The Video Game Market's Investment Options

[Phoenix84]

Not sure why th is thread was ressurected.  But yes, AMD was the clear winner for the console market.  Nvidia was pretty much shut out of this console generation.

I disagree with your assessment about PC gaming dying.  It's a growing industry, largely thanks to Valve and steam.  Microsoft is not supporting PC gaming.  To them, it competes directly with the XBOX.  Just look at the snails pace in which DirectX is updated.

Kinect is a joke I think, the games are aweful.  Plus there was that whole fiasco with Microsoft turning over data gathered from the kinect to the NSA.  Granted they can do that for your cell phone too, but still, the perception exists.  People are wary about having an accurate camera and microphone in their living room.

Then again, I'm speaking from the experience of a "customer" not a business investor.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

It's an ongoing analysis of the video game industry in general, with heavy overtones on areas that could create revenue over an extended period of time. Most of the boomer generation may see video games as toys, but it's a multi billion dollar a year industry that is posied to grow as my kids generation gets older. Sorry for the confusion. My wife had our fourth child at the beginning of last year. I don't have an opportunity to update the threads on here as much as I would like.

The PC gaming industry over the long term is finished. I was premature in my analysis that it would really go down in this generation, but it's going to follow the PC without a doubt. Servers and mainframes will be around forever, but even valve sees the writing on the wall. If your going to call the steambox a PC you have to call the PS4 and Xbone PC's. That's what PC gamers are overlooking, the console market is maturing and taking over the last place the PC had a chance, the living room. You don't even need a PC to have whole home automation anymore.

MS screwed the PC, missed the boat in the mobile space, was drowning in losses from it's Xbox division for years, and when they finally had the opportunity to grab a life line and make a comeback they blew it. The entire windows 8 ecosystem could have spanned everywhere really utilizing cloud technology, but it's a disaster of epic proportions.

Right now the most solid way to make some cash on this generation of games is to look at AMD. I think this generation of systems will be just as popular, if not more so. The earnings they just reported confirmed my suspicion that their underlying business will grow on the back of the console market, and they just announced a new opteron processor. If it mimics the success of the k8 chips, their server unit will grow later this year. The only thing that concerns me with AMD right now is their poor performance in the mobile space, and the fact their investors are mad at them because of it. That's why I wouldn't recomed it as part of any kind of investment portfolio, per say. It's purely a speculative play for a longer time frame.

[Phoenix84]

Yes, over the long term, PC gaming will probably die.  Though honestly I think console gaming, at least as the way we currently know it, will go the way of the dodo as well.

Ultimately, I think we're going to go towards one unified device for everything, or just about everything, in your life, including gaming.  What'll probably happen is we'll be using this one unified (small device) and just use docking stations as needed.  So you could hook up your device to a TV and controller and just use that.  Or we might just all go to cloud streaming gaming if the internet infrastructure is good enough.

I also think this is the last generation in which we'll be using actual disks.  Microsoft really wanted to do DRM and other digital authencation stuff this generation.  But they got huge blowback from it.  The biggest problem is they aren't really selling the benefits of digital to consumers, only the "bad stuff" like DRM.  I honestly really like steam.  The lack of manufacturing and distrubtion costs, as well as the fact as you can't sell back your games, means you can get ridiculous deals.  But I haven't seen nearly as good deals on XBOX live for some reason.  Plus it's just nice to be able to buy a game whenever you want, and it doesn't take up space.  I haven't bought a game at a brick and morter store in a couple of years.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

I'm thinking that a console is going to be the centerpiece of the home in the future. Like you said it will link up with all devices, and most everything will be either stored on it, or streamed from the cloud.

Disc based delivery has a while to go yet. You have to keep in mind the issues we are facing with internet caps already. Games just keep getting bigger and while there is a throwback to classic gaming to a point, AAA titles will still be produced.

DRM is just on of the obstacles that DD faces, while I'm sure one day everything will just be streaming(PlayStation's new service for instance) we need FIOS everywhere to pull it off.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

This thread has morphed from the start for sure. But the one thing I was pointing out at the start was that MSFT could potentially go under if they go through with another console...

Microsoft's Xbox Is on Its Last Life

AMD.. Anybody with a Steam console looking at one of these? The continuing demand in the PC gaming market should help...

This new, low-end AMD graphics card's meant for budget-conscious PC gamers, and maybe Steam Machines, too

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Another reason I think this generation is set to hit the 200-300 million shipped mark, or more importantly how AMD will keep making profit off the same chip....

Watch Sony explain Project Morpheus and its VR plans for PlayStation

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Fundamentals and earnings...

AMD talks 20nm, FinFET 16nm - 14nm future

The market responded to AMD’s latest earnings figures and turnaround plan quite positively, bolstered by the fact that AMD was close to profitability in traditionally slow quarter.

Game consoles spur AMD's x86 processor market share

Game consoles helped Advanced Micro Devices pick up market share in x86 processors during the first quarter of this year, while rival Intel’s share dipped slightly.

AMD’s x86 processor market share was 16.9 percent, growing from 14.3 percent in the same quarter last year, according to a study by Mercury Research. Intel’s market share dipped to 82.8 percent from 85.2 percent in last year’s first quarter.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

More ways to make make money of AAPL..

How AMD's Market Share Can Rise To 30% After The MacPro Deal

I'll believe it when I see it, and if I see it...

The $15 Price Target For AMD For 2016 Is Realistic - It's Based On Historical Performance