GMO Cloud

How Cloud Computing Is Revolutionizing Gaming

Here are three highly positive developments in the gaming industry since cloud computing arrived:

• Increased Availability and Accessibility: Cloud computing, as a result of its flexibility and scalability in the area of storage capacity, allows gaming companies to make content accessible as soon as customers log in to their accounts. Game players need not anguish over how to save games and protect them for regular access. 24/7 gaming options have reportedly increased player satisfaction, helping game companies retain habitual gamers and maximize sales over time.
• Variety of Hardware: Cloud computing has streamlined the process of playing games by giving players various devices to access their games. Previously, game players relied on “consoles” but, nowadays, all devices are applicable: smart phones, palm-held devices, laptops etc. Game players now enjoy the rare freedom of playing on-the-go.
• Multiple Game Content: Whereas consoles only afforded the opportunity to play single games at a time, cloud computing allows for playing multiple games all at once. This not only makes game companies richer but also adds value to the gaming experience, leading to improvement in gamemaker-customer relationships.

Due to the above, gamemakers are now focusing on interesting and long-lasting game content, instead of worrying endlessly on producing attractive hardware or consoles.

Cloud technology provides a platform for innovation and new business expansion as major gamemakers like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony gradually migrate game content. Game players can speedily access games using any digital-enabled device, and can play multiple games in real-time without needing consoles. This is both eco-friendly and more simple for game players.

(Visit GMO Cloud’s sample Game Server Configuration for an in-depth understanding of how it works.)

Though personal information is required to open a player account, recent development in cloud computing security will help protect against identity theft.

Cloud computing is indeed revolutionizing the gaming industry, transforming game access, methods of play and constant access to stored info.

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About the Guest Author:

Jerry Olasakinju, a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree holder, is a passionate researcher and writer whose interest in everything computing is unparalleled. He blogs about his literary works at http://jerryolasakinju.blogspot.jp/

Top Five Global Players in the Cloud Gaming Market

With the social gaming market’s potential for huge returns, the largest game developers are quickly moving to the cloud. This article explains why.

What is the appeal of social gaming?

According to studies done on the subject, there are three main reasons why people engage in social gaming:

1. To entertain themselves when they are bored.

 

2. To be part of a social circle and fit in with their peers.

 

3. As a way of escaping reality.

 

Many gamers also engage in social games because of the competitive aspect, which is gaining more widespread appeal with better marketing and competitive in-game structures. (A good example of this phenomenon is the incredible popularity of StarCraft in South Korea as a spectator competitive sport.)

Trends in social gaming

Initially, most social games used a pay-to-play subscription model. However, one of the largest trends in social gaming has been the acceptance of a free-to-play model, which still allows companies to quickly monetize in the following ways:

1. Some games allow access to all in-game content but sell vanity items and advantages. While it is possible to experience the whole game for free, paying subscribers will have richer, easier and more customized gaming experiences.

 

2. Other kinds of games restrict access to certain parts, but leave enough for free to attract new players. This model of gaming strongly encourages purchase of a subscription to access the full version.

 

3. There are some games (mainly social browser games) that use a completely free to play model and monetize on advertisements and product placement, offering customers a paid version that is ad free.

 

The top five gaming companies and involvement in cloud gaming

1. Activision-Blizzard. This company tops the list with an impressive annual revenue of $4.7 bn from online gaming. It is the second most important game developer in the world and, thanks to the massive popularity of World of Warcraft, the undisputed leader of MMORPGs (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Games.) New games released in this genre are inevitably measured against eight years of World of Warcraft – and come up short. World of Warcraft uses a standard subscription model.

 

2. Vale. This company generated $2.25bn in 2011 from online gaming, mostly due to first- person shooter games, starting with their Counterstrike series and continuing to Team Fortress series. Vale pioneered free-to-play movement by switching Team Fortress to this model and selling in-game vanity items.

 

3. Sony. Sony is leading the console race when it comes to online gaming. Revenues of $1.9bn mainly come from implementation of the PlayStation Network (PSN.) This online service has no monthly subscription fee, unlike its competitors’, and has allowed Sony to generate impressive profits from online gaming without releasing as many high profile and expensive game titles.

 

4. Microsoft. Xbox Live Arcade is PSN’s biggest competitor, allowing Microsoft to generate $1.75bn in 2011 alone. Microsoft’s revenue, unlike Sony’s, comes mainly from their popular games including their main cash cow, Halo.

 

5. Zynga. Zynga’s successful integration with social media networks has led to development of incredibly popular games. Although currently experiencing some backlash, their social gaming model is likely to represent the future of online gaming.

 

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About the Guest Author:

Nida Rasheed is a freelance writer and owner of an outsourcing company, Nida often finds herself wanting to write about the subjects that are closest to her heart. She lives in Islamabad, Pakistan and can be found on Twitter @nidarasheed.

How to Convince Your CEO About PaaS’ Benefits

Both small businesses and large companies have embraced the cloud, most realizing immediate improvements in their capabilities and bottom lines. In fact, IDC has gone on to predict an annual growth rate of 26% over the next five years – six times the growth predicted for other more ‘traditional’ IT.

PaaS Solutions

While most CEOs understand the SaaS model with ease, the same is not true for Platform as a Service. The term ‘platform’ itself may be poorly understood by the non-initiated, triggering doubts as to why PaaS is so important.
CEOs need hard facts to be sold on PaaS, and the ensuing case study may prove just the tonic.

Al Jazeera and the Egyptian Spring

In February 2011, Al Jazeera was at the forefront of reporting on the Egyptian uprising. As a result, the web traffic being handled by the channel’s Internet arm rose by 1000% (one thousand per cent!) With a traditional hosting service hopelessly unable to handle the traffic surge, Al Jazeera moved its site to a PaaS service. It thus obtained an elastic number of web-server platforms that grew and shrunk in response to traffic.

In allowing server numbers to increase with demand, PaaS eradicated Al Jazeera’s problems in responding to changes in traffic. The speed with which Al Jazeera gained this capability was astounding, achieved with no upfront expenditure and little (if any) additional manpower.

PaaS benefits that may appeal to CEOs include:

Using specialized platforms – Smart phone sales have already beaten PC sales and this gap will only widen. The cloud offers smart phone users native methods to stay connected on the move, bringing in new efficiencies to businesses. PaaS helps companies specifically aim soultions at the mobile user.

Cutting expenditure – Traditional IT expenditure relies on physical hardware, infrastructure and manpower. Fifty percent of all IT projects reportedly go well over budget, and a further 31% end up being canceled. In many cases maintenance can cost more than the original project itself. In PaaS projects, on the other hand, all hardware ends up in the cloud service provider’s premises.

Scalability and Growth – All PaaS solutions are scalable and elastic. Companies do not need to factor future needs into IT solutions because the size and number of your deployments can be programmed to grow automatically with load. There is no need to commit long-term to a particular company if you can get a better deal elsewhere.

When super storm Sandy was about to hit the East coast, many companies shifted their applications from data centers in the threatened area to elsewhere. Cloud computing companies assisted their users with this without even charging for technical assistance. The PaaS market is projected to grow from $512 million in 2012 to $1.7 billion by 2015. Companies that move in early can experiment and fine-tune their operations, ready for big dividends later on.

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About the Guest Author:

Sanjay Srivastava has been active in computing infrastructure and has participated in major projects on cloud computing, networking, VoIP and in creation of applications running over distributed databases. Due to a military background, his focus has always been on stability and availability of infrastructure. Sanjay was the Director of Information Technology in a major enterprise and managed the transition from legacy software to fully networked operations using private cloud infrastructure. He now writes extensively on cloud computing and networking and is about to move to his farm in Central India where he plans to use cloud computing and modern technology to improve the lives of rural folk in India.

Japan is the Most Cloud Ready Nation: Survey Says

Cloud computing has created marvels in modern day business. Even non-IT firms have embraced its benefits with ease thanks to the simplicity and efficiency of cloud-based service platforms. But who has been at the forefront of cloud technology implementation? The answer is not at all surprising: Japan.

According to a recent survey by both VMware and Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA), Japan is at the top of the list of Asia Pacific countries in implementation of cloud computing. With massive infrastructure building capability available from plenty of resources locally, Japan has a very high appetite for technology.

Japanese business enterprises have leveraged cloud services from both domestic and international cloud service providers to streamline business activities, thus heralding significant changes in IT. Thanks to the cloud, costs are down too!

Even government agencies have leveraged benefits of cloud and even overtaken western nations in this sector. Many medical institutions prefer to keep their records online, thus accessible to physicians anywhere. Even those who refused to move to the cloud earlier have begun to realize the added agility and efficiency it brings in operations.

The imminent threat of hardware failure in personal computers is in itself a big reason to have their daily operational resources and computing platforms moved to an online cloud based service.

Next up is the ease of access. All your resources are made available in front of you, anywhere. The faster the internet goes, the greater the operational efficiency of cloud computing. Moreover, recovery from disasters is sped up by cloud computing thanks to its remote location access features and online backup capabilities.

Japan has been praised for its policies that greatly encourage cloud computing. Despite facing severe setbacks due to outages after the devastating earthquake of 2011, businesses and IT powerhouses have been increasingly dependent on cloud-based delivery models. Even though downtime can be fatal, efficient backup and easy access to remote resources has brought numerous advantages to them. Concerns over slight setbacks can be subordinated to the greater good.

The survey found other Asian countries to be following Japan’s model. In India, cloud computing is gaining momentum not even witnessed in developed nations like the United States. This positive outlook clearly shows that cloud is undoubtedly the core business platform of the near future.

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About the Guest Author:

Mandira Srivastava is a fulltime freelance writer who specializes in technology, health and fitness, politics, and financial writing. Equipped with degree of mass communication and having worked for both private and corporate clients, I have experience meeting a wide range of writing requirements and styles.

Japan’s Changing Smartphone Market

By all indications, Japan is experiencing a shakedown in the mobile phone handset industry.

One prominent feature of Japanese smartphones is their use in dispensing electronic money, paying for train and bus tickets, and convenience store products.

Of course, there are differences between how the Japanese use their phones for purchases. The concept of electronic wallets as implemented outside of Japan is much like sending a text message to the carrier or electronic money repository. In Japan, mobile phone electronic wallets are used like toll-free e-cards. The Japanese just swipe their phone at a reader in order to pay or to transfer cash.

Even before Android phones and the iPhone were introduced to Japan, mobile phone apps had gone beyond communications. They were particularly used for gaming – one of the largest markets for mobile phones in terms of revenues.

The market penetration of Android and iOS phones and tablets in Japan is unprecedented. No other product, electronic or otherwise has had a successful run at the Japanese market. Currently, Android devices account for 64% of the smartphone market, while Apple iOS accounts for 32%. There are, of course, Japanese manufacturers which have Android as their operating systems, but nevertheless, the use of feature phones seems to be in danger of extinction.

With the success of these imports, the features which make feature phones so compelling might soon appear as apps in Android, iOS, and to a certain extent, Windows Phone. The only hurdle remaining are the usually isolated instances of interoperability, where one e-wallet may not work with a particular phone model. The infrastructure for electronic wallets has been painstakingly built and won’t disappear soon. It just makes sense for developers and phone manufacturers to create apps to replace feature phones.

Another good news for Android and iOS fans, as well as developers, is that carriers and service providers are actively pushing these phones. For Japanese manufacturers, there has been a shift in strategy.

Apple fans need not worry about iOS presence in Japan. In terms of actual units sold, the 32% market share is a solid number which does not seem to be shrinking. Apple has always had a great fan base in Japan, and this has translated to the iPhone and iPad as well. Japanese developers taken notice of the large installed base and created new titles specifically for iPad and iPhone. Existing apps are also being ported to iOS, underlying Apple’s growing strength in Japan.

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About the Guest Author:

Rodolfo Lentejas, Jr. is a fulltime freelance writer based in Toronto. He is the founder of the PostSckrippt, a growing online writing business dedicated to producing top quality, original and fresh content. To know more about him, please visit www.postsckrippt.ca. Like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest