google-site-verification=rELuVVyS5Y8o0Ezst8ITY3su3PIT5khzDgo-anRp4o8 Everything You Need To Know About Gaming Consoles From CES ~ Tech Senser - Technology and General Guide

23 Jan 2014

Everything You Need To Know About Gaming Consoles From CES

The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, is the annual event in which the entire technology industry has their eyes on Las Vegas to see what futuristic gadgets and technologies will be coming to consumers in the year to come.

While CES typically has at least some presence of gaming consoles and technology, it is typically not the main focus of the event. However, the 2014 CES has been a banner year for gamers, with a number of new technologies set to shake up the entire industry in a positive way.

The first and most obvious reason for this shakeup is the relatively recent announcement of the new generation of consoles. The Wii U, released in late 2012, the Xbox One, released in late 2013, and the PlayStation 4, also released in late 2013, are of course the new generation of traditional gaming consoles.

They have been competing for positive press and deflecting scandals since their release. While these devices are certainly worthy of mention, and bring to the table an impressive set of specs that should benefit the gaming community at large, they are not the stars of the show at CES. That title goes to the companies that are trying to change the way the entire gaming industry works.

Steam becoming a console competitor

Steam is already known as a computer gaming giant. In addition to their vast array of successful gaming titles, Steam changed the gaming world by offering cloud-based accounts in which games that are purchased are permanently available for download by a user. This means that users no longer need to worry about losing or scratching a disc, or deal with licensing issues when they purchase a new computer.

It also has the added benefit of making it more difficult to pirate games, as game licenses are linked to a specific account. In addition, Steam has been able to offer titles that range in price from the “blockbuster” $50-60 range all the way down to $5 or less from small production studios. These decisions have led Steam to boast over 65 million currently active users.

Steam is expanding on their success by stepping into the gaming console sector, much to the chagrin of the traditional standard-bearers Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. SteamOS is now available as an open source gaming operating system that can be run on essentially any computing device.

2014 International CES

What makes this technology even more exciting is the recent announcement of hardware partners for SteamOS, which include Alienware, Gigabyte, and Falcon Northwest, all traditional computer hardware companies who are excited at the prospect of breaking into the gaming console market. “Steam is doing to the gaming console industry what Android did for the smartphone industry.

By making an open-source operating system and partnering with hardware manufacturers, Steam is poised to radically reshape the landscape of gaming worldwide,” said Android and technology expert Jason Hope. Time will tell if Steam’s strategy is able to successfully bite a chunk out of the gaming console market. However, given their previous success, it would be unwise to bet against them.

Virtual Reality is back, and it might actually be good this time
Many of us remember virtual reality devices as early as the 90s. These devices tended to be gimmicky, and all of them have fallen by the wayside. However, Oculus Rift, the virtual reality superstar of CES 2013, has returned with even greater functionality and specs.

The technology has seen an improved screen resolution, and the games are both more fun and more integrated to the virtual reality screen. Unfortunately, the device is still a prototype, and a fully finished consumer model might still be another year or two away. Despite this, the potential for the device is very exciting.

Games are controlled using a traditional gaming controller, and turning your head results in a corresponding shift in visual perception within the game. There were several demo games, including one in which users felt as though they were inside a cockpit flying a fighter. Hopefully, Oculus can take their millions of dollars in recent investment capital and turn their virtual reality device into a consumer-ready project sometime in 2014.

  Amy Taylor

About the Author:

Amy Taylor is a technology and business writer. Amy began her career as a small business owner in Phoenix, Arizona. She has taken that knowledge and experience and brought that to her unique writing capabilities. She really enjoys new business related issues that are tied directly to technology.