Wii Points to Gaming's Future

Broader demographics and a bond between multiplayer games and social networks key
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 11, 2008 3:56 PM CST
Wii Points to Gaming's Future
Wii Video games are seen on display at a Best Buy store in Mountain View, Calif. in this Dec. 17, 2007 file photo. Best Buy Co. Inc. on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 said its comparable-store sales rose 1.5 percent in December on strong sales of video games and notebook computers. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)   (Associated Press)

The upset Nintendo has secured against Microsoft and Sony as its simple-but-innovative Wii continues to dominate their processor-heavy rival consoles portends much for the future of gaming, writes Michael Noer for Forbes. Expect much more casual gaming and gamers, Noer writes, as low-time-commitment experiences and Wii-like intuitive controls snag demographics beyond the young male diehard.

Noer also expects the untraditional controllers that have made the Wii, Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution big hits to expand into myriad ways to “feel” a game. Most interestingly, he predicts that multiplayer online game communities will merge with social networks like Facebook or LinkedIn, creating a “virtual meta-universe.” This means social ties created through gaming take on more "real world" relevance, both in professional networking and perhaps even political activism. (More video games stories.)

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