Accessibility vs. Quality
Dec 12th, 2005 | Comments (0)
I was at Target the other day, and I stopped to play a little Tour of Duty 2 on the Xbox 360. It was my first hands-on experience with the 360. I was about as impressed as I thought I'd be, which is to say, not a whole lot. It only strengthened my opinion that there is no overriding need to upgrade to an Xbox 360 or P3.
After 10 minutes or so, I came away thinking that the game looked and sounded noticeably better, but that it really didn't make the game any better. In the past, the jump in technology between each generation of consoles was dramatic enough to improve game-play. That just isn't the case any more. And it's not just in the video game industry. "Quality" in several technology sectors is reaching a point where generational gains are minimal and no longer justify the adoption of "the next big thing."
What is replacing quality you ask? Accessibility.
(For the sake of this article, when I refer to "quality," I'm simply referring to visual or audible quality, not the more abstract definition of quality, which would include accessibility.)
Video Games
Companies like Microsoft and Sony are still attempting to push the "quality" envelope with their new high-powered, expensive systems. The drawback is, the hardware costs more, the games cost more, and you'll need a new HDTV to take full advantage of the graphic quality of the games. And players still need to be able to use a controller with 10-12 buttons and three joysticks. Not very accessible to anyone who's not a hardcore gamer with a chunk of expendable cash.
So it's not surprising that there is an explosion going on in the casual gaming market. The popularity of casual games like those found on GameHouse and Shockwave are growing like gangbusters. The overall complexity of these games is similar to that which you would have seen on a gaming system 15-20 years ago. The reason these games are becoming popular is because of the accessibility of the games and the game-play. Players can go to one of these casual gaming sites and be playing a new, easy-to-learn game in a matter of seconds.
The games are also attractive to all ages, both women and men. You don't have to be a hardcore gamer to have fun. In fact, the biggest group of casual gamers is actually women in their 30's and 40's.
Nintendo is also embracing this concept. The Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance are equivalent to gaming systems you would have seen 10-15 years ago. Why are millions of people buying these systems? Accessibility. They're cheap, portable, and most importantly, the games are easy to play with friends. The wireless game-play allows people in the same room or building to play against each other. The DS is even starting to add wi-fi games into the mix, so it will soon be possible to play anyone anywhere at any time. Now that's accessibility.
Music
CDs have been around for a while now. A couple "next generation" music formats (SACD and DVD Audio) have come out recently, but have had almost no success. Why? Because music already sounds good. And to upgrade to the new format, people would have to buy an expensive new player, and buy all new discs. Discs that wouldn't play in their cars.
Much like the video game industry, the music industry is actually moving "backwards." Instead of investing in new, higher-quality formats, people are embracing electronic formats like MP3s with inferior sound quality. Why? Because MP3s allow you can take your entire music collection with you on your tiny iPod wherever you go. Now that's accessibility.
The Web
Even the web is getting to the point where quality is starting to take a back seat to accessibility. As internet speeds have increased over the past decade, so have the size of websites, causing page load times to increase and some sites to be practically unusable for people on slow connections. Flash animations and multiple banner ads per page have become commonplace. But we're starting to see a mini-revolution of "thin" websites flood onto the web. Graphics and Flash animations are being slashed and replaced by quick-loading, text-centric websites. A few examples are Del.icio.us, Digg and anything by 37signals. I'm personally even starting to design this way, as can be seen by looking at my latest project: GiftBox. What's fueling this transition? Accessibility. The new breed of "thin" sites can be used by anyone on any speed connection on almost any device.
Accessibility is on the rise, folks, and for good reason. Sometimes easier is just plain better.
After 10 minutes or so, I came away thinking that the game looked and sounded noticeably better, but that it really didn't make the game any better. In the past, the jump in technology between each generation of consoles was dramatic enough to improve game-play. That just isn't the case any more. And it's not just in the video game industry. "Quality" in several technology sectors is reaching a point where generational gains are minimal and no longer justify the adoption of "the next big thing."
What is replacing quality you ask? Accessibility.
(For the sake of this article, when I refer to "quality," I'm simply referring to visual or audible quality, not the more abstract definition of quality, which would include accessibility.)
Video Games
Companies like Microsoft and Sony are still attempting to push the "quality" envelope with their new high-powered, expensive systems. The drawback is, the hardware costs more, the games cost more, and you'll need a new HDTV to take full advantage of the graphic quality of the games. And players still need to be able to use a controller with 10-12 buttons and three joysticks. Not very accessible to anyone who's not a hardcore gamer with a chunk of expendable cash.
So it's not surprising that there is an explosion going on in the casual gaming market. The popularity of casual games like those found on GameHouse and Shockwave are growing like gangbusters. The overall complexity of these games is similar to that which you would have seen on a gaming system 15-20 years ago. The reason these games are becoming popular is because of the accessibility of the games and the game-play. Players can go to one of these casual gaming sites and be playing a new, easy-to-learn game in a matter of seconds.
The games are also attractive to all ages, both women and men. You don't have to be a hardcore gamer to have fun. In fact, the biggest group of casual gamers is actually women in their 30's and 40's.
Nintendo is also embracing this concept. The Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance are equivalent to gaming systems you would have seen 10-15 years ago. Why are millions of people buying these systems? Accessibility. They're cheap, portable, and most importantly, the games are easy to play with friends. The wireless game-play allows people in the same room or building to play against each other. The DS is even starting to add wi-fi games into the mix, so it will soon be possible to play anyone anywhere at any time. Now that's accessibility.
Music
CDs have been around for a while now. A couple "next generation" music formats (SACD and DVD Audio) have come out recently, but have had almost no success. Why? Because music already sounds good. And to upgrade to the new format, people would have to buy an expensive new player, and buy all new discs. Discs that wouldn't play in their cars.
Much like the video game industry, the music industry is actually moving "backwards." Instead of investing in new, higher-quality formats, people are embracing electronic formats like MP3s with inferior sound quality. Why? Because MP3s allow you can take your entire music collection with you on your tiny iPod wherever you go. Now that's accessibility.
The Web
Even the web is getting to the point where quality is starting to take a back seat to accessibility. As internet speeds have increased over the past decade, so have the size of websites, causing page load times to increase and some sites to be practically unusable for people on slow connections. Flash animations and multiple banner ads per page have become commonplace. But we're starting to see a mini-revolution of "thin" websites flood onto the web. Graphics and Flash animations are being slashed and replaced by quick-loading, text-centric websites. A few examples are Del.icio.us, Digg and anything by 37signals. I'm personally even starting to design this way, as can be seen by looking at my latest project: GiftBox. What's fueling this transition? Accessibility. The new breed of "thin" sites can be used by anyone on any speed connection on almost any device.
Accessibility is on the rise, folks, and for good reason. Sometimes easier is just plain better.
