Ask any gamer about his/her best memory & surely they’ll recount the experience of plugging in that Xbox or PS3 and spending hours racing cars or fighting wars or saving the earth and so on. Console based games are the original gamers’ toys and they have laid the foundation of the gaming industry. Consoles are dedicated hardware devices manufactured to play interactive media content (games). Play station, Xbox, Nintendo Ds and Play station portable are some examples of popular gaming consoles. Consoles were the first to establish the video gaming industry as a serious business.
Console games are particularly considered for hardcore gamers as the console is an expensive powerful machine designed to handle complex graphics and gameplay. Games for consoles require a definite learning curve to get hands on before anyone can actually start enjoying the game experience. This learning curve is sometimes annoying for casual gamers who want quick entertainment experience, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be hooked on to GTA, NFS, World of Warcraft, Halo, etc for life. In India, favourable demographics, rising urban disposable incomes & affordable price points have contributed to gaming devices becoming a huge hit.
Much has been talked about the decline in the sale of consoles but IDC forecasts direct global console hardware and disc software sale revenue will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6% from 2010 to 2015, reaching $39.7 billion in 2015.
Over all the gaming industry is experiencing a paradigm shift from its conventional method and technology & becoming increasingly inclusive. Young and old, men and women, students & senior citizens –all are hooked on to gaming. Surely, this is a sector that holds a lot of promise in terms of job demand for animation professionals looking to create quality graphics.
Article By: Anurag Yadav (MAAC, Research and Development)