Some interesting info about online gaming.

[dart321]

From the latest PC Magazine (pg. 23):

Citing greater global use of broadband as their reason, researchers at DFC Intelligence are forecasting that the market for online gaming will increase 415 percent from the end of 2003 to 2009.

2003 = 1.9 Billion Dollars.
2006 (Projected) = 5.2 Billion Dollars
2009 (Projected) = 9.8 Billion Dollars

It's no surprise that online gaming is taking off, but an increase of 415 percent is just amazing to me. I mean this means more games, more players, and hopefully more fun for the rest of us.

 

[B.Calhoun]

And maybe just maybe we will get HL2 by 2009.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Yeah, and unless it all takes place in Korea, hopefully a more mainstream gaming market. By mainstream, I don't mean the like sof The Sims :x, but rather more acceptance of titles such as halflife and other such games, which are now considered geeky.

 

[dart321]

Yeah, and unless it all takes place in Korea, hopefully a more mainstream gaming market. By mainstream, I don't mean the like sof The Sims :x, but rather more acceptance of titles such as halflife and other such games, which are now considered geeky.

Yeah, I'm sure Korea and Japan will see most of this increase but I'm sure Europe and the US will get a nice boost also. In Japan, I don't think your cool unless you play games.

 

[Maxi]

Yeah, right now we are teh geeks, in 2009 we will be the game sport elite!

 

[smwScott]

Yeah, and unless it all takes place in Korea, hopefully a more mainstream gaming market. By mainstream, I don't mean the like sof The Sims :x, but rather more acceptance of titles such as halflife and other such games, which are now considered geeky.

How is Half-Life considered geeky? At the school we have Half-Life with most of the good mods installed on the school PCs and pretty much everyone plays. It's hardly geeky at all.

RPG and RTS games are generally considered geeky, but Half-Life is very mainstream. That goes for most FPS games.

 

[StardogChampion]

In 2009 it will hopefully be HL: Online. MMORPG style that is.

 

[oldagerocker]

In 2009 it will hopefully be HL: Online. MMORPG style that is.

I really don't see how that will work, maybe thats what valve are building up to with Half-life 2 and 3... with all the cities and everything, but wouldnt everyone want to be Gordon Freeman?

I want Valve to work on something unrelated to the Half-life Universe soon, im sure they'd come out with more fantastic games with far more originality.

 

[B_MAN]

And maybe just maybe we will get HL2 by 2009.

nice 1 :smoking:

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

How is Half-Life considered geeky? At the school we have Half-Life with most of the good mods installed on the school PCs and pretty much everyone plays. It's hardly geeky at all.

RPG and RTS games are generally considered geeky, but Half-Life is very mainstream. That goes for most FPS games.

Its just that a lot of people take games to be rather geeky. They especially play up this though, because they think everyone else thinks games are geeky. Thats the problem, because lots of people play the games, or at least don't really mind them, but to keep the image, they pretend to hate games.

 

[CrazyHarij]

Let's hope it becomes cheaper in the future too.

 

[dart321]

Let's hope it becomes cheaper in the future too.

Doubtful.

Its just that a lot of people take games to be rather geeky. They especially play up this though, because they think everyone else thinks games are geeky. Thats the problem, because lots of people play the games, or at least don't really mind them, but to keep the image, they pretend to hate games.

Amen.

 

[smwScott]

Its just that a lot of people take games to be rather geeky. They especially play up this though, because they think everyone else thinks games are geeky. Thats the problem, because lots of people play the games, or at least don't really mind them, but to keep the image, they pretend to hate games.

Well, I guess there are people like that, but I don't really know any. With pretty much anyone who has a computer Half-Life is pretty much as mainstream as GTA or whatever else where I live. I do know some people who don't play games, or only play sports game, and they tend to think that pretty much any other game is geeky. But who really cares? They're wrong and they probably know it, just trying to keep up some bullshit macho facade.

I definitely believe that the majority of people under 30 don't view games like Half-Life as being geeky.

 

[dart321]

Well, I guess there are people like that, but I don't really know any. With pretty much anyone who has a computer Half-Life is pretty much as mainstream as GTA or whatever else where I live. I do know some people who don't play games, or only play sports game, and they tend to think that pretty much any other game is geeky. But who really cares? They're wrong and they probably know it, just trying to keep up some bullshit macho facade.

I definitely believe that the majority of people under 30 don't view games like Half-Life as being geeky.

Where the hell do you live ? I wanna move!

 

[smwScott]

Well I live in Florida, but when I lived in Atlanta it was pretty much the same way. People just don't see games as geeky here, at least not FPS games. The fact is there are geeky games, but Half-Life and most of it's mods are not included in that category. At least not by anyone who has played the games, what's geeky about them?

And about Florida, it's cool but right now we're kinda getting raped by hurricanes. I'm gonna have to board up the windows for a 3rd ****ing time this weekend.

 

[Darkknighttt]

How is Half-Life considered geeky? At the school we have Half-Life with most of the good mods installed on the school PCs and pretty much everyone plays. It's hardly geeky at all.

RPG and RTS games are generally considered geeky, but Half-Life is very mainstream. That goes for most FPS games.

YOU HAVE HALF-LIFE ON YOUR SCHOOL PC'S!!!!!!!! r u in high school or grade school?!?!?!?!?! anyways, whichever one your in, your lucky!!!!!

 

[thehunter1320]

hmmmm.... so, nintendo... there is no real money in online gaming?

 

[Asuka]

Yeah, I'm sure Korea and Japan will see most of this increase but I'm sure Europe and the US will get a nice boost also. In Japan, I don't think your cool unless you play games.

lol thats super cool

 

[The Dark Elf]

I think it'll get to the point where MMORPGS will just be boring for people, you'll not be able to go anywhere without there being one. I'm gonna miss SP games where storyline was more important and other characters didn't run about speaking in strange teenspeak.

 

[dart321]

I think it'll get to the point where MMORPGS will just be boring for people, you'll not be able to go anywhere without there being one. I'm gonna miss SP games where storyline was more important and other characters didn't run about speaking in strange teenspeak.

I agree. I doubt it will take too long for developers to see that they are not doing well and go back to regular online game making. I mean, if its not fun, no one will buy it.

 

[The Dark Elf]

I agree. I doubt it will take too long for developers to see that they are not doing well and go back to regular online game making. I mean, if its not fun, no one will buy it.

exactly. And there's only so many MMORPGS they can do before its over saturated. A few years I reckon and they'll be looked down on as "old" like regular deathmatch games.. not saying they'll be terrible or anything, regular DM is still fun sometimes. But people will want something different. Knowing how many can be pretty fickle about things like that, might only be a few years before they get boring

The whole monthly fee puts a lot of people off too. royally gets up the nose of the pirates though, which is nice

 

[smwScott]

YOU HAVE HALF-LIFE ON YOUR SCHOOL PC'S!!!!!!!! r u in high school or grade school?!?!?!?!?! anyways, whichever one your in, your lucky!!!!!

I'm a junior, and yeah we're pretty lucky. We play CS mostly. It's actually kinda funny, hosting a LAN server with like 20 people in it completely destroys the school network and slows everything down to a standstill.

At one point we had 2 servers running with about 12-16 people each.