A Scorching Hot Idea
https://basementmtl.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-scorching-hot-idea.html
A question I always ask myself these days is "will mobile gaming
take over"? Maybe it already has, given the fact that everyone uses their
smartphone as a social crutch. In the past few years, we've seen tons
of mobile games rise in popularity, only to plummet to nothingness in months.
The only exception seems to be Angry Birds, and I still don’t understand why.
Let’s quickly look at the past few most popular mobile games:
Let’s quickly look at the past few most popular mobile games:
1. Words With Friends: Scrabble. Oh joy.
2. Draw Something: Pictionary. Yay
3. Plants vs. Zombies: Probably my favorite mobile game thus far. The sequel removes many qualities of the previous game, and adds freemium. Bleh, pass
2. Draw Something: Pictionary. Yay
3. Plants vs. Zombies: Probably my favorite mobile game thus far. The sequel removes many qualities of the previous game, and adds freemium. Bleh, pass
4. Candy Crush Saga: Ok, it’s addictive, but
again, freemium. Besides, King.com’s shady practices steer me away. Plus it's
just Bejeweled.
4. Clash of Clans: Another freemium game that I’m currently wasting my time on. Give me another month and it’ll probably be deleted.
5. Quiz Up: This has potential. The amount of categories, quick rounds and online head-to-head style make it fun.
4. Clash of Clans: Another freemium game that I’m currently wasting my time on. Give me another month and it’ll probably be deleted.
5. Quiz Up: This has potential. The amount of categories, quick rounds and online head-to-head style make it fun.
Okay okay okay, on to the main point.
I feel like we are on the cusp of something new in the segment of mobile gaming. Amazon’s Fire TV will be releasing Walking Dead on their device. Ouya has it too. All the other tiny streaming boxes are becoming tiny gaming consoles, and as such, mobile gaming is no longer mobile.
 |
| $40 extra for a controller and you got yourself a gaming console |
OnLive succeeded in offering video game streaming, but I don’t
know a single person that owns the console.
These new media streaming boxes are dirt cheap, tiny, and seem to be offering tons of content for close to nothing. I think Amazon has a great idea at hand, because they’re just a much bigger company than Ouya. They can shell out big bucks and push this out as a gaming console. Moreover, they made a controller for it, and it comes with a free game.
Let’s look at the other big names in set-top boxes:
1. Apple TV - not meant for gaming
These new media streaming boxes are dirt cheap, tiny, and seem to be offering tons of content for close to nothing. I think Amazon has a great idea at hand, because they’re just a much bigger company than Ouya. They can shell out big bucks and push this out as a gaming console. Moreover, they made a controller for it, and it comes with a free game.
Let’s look at the other big names in set-top boxes:
1. Apple TV - not meant for gaming
2. Chromecast - dirt cheap, but no game support as of yet
3. Roku - new controller can be flipped on its side for gaming, much like the Wii Remote
3. Roku - new controller can be flipped on its side for gaming, much like the Wii Remote
4. Google TV - heavily criticized, but may be re-released and re-tooled soon.
From this list, Amazon’s Fire TV fills a gap in the gaming segment very easily. It truly takes mobile gaming to a new level simply because it adds a real controller. It promises exclusive games and is backed up by a big company. Amazon, in my opinion, has a good track record with its Kindle line, so this seems like a natural progression. It may be a bold claim, but they could be seeing success just like Apple has with Apple TV.
What really excites me is that this creates yet another avenue for indie developers to release their games on. The low barrier to entry of Android plus the low cost for consumers is a perfect match. If Amazon delivers some good exclusive content, this could truly work out as a gaming console. Casual gamers will be drawn in by familiar mobile games, as well as be exposed to newer indie titles. More importantly, many games wont rise and fade so quickly like the ones I mentioned earlier. Instead, indie developers will have games with longer life cycles.
Amazon is ahead of the pack with this idea. If the match between Amazon and game developers heats up, we’ll see sparks. As you all know, sparks can cause Fire…Fire TV.
You can use that slogan Amazon, but I want a free Fire TV.
From this list, Amazon’s Fire TV fills a gap in the gaming segment very easily. It truly takes mobile gaming to a new level simply because it adds a real controller. It promises exclusive games and is backed up by a big company. Amazon, in my opinion, has a good track record with its Kindle line, so this seems like a natural progression. It may be a bold claim, but they could be seeing success just like Apple has with Apple TV.
What really excites me is that this creates yet another avenue for indie developers to release their games on. The low barrier to entry of Android plus the low cost for consumers is a perfect match. If Amazon delivers some good exclusive content, this could truly work out as a gaming console. Casual gamers will be drawn in by familiar mobile games, as well as be exposed to newer indie titles. More importantly, many games wont rise and fade so quickly like the ones I mentioned earlier. Instead, indie developers will have games with longer life cycles.
Amazon is ahead of the pack with this idea. If the match between Amazon and game developers heats up, we’ll see sparks. As you all know, sparks can cause Fire…Fire TV.
You can use that slogan Amazon, but I want a free Fire TV.
