Exam Questions

1.
(a) According to the passage, which three companies are soon to invest in encouraging online console gaming?
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo

(b) Give three pieces of evidence from the passage which suggest that there will be a market for online console gaming.
"Hardcore PC gamers have been taking part in online contests over local networks and the Internet for years"
"Sony's EverQuest and Electronic Art's Ultima Online attract around 450,000 and 275,000 users respectively, paying between £6-8 per month"
"Final Fantasy 11 attracted 120,000 online subscribers paying £7 a month in three months"

(c)Outline the significance of broadband to the success of this project
Sony and Microsoft are talking to continental broadband suppliers. They are also using it to gain dominance of a market. It makes it faster, adds an "international" element. There is always access to broadband, and it is a very reliable program. There is also a "multi-player" potential in which people can play with mates and such.

2.
(a)Explain what is meant by "gain dominance of a market"
"Gain dominance of a market" means that they want to be the only company that online gamers use to play online games over the Internet and effectively gaining a competitive advantage. E.g. Microsoft or Apple.

(b)"The online gaming initiative by these companies is an attempt to maintain their profits" To what extent has online technology increased audiences for other media products?
As technology changes, so does audience demand, with all this new media coming online, it provides many different possibilities for a wide range of people. For example, the ability to play online games with your friends without even having to leave your own house has been possible for years now.
As the "seventh generation" of gaming has now been entered, consoles such as Wii, and Playstation3 are the latest creations to be released. As such consoles are created for public use, new games are being developed in order to attract a wider range of audience. A recent article on BBC News has stated that a Virtual Big Brother game is in developing along with others such as Deal Or No Deal, and The X-Factor. This idea of promoting every one's favourite TV programmes into games is a good way of attracting larger audiences. The "second life" where players can create their own desirable versions of themselves, walk around in a virtual world, and meet new people, is a huge development and people like to take full advantage of such things. However, it is criticised as it seems to put a stop on peoples social lives and the online social community is something "outside" of reality and shouldn't be taken too seriously.