Case Study-Topic 1 - The Wii

Hypothesis
Wii: I expect to find that the wii remote was more popular than the more traditional controller, used by the seventh generation Xbox 360 and PS3. Also, the personalisation of the mii channel and using your own avatar which you can personalise and change whenever you want. Other things include downloadable channels on the wii and the wii store over the Internet allows a more interactive experience; choosing what and when to download something over the wii store channel.

Background Research
On the company website, all the free services and channels (some needed to download) are outlined and discussed. Also there are reviews of games, video clips to watch, list of games under the 'wii software' heading, and 'wii tv', a compilation of all the video clips of adverts shown on tv.
I also did some research on wikipedia about how successful the wii launch was and found out that:

1. it had sold over 600,000 consoles in the first eight days of launch in the Americas
2. the Wii had become the fastest-selling video games console in the UK, selling 105,000 in the opening weekend, compared with the Xbox 360's 70,000
3. it was mostly successful, but with one flaw. Due to the scarcity of the wii remote and nunchuk, price gouging began, and even when consumers got their controllers, the straps were not properly equipped for the active movement of some of the games; wii sports for one, and some had to be recalled due to the poor design of the straps, resulting in them snapping.
4. There were 37 games available on the launch; of these only 23 for the Americas, 19 for Europe, 17 for Japan, and 13 for Australasia, so even though the launch started in Japan, the Americas were targeted with the most software for the wii

Competition

Even though there was competition of the Xbox 360 and the PS3, the Wii came out on top. The Wii has sold20.13 million units, as opposed to the Xbox 360 sales of 18 million, and the PS3's sales of 10.49 million.

I read a review of the wii console;

http://reviews.cnet.com/consoles/nintendo-wii/4505-10109_7-31355104.html

Here's what they thought:

Good: The new motion-sensor controller allows new gaming capabilities, and the built in Nintendo Wi-Fi connection delivers free online services and game play. The compatibility with gamecube games means you can still play them on the wii, and the ability to have the gamecube controllers controlling wii games, so not always using the nunchuk and wii remote. The SD cards also have higher capabilities fr storage of saved games, photos (with the free photo shop channel), and it is the most affordable home console system, (£179.99 for basic package). On cnet, the user comments gave 8.1/10, while on xbox 360, they gave 7.4/10, and for PS3, 7.5/10, which shows the difference in popularity for the Wii.

Bad: The controller uses batteries very fast, so have the added cost of them or buying the special charger for the controllers. Also, the motion sensor control takes a while to get used to. The 'friends code' system is inefficient because both sides have to register each other to even exchange messages, which can be annoying for the user if they want to contact the person over a long distance.

I also read an article from the Guardian website about 'Wii Fit', the unique 'exergame' with the wii remote and new 'balance board' which allows the user to ski, some yoga, hulahoops, and other active excercises.

What the Guardian summed up is, the game allows unique gameplay, and interactivity with their own movement controlling their character. However, there is not a sufficient amount of movement to replace the gym, and no real advice from a real person, so is not totally up to speed in the 'strenous excercise department'.

Emily Bell Article

1) Citizen journalism is the fourth estate by the audience, expressing their opinions, views and findings, from eye witness accounts, and bystanders involved in an issue. Media consumers are making themselves heard by posting blog entries, so it is not only the owners of the broadcasting industry that are getting the chance to get their views out there, with the possibility of the 'ordinary people' having views and opinions accessible with the Internet. With the accessibility of digital handheld devices, images and videos on mobile phones make it easier to understand the event, and prove that what they're saying is correct. However, the problem with the blogging, and sending of images and video clips across the world, the poor quality compared to the flair of the writing of journalists and the collection of information in newspapers, it keeps the newspapers intact with their sales.

2) Emily Bell presents a range of ideas in her article. Firstly, she states that citizen journalism is of less quality, and is not checked by editors, so there is no actual proof that what they are saying is all true. Exaggeration, bias and false accounts may account for incorrect information. Furthermore, she writes that 9/11 was really the start for the blogging craze, people wanting to share their thoughts and what actually happened during the terrorist attacks. She also makes the point that if a similar event were to happen this present day, he outcome of the coverage would be completely different; the still images, video clips shot from mobile phones, and the widespread blogging would be many times more than what happened at 9/11.

3) The Googlezon video really showed the power of the Internet increasing, with the big names in the industry merging and buying other products, and the huge power of the company if Google and Amazon did a merger of the two companies. It also showed me that the possibilities are almost endless, the virtual world would be nearly impossible not to keep growing, and that in the future, only a handful of companies could end up ruling cyberspace.

Key Terms & Digital TV

Convergence: New ideas of interactive TV are repeated throughout the market for digital TV eg. TV on demand, the red button etc.

Personalisation: Different packages come with different providers, and automatically recording programs so the audience can pause, rewind, and watched at any time of the day.

Interactivity: New 'TV on demand' technology allows it to become a 'pull' media, where the audience is actively interacting with the technology. The viewer chooses what to watch, how they watch it (pausing etc.) and when they watch it.

Linear-Non Linear: Since pausing, and skipping parts of TV show is now possible with new utilities on digital TV, shows don't have to be in a set order.

Democratisation: polls on the TV, allow us to express our opinions, even if we don't have to. Everyone has the right to a vote, and democratises the whole interactivity of TV.

Digitalisation: All TVs changing digital in 2010. The set of 0's and 1's can make the broadcasting of the signal clearer, and easier to transmit.

Since there is more interactivity to Digital TV, there is more demand for choice and audiences mostly expect there to be a choice. But with these choices comes some moral panics; obesity from lack of exercise caused by the obsession of TV, and so many channels to choose from limiting boredom, creating a vicious cycle.

New Media Technologies

I will be studying the topic of gaming, and i think some interesting topics to retrieve information on are;

1. The new remote control feature on the wii
2. Violence in gaming
3. Second life and the new interactivity in which gamers can experience playing it
4. Moral panics caused by MMORPG's (obsession & addiction)

1) Endism is the perspective that when new media technologies appear, older ones are replaced and forgotten.

2) Our 'media ecosystem' is the collection of media in our society eg. the UK's media ecosystem includes Digital TV, Radio, Gaming, The Internet, and everything else prevalent in our society. Other areas of the world could not have the same media ecosystem since they do not have the same resources we do.

3) 'Narrowcasting' is a TV channel, probably a digital channel, which specialises in one topic, to attract audiences interested in that specific topic. (eg. sports channels(sky sports) cooking channels (uktv food) and comedy channels (uktv gold).

4) The Internet is the whole online system in which the web is one kind of traffic on, the world wide web only consists of the large part of the Internet that are websites.

5)'Push and pull' media are appearing now we have the interactivity we do. 'Push' media is the kind of media you experience every day by simply turning on a TV channel, the broadcaster and personnel associated with the channel choose what to give air time, and what not to. Oppositely, 'Pull' media is appearing through TV on demand, the audience chooses what to watch at any time they want to watch, more commonly appearing throughout the array of digital channels.

6) One positive aspect of blogging is the explosion of ideas that can be read and experimented with throughout the entire world. Blogging software gave the people who had ideas a platfomr so they can share it with the world, so now it is not just up to the people who choose whether to broadcast something or not.

Feedback #1

Well done Alex - this is thorough, detailed research. You organise your research well, including links and summarising in your own words.



Keep up the good work!



B/1

Digital Technology and Film Industry

1. Production - how has digital technolgy changed the way films are shot? How has it made the process more creative? Think about on set and post-production?

I read a few articles:
Film postproduction
A step-by-step state of the post world at today's hottest facilities as they learn to hustle and workflow.By Debra Kaufman
FILM vs. DIGITAL VIDEO

I think that the introducion of CGI and other digital technology has enhanced the film-making procedure, being that more believable and almost eye-popping effects can be composited into the shot, making the cinema or home cinema a more pleasurable experience. The viseral pleasure of these shots and the effectiveness of them has spread very rapidly, from around only 5 films in the 1970's using CGI, to many more in the present day, with very few having no CGI or special effects included. These digital effects can be changed post production, so that colours or don't fit in with the actors, the digital effects can be changed however and whenever the producers want to change it, being the greatest advantage of the digital technology.

2. Distribution - how do we access films now? How do the films get distributed to the cinemas? How is this changing?

Hollywood’s threat to your local cinema

The article is about the decline in cinema popularity and the 'local' cinemas closing down because of the decrease in popularity.
'Chewing gum, mobile phone ringtones and long advertisements' (Nick Louth MSN Oct 2005)
The article explores the reasons for this decline in the number of local cinemas in Britain. The main reason was money. The overpriced admission is not all; the expensive snacks and food means the monthly cinema visit becomes a luxury, setting you back about £20 if you've got company. This strapped-for-cash nation can't afford visits to the cinema often, because of the high prices on top of actually getting to the cinema.
Also, long advertisements only bore viewers, and the ever-growing market of a home-cinema is growing rapidly, the cost of DVD's less than the cost of seeing the film once. Sure the atmosphere may not be the same, but at least you get to watch the film more than once.

3. Exhibition - how do we experience films? Is the cinema experience changing? Is it under threat with home cinema technology?

In relation to the last question, the home cinema system is getting ever popular, with imports of films into Britain down 1% from 2002-03, and the exports of British films also down 1% in the same year. The home cinema is getting ever popular because of the decreasing cost of the technology and the 'feel', and the atmosphere is the same with the dulling of the lights, the clear sounds and the family experience together is some more motivation for the instalation of more of this equipment.

Statistics:

At the start of 2005, there were around 300 cinemas in the world with digital projectors. By January 2006, it will be 2,000, and this is anticipated to grow dramatically into the future.

A celluloid print run costs around £100,000, while for a digital distribution the cost could be cut to one-hundredth of that, around £1,000.

The cinema has to pay for all of this equipment and then upgrade it roughly every three years.

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4681859.stm

Second Life-moral panics

I read an article about virtual worlds and social networking sites that appeared in the Daily Mail newspaper on Saturday 5th January, called “VIRTUAL NIGHTMARE”. It was from the point of view from the older generation, and how this might affect the internet and how we use it. The article was also stressing the moral values and humanity that was lacking from the virtual realities. Some main concerns about the development of the websites is that more and more illegal activities are popping up all over the virtual worlds; gambling child pornography, some avatars are dressing up as children and offering virtual sex. The problem controlling this is there is not enough restrictions and not enough people to stop this happening; sometimes one person governing 150 million ‘avatars’, an avatar being your appearance in the game, which you choose, customise, and create. Another problem in Second life specifically, is the age boundaries. The rules are that you are not allowed to enter the adult grid if you are under 18, and vice versa for the Teen grid, but there is no feasible way checking everyone’s age reliably.
The way that Second life and social networking sites have changed the way we meet and discuss. More and more young people are getting involved in these sites, meaning that less people are on the streets, and the older people, maybe being left behind, because they might not have as easy access as the internet, or because they actively choose not to participate. Some businesses are having board meetings in Second Life, because the advantages are numerous; people can text chat privately without anyone ‘hearing’, the 3-D giving people more capability, and the increasing ease to connect to the internet.
One of these board meetings was interrupted by a ‘terrorist’, who shot everyone dead, and the teenager who stole virtual furniture from ‘Habbo Hotel’, another virtual world. These panics reflect in the real world in that people are taking themselves off the streets and putting themselves on virtual worlds, where illegal activity comes with it.