Navigating the sandbox : Disruptive trends in the video gaming industry

Article | March 19, 2020

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, movie theaters shuttered, Hollywood delayed some of its biggest films indefinitely, numerous productions across movies and TV halted, and virtually every major pop culture event planned for the next couple months either shut down or picked a new date. One might imagine that videogames would be the least affected branch of the entertainment world. Self-isolating in front of the TV screen does pair well with quarantines. While the industry remains one of the few not completely stunted during these uncertain times, the coronavirus has indeed affected players, developers, and studios, both for better and worse.

Article | April 16, 2020

At 5+ million units sold, Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) is thought to be the most successful VR headset on the market. The kit’s had a great run since launch in 2016, but should you buy a PSVR in 2020? Just under two years ago, we stated that you should “definitely” buy a PSVR in holiday promotions. The price, paired with a growing library of games, made it an easy recommendation. But this industry moves quickly and there are a lot of new factors that complicate the question of if PSVR remains a worthy purchase.

Article | February 23, 2020

Depending on who (and when) you asked, you might have heard virtual reality (VR) described as either "the next big thing" or "dead in the water." The technology generated huge excitement in the lead-up to its major consumer debut, but was quickly written off in some quarters after hardware sales fell short of expectations. The platform now seems to be on the verge of getting its second wind, and momentum has recast claims of the display medium's demise as premature -- but there's still plenty of debate about what comes next.

Article | March 4, 2020

How did this happen? To understand, you need to know how NVIDIA's video-game streaming service works. Video game fans are used to console and PC gaming where games are usually purchased once and then played on specific hardware: Xbox games for Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox, PlayStation games for Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation, and PC games on (of course) a PC. To play on a different type of machine, customers usually have to purchase the game again. This model informed Stadia's cloud gaming economy, which requires customers to purchase games if they want to play them on Stadia.