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bjbped/nintendos-offensive-tragic-and-totally-legal-erasure-of-rom-sites">shutting down websites hosting old games’ code</a> while planning to <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-online-service-offers-20-free-nes-/1100-6458799/">release its own back catalog on a new platform</a>. </p>
<p>Fans of Nintendo-made games may end up OK, but fans of other legacy games may lose much more than a retro way to have fun: They could find themselves without a powerful link to their personal pasts.</p>
<p>Playing old video games is not just a <a href="http://time.com/5220092/steven-spielberg-on-the-glories-and-limits-of-nostalgia-ready-player-one/">mindless trip down memory lane</a> for <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/08/geeks-guide-gamer-stories/">lonely and isolated gamers</a>. The <a href="http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/EF2018_FINAL.pdf">average age of a U.S. gamer is 34</a>, and many popular retro game titles have been around for 20 years or more. It seems <a href="https://www.popmatters.com/141240-the-retirement-of-a-gen-x-gamer-or-my-8-bit-childhood-2496029806.html">Generation X-ers could be returning to their cherished childhood properties</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, emerging media psychology research, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/mac.v6i2.1317">including our own work</a>, suggests that video game nostalgia can make people feel closer to their past, their friends and family, and even themselves. </p>
<h2>The popularity of retro video games</h2>
<p>The earliest video game consoles emerged in the 1970s, <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/retro-gaming/feature/a616235/magnavox-odyssey-retrospective-how-console-gaming-was-born/">marked by the 1972 release of the Magnavox Odyssey</a>. The arcade classic “Pong” was so popular in 1973 that <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2011/03/pong-excerpt-201103">machines each collected about US$200 a week in quarters</a>. Many 1990s gamers remember fondly the “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062276711/console-wars/">console wars</a>” in which major game developers would battle publicly – for example <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65E53rNC1io">Sega claiming to do what “Nintendon’t.”</a></p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/65E53rNC1io?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">TV ads from the throwback days of the ‘console wars.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It may be a bit of a surprise to find out how popular retro and classic games are. Older games feature pixel-based graphics that <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/341543/why-do-old-game-consoles-look-so-bad-on-modern-tvs/">can look fuzzy on modern televisions</a> and can be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut3n8-9JM5o">frustrating to play for even experienced gamers</a>. Yet in 2016, Nintendo released a <a href="https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic/">NES Classic Edition</a> console and <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/25/nes-classic-edition-in-stock-retail-june-29/">sold out all 2.3 million of them</a> in just three months. The company <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/13/17350662/nes-classic-edition-release-date-2018-for-sale">made more and began selling them in June 2018</a>. </p>
<p>Other similar retro consoles are popular too. A quick search of eBay and Amazon reveals hundreds of retailers selling original and refurbished older video game systems. These older games pale in comparison to modern games that immerse players in <a href="https://www.guerrilla-games.com/play/horizon">lush, photo-realistic and smoothly interactive worlds</a>. And yet they’re very popular. The people who play them are clearly getting something compelling – though it’s probably not graphics or a deep storyline.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229691/original/file-20180728-106511-n0ir3t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Released in December 2016, ‘Super Mario Maker’ allowed players to create their own Mario levels, selling 6 million units worldwide. Mario-themed games have sold over 550 million copies since the character’s introduction, in 1981.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nintendo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The psychology of nostalgia</h2>
<p>As a psychological principle, nostalgia can be best understood as a <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/a0025167">bittersweet mix of positive and negative emotions</a> that arises when thinking of meaningful events in one’s own past, and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2014.10.001">tends to be tied intimately to social relationships</a>. </p>
<p>So far, researchers have identified two ways to trigger nostalgia: external triggers and internal distress. External triggers might include things such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2013.876048">smells</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.5130/csr.v19i1.3074">tastes</a> and even references to media content, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(96)00023-9">such as movie titles</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0146167213499187">music</a>. Internal triggers are brought about by feelings of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.5.975">loneliness</a> or even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030442">boredom</a>. </p>
<p>Regardless of the trigger, nostalgia has a number of psychological benefits. It can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2010.521452">help people feel better about themselves</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02194.x">make them feel less alone</a>. For these reasons, nostalgia <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12070">can promote mental health and well-being</a>. Clinical studies have suggested that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1471301218774909">nostalgia might help protect against dementia</a>.</p>
<h2>Nostalgia in video games</h2>
<p>Can video games really evoke nostalgia? Forums online <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/">debate the issue furiously</a>, <a href="http://www.computerspielemuseum.de/1210_Home.htm">museums chronicle the history of video games</a> with an eye toward bygone days, and the topic comes up <a href="http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2013/11/the-psychology-of-video-game-nostalgia/">in popular podcasts</a>. </p>
<p>Players’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2017.1383236">relationships with the characters they’ve played in the past</a> – Mario, Sonic and scores of others – can play an important role in invoking nostalgia. One reason for this is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.030">players have complex social relationships with those characters</a>, either by seeing them as their friends, or even as extensions of themselves. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000208">our own research</a>, we asked 582 participants, mostly from the United States, to respond to a survey on “how people think about certain gaming experiences.” Specifically, gamers were randomly assigned to write one of four essays: about past or recent video game experiences, playing either alone or with others. The essays were designed to help participants immerse themselves in the memories, so that they could later answer questions about the <a href="http://selfdeterminationtheory.org/">intrinsic psychological needs</a> satisfied by those experiences.</p>
<p>As we expected, people who wrote about the older memories experienced stronger feelings of nostalgia than the people who wrote about recent ones. Those essays about older, more nostalgic memories were also more likely to have discussions of challenge and enjoyment as core to their experience, and tended to recall memories from the writer’s childhood. Social memories essays were also more nostalgic, but only when those memories were associated with a greater sense of belonging with people from the past. Some of these essays, especially those about family and friends, were emotionally powerful – one participant wrote (edited slightly, to protect their identity) that “My dad died when I was 10 so playing Mario Kart with him is one of my best memories that I have.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231526/original/file-20180810-2894-17maqpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In our research on video game nostalgia, gamers made fond references to friends and family in their social memories of gaming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smiling-family-sitting-on-couch-together-364445456">wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Nostalgic gaming and well-being</h2>
<p>Perhaps more interesting? Memories of video games were enough to induce nostalgia that, in turn, made those people feel a little closer to those around them right now. </p>
<p>The study has limitations – the largest being that participants did not get to play their older games, so we don’t know if their nostalgic memories would be the same if they actually replayed the games – but it helped us better understand gaming nostalgia and its potential effects. Our findings have also been corroborated by other research on gaming nostalgia, such as work on active players of “Pokémon Go.” In that study, playing the game resulted in feelings of nostalgic reverie, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2017.1305280">which in turn was positively connected to resiliency</a>, or the ability to cope with challenging times in life. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231527/original/file-20180810-2924-1ty4aw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Can ‘Pokémon Go’ be therapeutic? Emerging research suggests that the nostalgia that players attached to the game can help them cope with daily struggles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailand-july-22-2016-charmander-456596296">Wachiwit/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research into the psychology of video game nostalgia is relatively new. However, the results of this work suggest that games can be nostalgic, and that this nostalgia can be therapeutic. For example, we already know that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2009.0010">playing games at work can aid in psychological recovery</a> from stress; it might be that playing nostalgic games could intensify this process. It could also be possible to use the popular video games of yesterday as health interventions to delay the onset of dementia, following a line of research showing video games to have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/SeGAH.2017.7939279">cognitive</a> and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2014.0005">physical</a> health benefits for older populations. </p>
<p>As gamers age, understanding gaming nostalgia will help us better examine the wide range of experiences that they have with one of the <a href="https://www.gamecrate.com/statistically-video-games-are-now-most-popular-and-profitable-form-entertainment/20087">most profitable and popular form of entertainment media today</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98518/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Wulf receives funding (PhD Scholarship) from the foundation of German Business (Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Bowman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As retro video games become more popular, research suggests players could be looking for nostalgia – and the psychological benefits it brings.Nicholas Bowman, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, West Virginia UniversityTim Wulf, Ph.D. student in Media Psychology, University of CologneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/978092018-06-06T10:59:26Z2018-06-06T10:59:26ZAtari VCS: why gamers raised $2m to revive a 1970s console<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221955/original/file-20180606-137301-o5gchm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Atari</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fans of the 1970s Atari Video Computer System (VCS), later renamed the Atari 2600, have helped raise <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44311478">more than US$2m</a> to fund the creation of a modern version of the console. As well as web browsing, video streaming and voice control, the new system also promises 100 classic Atari games. Yet the technical specs listed on the system’s <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/atari-vcs-game-stream-connect-like-never-before-computers-pc#/">crowdfunding page</a> indicate the machine is going to be significantly less powerful than the current consoles on offer from Microsoft and Sony.</p>
<p>The new system is less of a games console and more of a mini gaming PC. So, with a price tag similar to the current entry-level XBox, it raises the question of what the big attraction is. Some will be drawn to the potential for customisation that the Linux operating system offers. Others will be attracted by the power of nostalgia. But is this enough to make a system like this a success in today’s market?</p>
<p>To gain an insight into why the Atari VCS may have generated so much interest, we should first look back at the history of Atari – and gaming itself. The Atari brand has been owned by a number of different companies following the original firm’s collapse in 1984 and has an unconventional history. In a <a href="http://www.onceuponatari.com/">2003 documentary</a>, former staff members discussed regular marijuana use and parties at the Atari offices in the early 1980s. These were some of the earliest years of home video gaming, in an immature industry where games were produced by an individual developer, with no fixed working hours and where the main measure of accountability was that they delivered a game on time.</p>
<p>As well as creating some of gaming’s most memorable titles such as Pong, Millipede and Missile Command, Atari is also known for creating what is widely regarded as one of the worst games in video game history, <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-35-years-since-the-worst-video-game-ever-was-released-has-anything-beaten-it-89120">E.T. the Extra Terrestrial</a>. Despite its failure at the time, the game has now gained cult status. Judging by the comments left by fans on the crowdfunding page, players want to experience this game just as much as some of the classics.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221958/original/file-20180606-137288-k3in8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221958/original/file-20180606-137288-k3in8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221958/original/file-20180606-137288-k3in8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221958/original/file-20180606-137288-k3in8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221958/original/file-20180606-137288-k3in8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221958/original/file-20180606-137288-k3in8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221958/original/file-20180606-137288-k3in8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fresh classics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Atari</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This colourful history contributes to the interest surrounding the Atari brand. The firm has another great advantage when it comes to tapping into the nostalgia of the past: creative control over its titles and franchises. Gaming and gamers have changed since these early years. Back then many of the games available on home consoles were adaptations of coin-operated arcade titles, and others were based on similar gameplay. These machines were ultimately designed to be both easy to play and difficult to master, taking your money but leaving you <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3977/persuasive_games_familiarity_.php">wanting to play again</a>. </p>
<p>The decline of amusement arcades has seen a switch from a “play to lose” focus in game design to a more inclusive “play to win” style of gameplay. Players with various levels of ability are now supported by hints and the option to save their game at any point, making a full game experience accessible to a larger number of players. The effect of this change is significant. Players are able to take more risks and experiment with fresh playstyles further into a game without experiencing <a href="http://www.xeodesign.com/whyweplaygames/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf">the frustration</a> induced by having to start from the beginning after an extended play session.</p>
<h2>What’s old is new again</h2>
<p>Because Atari owns the rights to its games it can refresh the still-loved classics to reflect the new way we play games. This is Atari’s greatest strength and the firm appears to have recognised it. The <a href="https://www.atari.com/news/atari-reveals-more-details-about-ataribox">promised integration</a> of its system with social media reminds me of the success of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/10/flappy-bird-is-dead-but-brilliant-mechanics-made-it-fly">Flappy Bird</a> on the iPhone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221959/original/file-20180606-137301-1o18hag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221959/original/file-20180606-137301-1o18hag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221959/original/file-20180606-137301-1o18hag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221959/original/file-20180606-137301-1o18hag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221959/original/file-20180606-137301-1o18hag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221959/original/file-20180606-137301-1o18hag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221959/original/file-20180606-137301-1o18hag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reviving the arcade feel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Atari</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like many Atari games of the past, it was created by a single developer in a matter of weeks. It was frustratingly hard and games didn’t last long. Yet players felt proud to share their high scores and they did so widely on social media from a link within the game. At the height of its success the developer reported the game was making $50,000 a day in ad revenue.</p>
<p>Atari is uniquely placed to be able to bring its titles into the modern era with internet connectivity, something that video game emulation (the use of simulation software to play older games on newer systems) doesn’t provide. Online high-score tables will allow older players to see how they measure up against the new generation of gamers – and younger gamers will have the opportunity to see how they compare with others on some of gaming’s earliest classics. Further features supporting modern gaming, such as live streaming, will only add to the potential of this machine.</p>
<p>It is the appeal of an authentic but fresh perspective on some of gaming’s classics that is driving interest Atari’s new system. The opportunity to experience the legacy left by Atari in new ways is compelling for many gamers. Atari has already confirmed its intention to reimagine games from its back catalogue and has indicated on its <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/atari-vcs-game-stream-connect-like-never-before-computers-pc#/">crowdfunding page</a> that some of these will involve online multiplayer. But as the first consoles won’t be released until the start of 2019, we will have to wait and see if this is enough to take Atari to the next level. Otherwise, it could be game over. Again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97809/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Cassidy has previously received funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). </span></em></p>A revamped Atari is hoping to capitalise on its legacy with a fresh take on classic games.Brendan Cassidy, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/963712018-05-10T14:59:59Z2018-05-10T14:59:59ZWhen kids run for 15 minutes in school every day, here’s what happens to their health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218301/original/file-20180509-34027-qs3ms2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-kids-group-have-fun-nature-108924566?src=SWQA-tjU7x42_HjtC57KAA-1-93">ESB Professional</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you haven’t heard of the Daily Mile yet, your time has come. Now <a href="https://thedailymile.co.uk/participation-map/">taking place</a> in 3,600 primary schools each day in 35 countries around the world, it takes children outside during normal lesson time to run or walk laps of the playground for 15 minutes. The ones who run cover around a mile each day.</p>
<p>The initiative has an endearing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/28/daily-mile-school-st-ninians-stirling-scotland">back story</a>. It was developed six years ago by St Ninians Primary School in Stirling in central Scotland after children and teachers felt the pupils needed to be fitter. </p>
<p>Other schools quickly realised the value, and it started to spread. It is now happening in around half of Scottish primaries and a quarter of those in England; while schools have also got on board everywhere from the US to the United Arab Emirates to Nepal to Australia. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMY_j8iVHKY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>With all this enthusiasm, it was time for researchers to ask the obvious question: is it really worth doing? We have been part of a collaboration between the universities of Stirling and Edinburgh that has <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-018-1049-z">just published</a> the first results. </p>
<h2>Inactive children</h2>
<p>The backdrop to The Daily Mile is a global childhood physical activity crisis. The World Health Organization (WHO) <a href="http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_young_people/en/">recommends</a> that children get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day – the kind that gets them out of breath. They should also do some <a href="https://www.parents.com/fun/sports/exercise/strength-training-exercises-for-kids/">resistance exercise</a> each week to strengthen their muscles. Despite this, fewer than 40% of children <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/jpah.2016-0594">achieve</a> these recommended levels. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=868&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=868&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218310/original/file-20180509-34006-gh5v91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=868&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The bum steer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-elementary-children-racing-across-their-30529018?src=tNlit1uoU_1HGkdYnqzhVQ-1-48">Iceman Photos</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Independent of the exercise you do, too much time spent sitting or lying down (while awake) is also bad for your health. The <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9386569/Limit-TV-watching-to-2-hours-to-live-longer-say-scientists.html">recommended maximum</a> is two hours of TV per day and limited sitting the rest of the time. Again, fewer than 40% of children around the world <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/jpah.2016-0594">achieve this</a>. The healthiest people do high amounts of moderate/vigorous exercise and spend low amounts of time sitting/reclining. </p>
<p>The number of overweight and obese children has <a href="http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/overweight_obesity/overweight_adolescents/en/">increased</a> dramatically in recent years, and lack of exercise and too much sitting around will be part of the reason. Overweight kids are at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e4759">higher risk</a> of diabetes, strokes and heart disease in later years, so this directly affects both their quality of life and potentially their lifespan. </p>
<p>Equally alarmingly, children’s physical fitness has significantly <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2017/10/30/bjsports-2017-097982.long">declined</a> since at least the 1980s. They can’t run as far without stopping as their parents could. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Governments have introduced various research-led <a href="http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/14651858.CD007651.pub2">interventions</a> to combat these threats – increasing the intensity of physical education classes, for example – but with mixed success. There are basically two hurdles: any intervention needs to be something children will keep doing, and it has to improve their health.</p>
<p>The Daily Mile has the attraction of being both simple and designed not by researchers but by a teacher and some children. The fact that so many schools are participating suggests that children keep doing it. So how about the effect on their health? </p>
<p>Children do The Daily Mile at whatever time of day their teacher chooses. Typically they do a mixture of walking and running, doing laps of a school pitch or playground in normal school clothes and shoes. Importantly, each child sets their own pace and is free to talk to other pupils or teachers as they go. </p>
<p>We compared 391 children aged four to 12 years in two local schools, over the course of an academic year. One school was about to introduce The Daily Mile while the other was not. </p>
<p>At the start and end of the study, we measured each child in the following ways: fitness (by <a href="http://www.5-a-side.com/fitness/the-beep-test-a-comprehensive-guide/">bleep test</a>), physical activity levels and sedentary time (both by <a href="https://www.actigraphcorp.com/support/activity-monitors/">accelerometer belts</a>), and body fat (by <a href="http://www.harpenden-skinfold.com/measurements.html">skin fold calipers</a>). (We looked at skin folds and not weight because <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/BodyMassIndex.aspx">body mass index</a> is not great at measuring “fatness” in this age group: the results get warped by the weight of bones developing as kids get taller.) </p>
<p>The children in the school that introduced the Daily Mile increased their moderate/vigorous physical activity by nine minutes per day (around 15%), and cut their sedentary time by 18 minutes per day (around 6%). They saw a 40-metre increase (circa 5%) in how far they could run, while their skin folds reduced by an average of 1.4mm or 4%. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218309/original/file-20180509-34038-xrh9i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Snooze you lose!</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-elementary-children-racing-across-their-30529018?src=tNlit1uoU_1HGkdYnqzhVQ-1-48">Glenda</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some query the impact of The Daily Mile on lesson time, but there’s little reason for this. We have <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zq3hxfr">previously shown</a> in almost 12,000 children that a single bout of similar exercise made them more awake, increased their attention and verbal memory, and improved their feelings of well-being. We have also heard anecdotal claims about other benefits such as better sleep and diet. </p>
<p>In short, our results suggest The Daily Mile is definitely worthwhile. In future we need to expand our research to understand whether it can work in different educational settings, such as high schools, and whether it works equally well for pupils from different backgrounds. </p>
<p>For the moment, The Daily Mile can certainly be part of the solution to child health and well-being. Look out for it: it could be here to stay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Moran is a member of the Daily Mile Academic Steering Group, which is organised by the Daily Mile Foundation. He is also a former pupil of St Ninians Primary. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Brooks and Ross Chesham do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Daily Mile started in a primary school in central Scotland six years ago. Now it has spread to 3,600 schools in 35 countries.Colin Moran, Senior Lecturer in Physiology, Exercise and Nutrition, University of StirlingNaomi Brooks, Senior Lecturer in Physiology, Exercise and Nutrition, University of StirlingRoss Chesham, Doctoral Researcher, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/756652017-04-18T10:45:51Z2017-04-18T10:45:51ZYoung gamers are inventing their own controllers to get around their disabilities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165289/original/image-20170413-25886-b40vc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://ablegamers.org/">AbleGamers Foundation</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nintendo’s latest gaming device <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nintendo-switch-breaks-convention-but-lacks-a-killer-app-74083">is unique</a>. It can operate like a traditional home console, a tablet or a handheld gaming unit complete with miniature joystick. But for gamers with disabilities, the Nintendo Switch may still have many of the same problems as any other console. Yet some of these young gamers are inventing their own ways to get around the challenges of using devices not designed to meet their needs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2017.1313969?scroll=top&needAccess=true">We interviewed</a> 15 young people with disabilities to find out about their everyday gaming habits. The gamers in the study were living with various disabilities – including muscle diseases, cerebral palsy, and Asperger’s syndrome – that can often hinder or interfere with the gameplay.</p>
<p>For example, many games require users to quickly and repeatedly press buttons on their controllers. Intensively repeated actions can be hard to accomplish for people with a muscle disease, making it impossible for them to proceed in these games. The mere speed of some games can be another issue, as well as an abundance of information that some games throw up.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165291/original/image-20170413-10077-1ec1wta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165291/original/image-20170413-10077-1ec1wta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165291/original/image-20170413-10077-1ec1wta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165291/original/image-20170413-10077-1ec1wta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165291/original/image-20170413-10077-1ec1wta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165291/original/image-20170413-10077-1ec1wta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165291/original/image-20170413-10077-1ec1wta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Faster control.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://ablegamers.org/">AbleGamers Foundation</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The gamers in our study were using a range of strategies, including some particularly innovative ideas, to overcome these issues. Some games were ruled out from the start, perceived as too speedy, too hectic or harbouring too many difficult sections. Others could be managed with the help of a friend or assistant who can take over control of the game for a short period to complete the hardest tasks, a kind of vicarious gamer.</p>
<p>The gamers were also careful about who they played with, with some preferring to play only with people who knew them and didn’t make a big deal of their disabilities. They preferred to play with people who were relaxed about the occasional difficulties disabilities can create, and who didn’t react in a way that spoiled the fun.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2017.1313969?scroll=top&needAccess=true">in some cases</a>, our gamers had gone a step further and developed their own ways to control the games. For example, one gamer, paralysed from the neck down after an accident, invented a new soft keyboard that allowed him to keep up with the speed of his favourite games. A soft keyboard is an onscreen keyboard, replacing the hardware keyboard with a clickable image on the display.</p>
<p>By combining this with a headmouse, which translates the movements of the user’s head into proportional mouse pointer movements, he could use this soft keyboard to control the game. For example, by programming his computer to read one click from his headmouse as 15 from a normal mouse, he could sustain his pace in the games and keep up with other players.</p>
<p>Another gamer rebuilt the controller of his console so that he could steer the games with his feet. Instead of holding a controller in his hands, he used a set of big buttons laid out on the floor. In this way he could avoid the troubles caused by his body’s involuntarily muscle contractions (spasticity). These can cause sudden stiffness or tightness, in this case especially affecting his upper body, so it was easier for him to control the game with his feet rather than his hands.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165294/original/image-20170413-25882-lsmtov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165294/original/image-20170413-25882-lsmtov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165294/original/image-20170413-25882-lsmtov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165294/original/image-20170413-25882-lsmtov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165294/original/image-20170413-25882-lsmtov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165294/original/image-20170413-25882-lsmtov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165294/original/image-20170413-25882-lsmtov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Widening participation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://ablegamers.org/">AbleGamers Foundation</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Safe haven</h2>
<p>Why is playing video games so important to these young people that they would go to the trouble of inventing these alternative controllers? Several of the gamers <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2017.1313969?scroll=top&needAccess=true">we interviewed</a> said games were an especially valuable safe haven that helped them manage their everyday lives and the challenges they faced. The gamers talked about enjoying “a deep story” within the games, that it was “a way to "close off” other things, an “escape” or “salvation”. </p>
<p>This is similar to the experience of other gamers, but disability sometimes adds an extra twist. A game’s well-crafted universe can be particularly attractive when disabilities create issues in real life, for instance in periods when friends abandon you because you are using a wheelchair. Some gamers even said that a video game can be seen as a metaphor for a life full of everyday fights. One gamer, living with a deteriorating muscle disease, said that the games are constantly “reminding oneself that you need to fight to succeed, especially us with difficult diagnoses”. </p>
<p>Despite the importance of video games to young people with disabilities, the games industry has only partially acknowledged them. For example, a gamer can often adjust difficulty levels to match his or her wanted level of challenge. But with more flexible speed settings and available shortcuts in the games, many gamers with disabilities would find better options.</p>
<p>The games industry would also benefit from more diversity in the worlds of its game, with more figures with various disabilities. This would attract people to the games that today do not always feel at home with them, and help open the challenges and safe haven games can provide to even more people with disabilities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Wästerfors received funding from Research platform for disability research in Region Skåne, Sweden, together with Kristofer Hansson.</span></em></p>Video games can provide disabled people with a safe haven, if they can access it.David Wästerfors, Associate professor, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/741142017-03-07T15:08:03Z2017-03-07T15:08:03ZNintendo’s new Switch console says a surprising amount about the company’s history<p>Nintendo have always done things their own way. The company has always been an innovator and each new games console it releases, from the Gameboy to the Wii, is usually labelled novel or gimmicky. Things <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/10/20/the-nintendo-switch-debuts-with-a-gimmick-thats-actually-worthwhile/#6d610c3f4067">are no different</a> with its latest offering, the Nintendo Switch, which is the first hybrid console that can be used as a home gaming centre or a portable handheld device. But if you look through the company’s bloodline of previous systems, you can find common themes and design goals that Nintendo has been refining for years and that still emerge in the Switch.</p>
<p>The new device consists of a tablet computer that can be used on its own or connected to a larger monitor and accompanied by a handheld controller more like a traditional games console. The two sides of the “Joy-Con” controller can be detached and reattached to the tablet for completely portable use, or used as separate controllers for two-player games, such as 1 2 Switch. </p>
<p>One of the things the Switch demonstrates is how far Nintendo has brought motion control since its first attempts at introducing the technology. Motion control is built into many aspects of some of the Switch’s key launch games, such as Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and needs to be precise and easy to use. Luckily, the system is very intuitive, especially in portable mode. The way the game uses motion control also counters one of its previous issues in that it doesn’t require players to expend too much energy while relaxing with their video games.</p>
<p>Nintendo first attempted to directly map what we do with our hands on screen nearly 30 years ago with the 1989 release of Mattel’s Power Glove for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It detected the rotation and position of your hand and whether or not your hand was clenched. In theory, people tend to like direct mappings of controls to their function as it makes our interactions with a device more intuitive and easier to learn. </p>
<p>In reality, the <a href="http://www.glixel.com/news/nintendo-flashback-the-disastrous-power-glove-w470178">Power Glove was a failure</a>. The glove was tracked using an ultrasonic sensor rather than the infrared sensors used for motion capture today. And using sound rather than light to track movement meant the signal was too slow and created latency issues that made the glove seem sluggish and unresponsive. </p>
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</figure>
<p>But, despite its problems, the Power Glove was a clear indication that Nintendo supported a vision for this design space. Years later, once the technology had caught up, the company was finally able to implement its vision with the Wii. </p>
<p>This became Nintendo’s <a href="https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1612.pdf">best-selling home console</a> in part because its motion control system was so successful it helped introduce people to gaming who had <a href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2212840&CFID=908182282&CFTOKEN=21607497">previously found other consoles inaccessible</a>. The Nintendo Switch builds on the motion control of the Wii by adding an infrared motion camera to the right-hand JoyCon, capable of recognising distance and shapes made by the hand nearby and making motion capture more portable.</p>
<p>Another instantly noticeable element of the Switch is the fidelity of the haptic feedback its controller provides. While it doesn’t quite have the finesse of the “Taptic Engine” found inside the latest Apple iPhones, the amount of information that is encoded into the haptic feedback of the Joy-Con controllers is impressive. </p>
<p>This is particularly noticeable when playing 1 2 Switch, which encourages players to face each other and not the screen, relying on the haptic feedback for guidance. In one game, I was required to balance up to four balls rolling around in a virtual box, and was easily able to detect their position using the haptics inside the Joy-Con controller.</p>
<p>Again, this technology has progressed significantly from the early days of haptic feedback. And again, it harks back to a pioneering attempt by Nintendo to introduce the technology with the <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/04/03/happy-birthday-rumble-pak">Rumble Pak add-on</a> for the Nintendo N64 console. In this case, the game would activate a small single motor with an offset weight attached to the end to produce the rumble effect.</p>
<p>Even what is perhaps the most unusual element of the Switch – the detachable controllers – has a precedent. Nintendo previously produced a mobile console with controllers that are separate from the main body with several of its “<a href="http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2010/02/feature_the_history_of_the_nintendo_game_and_watch">Game and Watch</a>” series of devices in the 1980s, most notably Donkey Kong 3.</p>
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<p>I think the Nintendo Switch has a lot of potential. There is something very powerful about just being able to lift it out of the dock and play the same game, anywhere. Nintendo have always focused on fun, playful, user-centric interactions, rather than being tempted to impress with graphical capabilities. When people are at the centre of design, even small issues can make or break a system. Maybe this time, though, with Nintendo’s pedigree, they have a winning mix.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Cassidy receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). </span></em></p>The new ‘hybrid’ device is the culmination of many of Nintendo’s innovations to date.Brendan Cassidy, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/740832017-03-06T19:23:22Z2017-03-06T19:23:22ZThe Nintendo Switch breaks convention but lacks a killer app<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159511/original/image-20170306-933-qcp5k9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Nintendo Switch is a modular gaming console, unlike any other on the market.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nintendo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A little over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/nintendo-consoles-history-photos-switch-2016-10?r=US&IR=T#/#before-there-was-the-nes-there-was-the-color-tv-game-nintendo-first-dipped-its-toes-into-console-gaming-by-launching-five-of-these-japan-only-rectangles-between-1977-and-1980-1">10 years ago</a> Nintendo changed the game with the release of the original <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii">Wii</a> console. Featuring motion controllers that allowed users’ arm and body movements to control their video games, the system was wildly successful going on to sell more than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii#Sales">100 million units</a> worldwide. </p>
<p>This was followed by 2012’s <a href="http://www.nintendo.com.au/wii-u">Wii U</a> console, which didn’t fare as well. With a large “second screen” controller packed in, part of Wii U’s goal was to provide asymmetric gaming, where the player with the larger GamePad had more or different options to those who might be playing with more traditional controllers. </p>
<p>Despite these grand plans and a steady diet of Nintendo staples, including numerous Mario and Zelda games, the Wii U failed to take off in the same way the Wii had. It still managed to sell <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_U#Sales">around 14 million units</a> by the start of 2017, with the last Wii U console rolling off the production line in <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-11-01-nintendo-to-end-wii-u-production-this-week">November 2016</a>.</p>
<p>Never one to shy away from innovation, 2017 brings the release of Nintendo’s newest console: Switch. And true to form, Nintendo has done things a little differently yet again, while using some of the same strategies they’ve employed previously. </p>
<p>As with previous generations, it’s likely that Nintendo’s console will be less powerful than its Sony and Microsoft peers. But that’s not the battleground Nintendo has chosen. It has gone for mobility and “out-and-about” connectivity in a similar vein to its <a href="http://www.nintendo.com.au/nintendo-2ds">DS</a> line of portables, or perhaps more closely, to a Sony <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-au/explore/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>. The goal here is to connect people in person through gaming. And it could pay off in spades.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159522/original/image-20170306-898-1fqku52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The components can be combined into a more traditional controller.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nintendo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>In betweener</h2>
<p>The Switch itself has a “phablet” sized 6.2 inch touchscreen with controllers that snap onto the sides when in portable mode. But it also has a portable multiplayer trick up its sleeve. </p>
<p>Sliding off the controllers allows them to connect around a central connecting block as a single traditional controller. They both also contain an analogue stick and the regular diamond of buttons, so each side can be used by a different player.</p>
<p>While on the road, the console will try to conserve battery life where possible, with a claimed life of between 2 and 6.5 hours based on usage. Plugging the Switch into its dock allows it to charge and boost it’s processing power to act more like a traditional console with the action displayed on your TV. </p>
<p>While there is only a handful of games at launch, including the excellent <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild">The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</a>, further titles can be purchased on the eShop app-store. These will require installation on the device’s built in 32GB of memory, while titles bought on cartridges don’t require installation at all. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159516/original/image-20170306-908-1mi0479.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the flagship games on the Switch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nintendo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although 32GB isn’t a great deal of space to work with when referring to modern games, a MicroSD expansion slot allows for up to a planned further 2TB of storage to be added. The largest current MicroSD UHS card is presently 1TB, but it’s expected that 2TB cards will arrive in time.</p>
<p>With additional features like <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/13/nintendos-hd-rumble-will-be-the-best-unused-switch-feature-of-2/">HD Rumble</a>, which uses multiple haptic activators per controller, and the ability to connect up to eight Switches together for multiplayer gaming, Nintendo has a chance to do things no other console can.</p>
<p>But what it doesn’t have is its one social “killer app”, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/pokemon-go-29173">Pokémon Go</a>, which drove <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Go#Downloads_and_revenue">millions of people</a> out into their local parks, or <a href="http://www.smashbros.com/en-au/">Super Smash Brothers</a>, which draws large crowds to <a href="https://smash.gg/">tournaments</a> around the world. </p>
<p>The game <a href="http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1-2-switch">1-2-Switch</a> currently comes closest as a party game, with its large collection of mini-games that have you doing everything from racing to eating sandwiches, having old-west style quick-draw competitions and milking virtual cows. But it remains to be seen how long these kinds of silly diversions will hold peoples’ attention. </p>
<p>And if it turns out that they don’t, then Nintendo’s recent love of indy gaming and a planned roster of <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/28/14764956/nintendo-indie-games-switch-yooka-laylee-stardew-valley">60 titles</a> in 2017 can still step in to shore up the wait between larger AAA releases.</p>
<p>The Nintendo Switch offers a lot of flexibility and potential, especially in its multiplayer aspects. But by choosing gameplay over hardware specifications, it may ultimately fail or succeed based on the depth and breadth of its software library and ability to cater to a wide variety of gamers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74083/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alastair Lansley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nintendo has a history of innovation in the console market, and the Switch follows suit. But it trades power for flexibility, and it’s unknown yet whether that’s what gamers want.Alastair Lansley, Lecturer, Mobile Applications, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.