The Evolution of Gaming: What's Next?

As we look to the future of gaming, it's clear that the industry is evolving rapidly. Consoles that were once expected to have short lifespans are now being extended for several more years, giving gamers a longer period of time to enjoy their favorite games. This shift has led to a new focus on game development and innovation, with developers pushing the boundaries of what's possible in terms of graphics, gameplay, and storytelling.

One area that's seen significant growth is mobile gaming. The rise of tablets and smartphones has made it easier than ever for gamers to play on the go, and many popular titles are now available as mobile apps. In fact, the iPod touch has become a major player in the market, with Steve Jobs announcing that it's now the number one selling mobile gaming console. This shift towards mobile gaming is changing the way we think about game development, with developers creating titles that are specifically designed for smaller screens.

According to CG, who has firsthand experience with mobile gaming on his iPad, the key to success lies in creating games that appeal to a broad audience. "I personally have an iPad and I play all my games on that everywhere I go," he says. "I think women are just as interested in gaming as men, and they're not limited to specific types of games. They like the same things we do - action, adventure, competition." This perspective is echoed by John, who believes that game companies can learn from the success of titles like Halo 3, which appealed to a broad audience and achieved massive sales figures.

The shift towards mobile gaming has also led to changes in how we think about game development. Many games are now being designed with smaller screens in mind, requiring developers to be more creative in their approach. CG believes that this trend will continue, with games like those based on the Connect platform becoming increasingly popular. "I can't really narrow it down to one specific game, but I think a lot of these types of games are going to be very popular," he says.

As for what's next, many gamers and industry experts are looking forward to upcoming titles that promise to push the boundaries of gaming even further. While there's no single "next big thing" that can be identified just yet, it's clear that the future of gaming is bright and exciting. With continued innovation and creativity, it's likely that we'll see new technologies and gameplay mechanics emerge in the years to come.

CG's Ideal Platform

When asked about his ideal platform, CG has a unique perspective. "My ideal platform is Xbox 360," he says, although this is largely due to his competitive nature rather than any particular love of the console itself. "But I think mobile gaming is definitely where the future of gaming is going to be headed." This sentiment is echoed by many gamers and industry experts, who believe that the rise of mobile gaming is a major trend that will continue to shape the industry in the years to come.

Mobile Gaming: The Next Frontier

Mobile gaming has been growing rapidly in recent years, with more and more games being developed specifically for smaller screens. According to CG, who has firsthand experience playing on his iPad, this shift towards mobile gaming is changing the way we think about game development. "I personally have an iPad and I play all my games on that everywhere I go," he says. "I think women are just as interested in gaming as men, and they're not limited to specific types of games. They like the same things we do - action, adventure, competition."

The rise of mobile gaming has also led to changes in how we think about game marketing. Many developers are now targeting a broader audience, including women who may have been overlooked in the past. "I don't think it really has to do anything different," says CG. "Women these days are appeal to the same games that guys are." This perspective is echoed by many gamers and industry experts, who believe that game companies can benefit from adopting a more inclusive approach.

Gaming Industry Demographics

One surprising trend in the gaming industry is the demographic shift towards women. According to recent statistics, 40% of gamers are women, although this number may be underreported. The gaming industry has long been criticized for its lack of diversity, but many developers and publishers are now working hard to change this.

CG believes that the key to appealing to more women lies in creating games that appeal to a broad audience. "I personally have an iPad and I play all my games on that everywhere I go," he says. "I think women are just as interested in gaming as men, and they're not limited to specific types of games." This perspective is echoed by many gamers and industry experts, who believe that game companies can benefit from adopting a more inclusive approach.

CG's Experience: Gaming Full-Time

For CG, gaming is not just a hobby - it's a full-time job. He specializes in marketing and promotions, working with companies to bring new games to market. While he doesn't make a fortune from tournament winnings, he does earn a living through his work in the industry.

According to CG, the key to success lies in creating games that appeal to a broad audience. "I personally have an iPad and I play all my games on that everywhere I go," he says. "I think women are just as interested in gaming as men, and they're not limited to specific types of games." This perspective is echoed by many gamers and industry experts, who believe that game companies can benefit from adopting a more inclusive approach.

The Future of Gaming

As we look to the future of gaming, it's clear that the industry is on the cusp of significant change. From the rise of mobile gaming to changes in game development and marketing, there are many trends emerging that will shape the industry in the years to come. One thing is certain - the future of gaming is bright and exciting, with new technologies and gameplay mechanics emerging all the time.

While there's no single "next big thing" that can be identified just yet, it's clear that mobile gaming is a major trend that will continue to shape the industry in the years to come. With continued innovation and creativity, it's likely that we'll see new developments and breakthroughs in the world of gaming.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwell up next on the show we're clinging to positive territory here's a stat that we wonder if you knew did you know that more than 40 percent of video gamers are female so when we went in search of the next big thing in gaming we called the top female gamer on the planet her game picks and her trades to match are next day four of our next big things series brings us to the world of gaming from 3d to motion controllers the gaming industry continues to grow it's even more technologically advanced every single day and it's way bigger than the movie industry so what will be the next big thing in gaming and who's going to bring it to market joining us from the front lines john rettinger editor-in-chief of the tech blog technobuffalo.com and cg star slayer thorne the world's top female multi multi-genre pro gamer and we are thrilled to have you with us cd we're very excited all right so thanks to both of you uh for being with us um let me just start with you john just in terms of the overall industry here i mean a lot of people don't realize how big it is and how quickly it's growing so when we ask this question of what's the next big thing how do you answer it is it what's the next uh new game or the next new technology or the next new platform what used to be what's the next big game going to be but these consoles are now having such longer lifespans uh the xbox 360 is going to be extended for another five or six years same with the playstation 3. so now it's going to be how the games themselves are evolving we're seeing a huge push towards motion controls nintendo we've ushered that in through the age of sitting behind the couch the controller are gone sony's launching their brand new wands looking playstation move and microsoft's launching their completely controller-less microsoft connect and don't forget about the just announced new ipod touch yesterday uh steve jobs said the ipod touch is now the number one selling mobile gaming console on the market ousting the nintendo dsi line and the sony psp so mobile gaming is really coming up and i think that's where the future of gaming is going to be headed well let's ask cg because cg you you know you live this every day is that is that the next big thing mobile technology i mean what what's your ideal platform i totally agree my ideal platform is xbox 360. but that's mostly because that's coming from a competitive standpoint that's what system most tournaments are on these days but mobile gaming definitely is getting big i personally have an ipad and i play all my games on that everywhere i go wow you play them all on the ipad so you switched quickly oh yeah um so so let me ask you cd this big question we had i don't know if you heard that when we were coming into commercial we said may surprise people 40 of gamers are women um but apparently we still don't compare well to places like japan where even stay-at-home moms are very big gamers in the us not so much so how could the gaming industry in your opinion appeal to more women well i don't think it really has to do anything different women these days are appeal to the same games that guys are i personally i play street fighter i play guitar hero you know you're not going to find these girls playing barbie adventure you're going to find them they're going to be kicking your buddy halo it gears the war so i don't really think the gaming industry really has to do anything to get more females into it by directing certain games at them specifically um you know females like just the same things that guys do and i i guess a lot of us would say that that's true in a lot of ways so uh cg when you're as a gamer i mean do you do it full time do you can you tell us how much you make i mean is it a lucrative business for you um it's a little bit tough sometimes it depends uh it fluctuates between summer and fall depending on how many tournaments there are but i specialize in marketing and promotions so i get most of my earnings from working with companies doing gaming related events more than i do at tournament winnings john what do you think about what cg said that women like the same things as men like and she's talking about street fighter and a lot of games that maybe a lot of people incorrectly think are male games and what was the thing a few years ago oh women are only going to like sims and all these other kinds of things is there something game companies can learn from that absolutely just like the consoles are evolving the gamers themselves are developing i can't tell you how many times i've been playing halo and i hear in my mouthpiece i'm getting killed by a woman or a girl somewhere really the gaming is the gaming demographics are broadening on a daily basis and those sort of gender barriers are completely coming crashing down you know like cg said the gamers just by marketing the games themselves are targeting women you see game advertisements really places you didn't see them before uh it's really sort of reaching out uh to brand new demographics it's making the gaming industry huge uh when halo 3 launched which is arguably the flagship game uh of this cons of this console era it sold 300 million dollars in the first week 170 million in the first day the gaming industry is getting to be almost as big as the movie industry and as such the demographics are really expanding with it all right and quickly before we go cg i know you mentioned street fighter and guitar hero in your opinion what's the next big game that's coming down the pike oh um i can't really narrow it down to one specifically but i think a lot of the games that are uh based around the connect are gonna be very popular all right well thanks very much to both of you john c.g appreciate it we'll look forward to having you both thank youwell up next on the show we're clinging to positive territory here's a stat that we wonder if you knew did you know that more than 40 percent of video gamers are female so when we went in search of the next big thing in gaming we called the top female gamer on the planet her game picks and her trades to match are next day four of our next big things series brings us to the world of gaming from 3d to motion controllers the gaming industry continues to grow it's even more technologically advanced every single day and it's way bigger than the movie industry so what will be the next big thing in gaming and who's going to bring it to market joining us from the front lines john rettinger editor-in-chief of the tech blog technobuffalo.com and cg star slayer thorne the world's top female multi multi-genre pro gamer and we are thrilled to have you with us cd we're very excited all right so thanks to both of you uh for being with us um let me just start with you john just in terms of the overall industry here i mean a lot of people don't realize how big it is and how quickly it's growing so when we ask this question of what's the next big thing how do you answer it is it what's the next uh new game or the next new technology or the next new platform what used to be what's the next big game going to be but these consoles are now having such longer lifespans uh the xbox 360 is going to be extended for another five or six years same with the playstation 3. so now it's going to be how the games themselves are evolving we're seeing a huge push towards motion controls nintendo we've ushered that in through the age of sitting behind the couch the controller are gone sony's launching their brand new wands looking playstation move and microsoft's launching their completely controller-less microsoft connect and don't forget about the just announced new ipod touch yesterday uh steve jobs said the ipod touch is now the number one selling mobile gaming console on the market ousting the nintendo dsi line and the sony psp so mobile gaming is really coming up and i think that's where the future of gaming is going to be headed well let's ask cg because cg you you know you live this every day is that is that the next big thing mobile technology i mean what what's your ideal platform i totally agree my ideal platform is xbox 360. but that's mostly because that's coming from a competitive standpoint that's what system most tournaments are on these days but mobile gaming definitely is getting big i personally have an ipad and i play all my games on that everywhere i go wow you play them all on the ipad so you switched quickly oh yeah um so so let me ask you cd this big question we had i don't know if you heard that when we were coming into commercial we said may surprise people 40 of gamers are women um but apparently we still don't compare well to places like japan where even stay-at-home moms are very big gamers in the us not so much so how could the gaming industry in your opinion appeal to more women well i don't think it really has to do anything different women these days are appeal to the same games that guys are i personally i play street fighter i play guitar hero you know you're not going to find these girls playing barbie adventure you're going to find them they're going to be kicking your buddy halo it gears the war so i don't really think the gaming industry really has to do anything to get more females into it by directing certain games at them specifically um you know females like just the same things that guys do and i i guess a lot of us would say that that's true in a lot of ways so uh cg when you're as a gamer i mean do you do it full time do you can you tell us how much you make i mean is it a lucrative business for you um it's a little bit tough sometimes it depends uh it fluctuates between summer and fall depending on how many tournaments there are but i specialize in marketing and promotions so i get most of my earnings from working with companies doing gaming related events more than i do at tournament winnings john what do you think about what cg said that women like the same things as men like and she's talking about street fighter and a lot of games that maybe a lot of people incorrectly think are male games and what was the thing a few years ago oh women are only going to like sims and all these other kinds of things is there something game companies can learn from that absolutely just like the consoles are evolving the gamers themselves are developing i can't tell you how many times i've been playing halo and i hear in my mouthpiece i'm getting killed by a woman or a girl somewhere really the gaming is the gaming demographics are broadening on a daily basis and those sort of gender barriers are completely coming crashing down you know like cg said the gamers just by marketing the games themselves are targeting women you see game advertisements really places you didn't see them before uh it's really sort of reaching out uh to brand new demographics it's making the gaming industry huge uh when halo 3 launched which is arguably the flagship game uh of this cons of this console era it sold 300 million dollars in the first week 170 million in the first day the gaming industry is getting to be almost as big as the movie industry and as such the demographics are really expanding with it all right and quickly before we go cg i know you mentioned street fighter and guitar hero in your opinion what's the next big game that's coming down the pike oh um i can't really narrow it down to one specifically but i think a lot of the games that are uh based around the connect are gonna be very popular all right well thanks very much to both of you john c.g appreciate it we'll look forward to having you both thank you\n"