Aug 8, 11:58 PM

Convergence and the Two-Hub Model

Relating to the last post, the idea of convergence has been on our minds for a while now, but it has yet to arrive.

Slate (via marginal revolution) has an interesting article about how convergence will never happen. A good read, and the basic idea is that the computer and the TV are two entirely different experiences. One is engaging (PC) while the other is not (TV). People prefer to keep these separate because they need these two different experiences to be different. It makes sense. I mean, sometimes it’s tiring to be on the internet – sometimes you just want to turn on the Simpsons and zone out.

McCracken says most homes are consolidating around a two-hub model. A PC (or Mac) with some multimedia features anchors the home office, while a TV with some computerized gear—think TiVo, not desktop computer—owns the living room. Tech marketers talk about the “2-foot interface” of the PC versus the “10-foot interface” of the TV. When you use a computer, you want to lean forward and engage with the thing, typing and clicking and multitasking. When you watch Lost, you want to sit back and put your feet up on the couch. My tech-savvy friends who can afford anything they want set up a huge HDTV with TiVo, cable, and DVD players—then sit in front of it with a laptop on their knees. They use Google and AIM while watching TV, but they keep their 2-foot and 10-foot gadgets separate.

How does this apply to gaming? Well, if you believe this model, gaming might look like an anomaly. It exists in the living room, and yet at the same time it is interactive and involving. How could this be? Is gaming the missing link between the office and the living room? The key to convergence? Maybe.

On the other hand, it raises the question “Is PC gaming different from console gaming?” I think so. On the cover of gaming magazines they always have a list like “PS2 / GameCube / Xbox / PC” as if the PC was just another console. If you think about it, the gaming experience is entirely different. PC gaming is very much a “2-foot interface.” You have clans, leagues, mods, and huge communities that develop around games. Console gaming, on the other hand, still largely resembles the TV experience in that , while it is interactive, still seems more individual, more casual, and more entertainment-oriented.

PC games suck you in and keep you there. When I was introduced to WoW, no one saw me for 6 months. I haven’t played a console game for more than a couple weeks (if that) for many, many years. The relationship people have with console games is so light in comparison. In the LAN parties I’ve been to, people only go to the Xbox lounges after they want to zone out and rest from the PC gaming, a lot like how people watch TV to take a break from their computers.

The outcome of this is especially important to Sony and Microsoft. Their strategy with the PS3 and 360 are largely convergence-based (HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, LiveEverywhere). If the convergence dream doesn’t pan out (and it hasn’t as of this posting) they will be in real trouble. Nintendo seems fairly insulated from this effect, but could miss out if convergence indeed happens.

-Jon
- permalink

commenting closed for this article