Exam Q's & A's

3. What is technological convergence and give an example of its use in the industry?
Technological Convergence is technology based around incorporating peoples needs in gaming. Its when there are different functions in one system.
An example of this would be the PlayStation 3 as it contains blue ray player, DVD player, video music, downloadable films and music, online PlayStation network, internet explorer, photo shop and a photo folder , able to play games and many other functions, all incorporated into one console - technological convergence.

An advantage of this is that it makes the system more applicable to the audience by this we mean people won't have to go out to buy other systems to play different functions when it is incorporated in one system.

A disadvantage of this would be that it would put other businesses out of profit and possibly business as they wouldn't be needed as the customers would see the benefits of having a system with technological convergence than having separate systems/consoles.

An advantage of the PlayStation 3 with technological convergence is makes it more appealing to audiences as its a cheap way of having everything you need in one console instead of having separate systems. It also benefits the company in terms of the console war with the Microsoft Xbox 360.

A disadvantage of the Playstation 3 is that it creates problems for its other products by Sony like the Blu-ray players and DVD players etc because it shows no benefits of buying the systems separate when you can have it all in one which overall would be cheaper for the customers.

However not all consoles/systems need to have technological convergence to be successful in the games industry market, an example of this would be the nintendo wii. The nintendo wii is a completely different games console to all of the other traditional consoles. The Wii is much more interactive and is targeted at a wide range of audiences instead of a selective audience that Xbox and Playstation targeted specifically. The Wii targets a wide range of audiences, including every single age group. You can play a wide range of games from racing games to fitness games where you stand up and are interacting with the console instead of traditionally sitting down and just playing.

Nintendo also produced the DSi, which has got some technological convergence, which is also targeted at a wide range of audiences. The DSi has got a camera which you are able to take photos on and upload them to facebook, you can also connect it to the internet which is a new advance from the old version. Brain Training is a game that has particularly appealed to the older audiences, which we have seen from the adverts as it has been advertised by famous celebrities e.g Julie Waters, Patrick Stewart & Nicole Kidman.

An advantage of this is the DSi is thaat