Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

"In 2015, global mobile game revenues will eclipse console game revenues for the first time. Newzoo expects that mobile games will generate $30.3 billion worldwide; it predicts that console games will take in $26.4 billion."

http://fortune.com/2015/01/15/mobile-console-game-revenues-2015/

"With so many entertainment products available, F2P (Free-To-Play) helps attract new gamers and allows them to try new things with zero committment to buy."

http://www.internap.com/2014/12/01/top-five-online-gaming-industry-trends-2015/

"The next-generation video game console war is no longer the next-generation video game console war — it’s now the current-generation video game console war. Each of the three major gaming box makers has now had its new console on sale for more than a year, and it has been quite a roller coaster ride to say the least."

http://bgr.com/2015/02/18/ps4-vs-xbox-one-vs-wii-u-lifetime-console-sales/

GAMING SYSTEMS ORGANIZED BY RELATIVE MARKET SHARE

STAR	QUESTION MARK
Mobile Devices	Illegally Downloaded Games
CASH COW	DOG
Microsoft Xbox 360 Nintendo Wii Nintendo 3DS Sony PlayStation 4 Sony PlayStation 3 Sony PlayStation 2 Sony PlayStation Vita Sony PlayStation Portable Sony PlayStation	Atari Lynx Atari 7800 Atari 5200 Atari 2600 Bandai WonderSwan Coleco ColecoVision Coleco Telstar Hudson Soft TurboGrafx-16 Magnavox Odyssey² Mattel Intellivision Microsoft Xbox One Microsoft Xbox Nintendo Wii U Nintendo DS Nintendo GameCube Nintendo Game Boy Advance Nintendo 64 Super Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo Game Boy Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo Color TV Game Nokia N-Gage Philips CD-i Sega Dreamcast Sega Saturn Sega Pico Sega Game Gear Sega Genesis Sega Master System

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

Me as a Professional: Where I am and Where I’m Going

I love art. I appreciate creativity of all kinds. And I have spent my life thus far in creative endeavors.

I currently work full time in an architectural office in Las Vegas. Born and raised in Indiana, I never dreamed I’d end up here. But after zig-zagging across the country (I left the Midwest for the west coast, and then moved to Miami on the other coast) I landed a job that had me working on casinos. I loved working on casinos, and all of the restaurants, clubs and other amenities that supported them. To me, there seems to be no industry that demands creativity more than hospitality. So I ultimately decided I needed to be in (what was at the time) the center of the hospitality universe.

I landed a job with Paul Steelman (of Steelman Partners), one of the world’s preeminent hospitality architects, and have since led and supported design teams working on casino/resort projects across the country and around the world. People are enjoying themselves in places I’ve designed in cities all over the United States, as well as locations in Canada, China, Australia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

I eventually struck out on my own, and quickly landed hospitality projects of my own. Unfortunately, I did so just in time to catch the recession that had the whole world reeling. The business I had generated over the course of two years literally disappeared over night. With an email and a follow up phone call, all of the projects I had been working on were “put on hold,” essentially putting me out of business.

I spent a year and a half largely unemployed. On the plus side of this, I did a lot of soul searching. I wound up picking up my guitar and playing in a couple of bands. I hadn’t done this since high school. But I have had a lifelong passion for music, which ultimately drove my decision to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Audio Production at the Art Institute of Las Vegas, where I am currently enrolled. I have found that I enjoy the production side of audio at least as much as I do in the creation of it. Complicating matters somewhat, I attended the DGA (Directors’ Guild of America) Awards in 2013, and again in 2014. I have since been interested in film and television. This new interest has guided me in my audio classes, and I have made efforts to educate myself about these visual media in my free time.

I was rehired at Steelman Partners, and I am back to designing casinos and resorts. My perspective has changed quite a bit over the years though, and now I think a lot about the hospitality industry and the entertainment industry, and how I might figure out a career path that somehow merges the two professions. I have a strong desire to work my way into film and/or television. But I don’t want to do it if it comes at the expense of losing architecture altogether.

Week 1: EOC: Great Customer Service

A Great Customer Service That I Had

A few years ago, I purchased a Mac Pro, from the Apple Store at Town Square. It was a significant investment, and I was very frustrated that within a few days of owning it, it required service. I had installed the various programs I intended to use on the computer, including Pro Tools 10. But when I installed software for the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, which I intended to use with Pro Tools, Pro Tools immediately ceased to operate.

I believed the cause to be an issue with the drivers. Apple had recently released OS X Mountain Lion, and my computer was running it. It seemed likely to me that Avid, the company behind Pro Tools, and Focusrite were still catching up with patching their software to fix bugs with the new operating system. So I set up an appointment with a ‘genius’ at Apple.

I met the genius assigned to me and my issue. I forget his name, but I immediately felt he was a down-to-earth guy. He greeted me warmly and I explained the issue. He understood my decision to revert back to the previous operating system, OS 10 Lion. He even knew of others who worked in audio, and came to similar conclusions. So he went to work on my computer, right there at the counter. After a half an hour or so, which I spent lounging and browsing around the store, I was ready to go.

I got the computer back home, and again began the install process. This time I found that everything worked as I expected, and I was happy with myself that my hunch seemed correct. My opinion that Apple provided superior products was now bolstered by a similar opinion regarding the quality of their service. I will continue to support them by purchasing their products and services.