Gaming Extreme: An Ode to all Gaming Freaks

Blogger's Note: My brother keeps upgrading his computer for no apparent reason. I always ask that the part he is replacing is not even a year older. His standard answer was that he needs to upgrade because he needs all the speed and advantage to win in this and that forgetten game title. All this upgrading stopped when he bought that slimdown PS2. Unfortunately, he spent all his money to make the PS2 more snazzier he doesn't have the time and money to replace the much abused and brokendown motherboard of the computer. Life stinks. 8-( Better stick to my Gameboy Color.... ;-)

This story was taken from www.inq7.net
http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=2&story_id=41464

Upgrading the future
First posted 08:22pm (Mla time) June 25, 2005 By Joey Alarilla, INQ7.net

IF one thing obsesses gamers, it’s the constant need to upgrade.

That’s actually true about most techie lovers, but even more so if you’re talking about gamers, especially PC gamers. Pity the poor PC gamer who hasn’t kept up with the times, because chances are the latest and greatest games won’t run on their rig, or would perform so poorly that it might be more entertaining to just play on your old Famicom or original Game Boy.

And we’re not just talking about the processor, but your graphics card, RAM and even the size of your hard disk. Which is why some people just stick to console gaming, because if you buy a PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube, you know you’re experiencing the game exactly the same way as another PS2, Xbox or GameCube owner is -- barring such factors as the fact that he or she might have a 42-inch plasma TV and 5.1 surround sound system and you just have a 14-inch TV.

I’ve had my 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 Prescott PC for a little over a year, and I can play most games just fine on it even though my graphics card is only a GeForce FX 5200, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been thinking of upgrading. Part of it is, well, greed -- sometimes you just want to have the fastest and best of everything, if you can afford it. Another is the fact that PC games are becoming even more and more sophisticated and resource-intensive. Part of me can’t help but want to experience PC games on their highest settings, because while great graphics won’t save a game from bad game play, all things being equal you’re more likely to enjoy your gaming experience if it’s a feast for the senses.

Intel, like other PC processor manufacturers like rival Advanced Micro Devices, is naturally pretty happy over the PC gaming boom, not to mention the online gaming mania. In the Philippines, it seems people can’t get enough of massively multiplayer online games -- and the new ones are starting to demand a lot in terms of hardware requirements. For instance, Level Up! had to launch a program that would help Internet cafes upgrade their PCs and ensure that their machines could support their upcoming, more resource-intensive MMOGs such as Philippine R.O.S.E. Online. Heck, the installer for Philippine RF Online might even require three CDs.

So it comes as no surprise that Intel is pushing dual-core processing to address the needs of a public hungry for games and other digital content. PCs have evolved from work tools to full-blown entertainment systems, and a number of users are just as likely to be editing homemade digital videos on their PCs and playing online games as they are to be using Microsoft Word. And if you want to multi-task, say, burn digital content on a CD or a DVD while listening to digital music and playing a game, well that’s where technologies like dual-core processing and Intel’s Hyper Threading allow you to do more things at the same time.

At a press briefing in Makati City, Intel Microelectronics Philippines Inc. showed off its solutions for the Office and Digital Home PC segments. I’ll reserve my judgment until I can spend some time testing a unit, but from the brief sampling we had at the press briefing, things are definitely speeding up -- and we’re not even talking yet about their Extreme Gaming edition.

Just as he said during his presentation at the Asian Gaming Journalists Association (AGJA) launch on May 31, Intel Philippine country manager Ricky Banaag reiterated that Intel is committed to forming closer ties with the Philippine gaming community.

AGJA, which we informally refer to as GameJournos, is a Manila-based organization dedicated to promoting gaming as a legitimate news beat and uniting gaming journalists across the region.

The group now has 45 members after less than two months, with budding chapters in Malaysia and Singapore. Just recently, former GameSpy editor and now co-host of the web show Reset (http://gamesdomain.yahoo.com/feature/118246) on Yahoo! Games Domain Raymond "Psylancer" Padilla accepted the group’s invitation to be an AGJA honorary member. US-based veteran gaming journalist Padilla is part-Filipino.

"We do work closely with the local gaming industry. When I say industry, I am talking about the whole gaming ecosystem, not just the gaming service providers. We are also working with the gaming operators. To some extent, Intel, as a global company, works with the game developers and the end-users," Banaag said, as he assured that Intel will continue providing the platforms that would provide the best gaming experience.

He noted that a significant factor in the growth of the Digital Home PC market is the rise of online gaming, which is projected to increase further in popularity in the coming years.

"We have the platform that will really cater to the performance of online games in a broadband-enabled, home environment," Banaag said.

What we are seeing now is the marriage of PCs and consumer electronics, as part of the emerging digital lifestyle. Sure, convergence may be an overused word, but this is exactly what we are seeing -- and many of these developments are coming about due to the growth of gaming. The next-generation consoles, for instance, will further integrate video game consoles with PCs and consumer electronic devices. We’re talking about the Xbox 360, for instance, which will have a version of Windows Media Center and hook up to your PC via USB, wifi and other connections. We’re talking about an even more ambitious version of Xbox Live (all Xbox 360 games will be Live-enabled) that will encourage the proliferation of online communities and online marketplaces selling virtual items.

So yes, a number of us will have to start saving up our money for the next round of the console wars. That’s part of the upgrading process. But the reality is that no matter how excited we gamers might be over the upcoming consoles, more likely than not our country will again be relegated to the sidelines when it comes to console launches.

Through AGJA and as individual journalists, some of us have been trying to convince Microsoft Philippines to have an Xbox 360 launch for the Philippines. It’s about time that we had consoles officially made available in the country, instead of relying on the console market. But then again, these things will depend on the regional strategy for Xbox 360. Piracy, of course, is one of the main culprits.

That’s precisely why we gaming journalists have banded together and formed AGJA, because instead of complaining about the reasons gaming can’t take off in the Philippines, we’d like to upgrade the future of our industry and help address the different problems our gaming ecosystem faces. Our priority, of course, is addressing the needs of gaming journalists, but in the course of doing this we are also doing our share in uniting the different stakeholders in the Asian gaming industry, and doing our share in solving the obstacles to the growth of gaming in the Philippines.

Believe in the future, and start making it come true today.
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E-mail the author at joeyalarilla@gmail.com and visit his blog at www.alarilla.com.

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