The Future of Social Gaming

The hottest trend currently in gaming is social gaming. Social gaming is very popular because it allows you to play with your friends or complete strangers and gives you the ability to communicate via a headset. Some of the most popular social titles are games like Halo, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Little Big Planet and many more.

New innovations like Xbox 360 Kinect and the PlayStation Move are changing the way you play games. These gadgets allow you to get a group of friends together or the whole family and play a game together. The Xbox Kinect does not even require a controller, YOU are the controller. The Kinect gives you a full body gaming experience which is very cool. The PlayStation Move is not as hands free as the Kinect, as it requires a wand-like controller, similar to the Wii console. The Move is also geared for the social side of gaming and encourages the entire family to get involved.

The first person shooter games like Call of Duty and Halo have benefited greatly from this social trend. Both PlayStation and Xbox have online portals where you can sign on for any game but these titles are probably the most well-known for being social gaming titles.

Another gadget that is impacting this gaming trend is the ability to take gaming anywhere is the pico projector. Picos allow you to project up to a 60" screen which is perfect for taking your gaming to go. Multi-player titles are the perfect application for pico projectors.

According to the sales numbers reported by Sony and Microsoft, the Move is currently outperforming the Kinect. Sony is reporting that since launching in September the Move has sold 4.1 million units worldwide. This announcement came after Microsoft announced it had sold 2.5 million units in the first 25 days.

Both of these devices should be popular with the holiday season right around the corner it will be interesting to see which gadget comes out on top.

You may have heard of the XBox Kinect and the PlayStation Move but have heard of a Pico Projector?

Pico Projectors allow you to take your gaming anywhere you go and gives you the ability to project anywhere at anytime, giving you a truly social gaming experience.

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The Video Game Industry Needs To Consider Social Media Integration

There's no denying that the rate of growth the video game industry has encountered within the past decade has made it one of the leading players in the multimedia entertainment field. Whereas 10 to 15 years ago the industry may have seemed dominated by 'geeks' and children, the industry has since propelled itself as an everyday necessity in mainstream culture. Innovations such as the Nintendo Wii and Xbox Kinect have helped to bring in gamers who previously wouldn't have had an interest in playing video games.

However, given the industry's prominence, alongside its current global market value, the leading players in the industry - Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo - have only recently begun to integrate social media into their systems and marketing strategies. Given the ever-increasing number of social network users, coupled with the standing of leading multimedia brands on such sites, it seems surprising that these brands haven't utilised these platforms to a greater extent.

Although there are elements of integration already in place, on the whole it doesn't seem sizeable enough to make a significant impact within the social media market. Through the Playstation 3, for example, users can connect their Facebook account with the console, which then automatically shares the users' achievements through their account. Although not necessarily too engaging, it allows a clever means of advertising through the world's leading social network. Likewise, Xbox 360 users can access both Twitter and Facebook through the console, enabling them to use and control the sites with their controller.

So, how can the video games market lend itself towards social integration? The first step would be to overhaul the official Facebook pages to make them more social and ensure information is easier to share. With millions of fans each, the brands have done little to construct their pages in a format which enables data and information to be easily shared. On the Xbox page, for example, different tabs present information about some of the latest titles and releases, but at no point is the user able to share this through their own profile. It's a similar case with the Xbox page, while Nintendo doesn't even maintain an official profile. Although given the turnover these brands make each year, it seems surprising they're not prepared to utilise these pages to such an extent where they may be able to attract new fans.

Further to this, there are other means the brands could use to allow easier access to news and information. Playstation recently released a smartphone application which allows users to view both their own and their friends' online status and achievements, as well as the latest news and blog posts. Although fairly basic features, the user is able to share this information through social networks and email. This leaves the possibility open for development, perhaps integrating a messaging system between friends, allowing for conversations between the app and a user currently logged on to their console. Were other brands to follow suit, this could make news and information more readily available, and allow the sharing of such information easier.

Although at present it may not be imperative for these brands fully integrate their strategies with social media, it ought to become a key tool for the brands to incorporate in the future. With the three leading brands vying to take fans from one brand to their own, utilising social networks provides a great platform to help spread their message to a large audience. Offering fans information to share and the means to do it will make it easier to advertise to a constantly growing online user base, thereby providing suitable means to increase customers and fans.

Punch Communications is an integrated social media, SEO and PR agency at the forefront of presenting its clients with online PR to help maximise brand awareness through digital means. Through its focus on tech PR, Punch ensures its clients are kept up to date with the latest advances in digital marketing to help maximise their online reach and reputation. For more information, visit http://www.punchcomms.com/ or call 01858 411600.

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PS3 Gaming Is Going Social - Why Co-Op Is Set To Revolutionize the World

With the news that Sony has just launched a new social network site in Japan called the 'Play Community', it is the only confirmation we need that the future of gaming is social.

So much so that Sony have taken it upon themselves to bypass the Japan Social network Mixi completely, with a stand-alone version of their own.

Based pretty much on the look of Mixi, 'Play Community' has replaced the official PlayStation community sites in Japan and comes complete with some additional gaming features and a new social echelon, which is set to revolutionize how games are played and developed.

Play community allows you to integrate and merge your existing PSN friends list and there's a special section for recruiting friends for multiplayer partners. This opens the door for greater gaming social activity worldwide.

Already the evidence that Massive Multiplayer Online gaming is the new trend in gaming cannot be ignored.

You only have to look at Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 which has its own social network integration built into the game. Your achievements and milestones are automatically posted to Facebook.

The new Snowboarding Supercross game SSX, allows you to share unchartered routes with your PSN friends. This makes the whole solitary experience, which is the nature of this game just that bit more social.

In fact it's becoming clear with some game developers that single player versions are becoming a second-rate gaming experience.

In AC Revelations for example you need to play the multiplayer version to unlock rankings and disclose some of the games darker secrets and mythology. It's impossible to progress in this game unless you co-operate with your online buddies.

Perhaps the strangest form of this social interaction can be found in 'Journey'. The whole basis of the game is to force you to befriend nameless online strangers to help you through, and solve puzzles together. You're not able to find out the PSN names of these individuals or chat, but you have to rely and trust one another to excel.

On the flip side in Dark Souls, single play isn't really single play. During the game you have to align yourself with various factions and depending upon your choices these factions will send other real online players to either help you or to kill you.

The future of gaming is definitely social and it won't be long before this social networking phenomenon is fused with gaming rental and cloud services like Love film and Steam.

Sometimes it may feel that you are missing out on great games and falling behind because of the expense.

Yes you can go the game-trading route but a far easier option that I've found as a love film subscriber, is to make use of the love film free trial option to audition games.

It will save you a ton of money in the long run and as a love film game package user you'll also be able to rent and stream movies to ps3 too.

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