At Casual Connect Gaming Conference in Seattle, the debate continued as to whether Smart TVs will become the next gaming device.
The gaming industry expects to see 150 million connected TVs, whether it is Over-the-Top (OTT) TV or “smart” set top boxes (Cable or Roku) by 2016,.
Today, however, from a game developer’s perspective, “Smart TVs” aren’t smart enough to be a successful gaming platform. Why?
- Not enough computing power on TV hardware
- What device should be used…the remote control?
- Current app stores do not provide good search capability
- No standardization on platforms
- Game developers must structure games to be played in the living room, in “ lay back” mode, considering the whole family environment; you can’t just “transfer” a game from mobile to TV
- And the list goes on…
Over time, these issues can all be resolved. –Or some disruptive technology provider like Apple can build a game-changing (no pun intended) TV device like they did with the iPod, iPad and iPhone and solve the whole thing.
But consider this:
Let’s take another look at the preteens in my home. In my living room, we often have a 13 year-old boy playing the AAA title MLB® the Show (it’s baseball season) on his Xbox, which is connected to a 42-inch Vizio TV. At the same time, he is streaming SNL (don’t ask) from Hulu on his iPad.
His stepsister is sitting with him in the living room. She is looking over his shoulder, watching SNL, while at the same time playing a casual game on her iPhone and occasionally looking up at the TV to appreciate a home run.
After they go to bed, my husband and I might watch a Netflix movie using the Xbox on that same Vizio TV, but we will more than likely just stream a movie on the Kindle.
So I guess, from my point of view: TV? Certainly not the TV I grew up watching.
Lucky for us at Level 3, we don’t have to make a bet on the future of devices and what choices of digital entertainment will reign in the future. Gaming companies will want to stream live events and media companies will want to launch games. We have a robust set of solutions that support live broadcast TV, streaming, video on demand, online gaming and downloads, all powered by a superfast global IP network.
About Beth Ard
