[MUD-Dev2] [NEWS] Netbook sales expected to double to 35 million

[Zach Collins Siege]

On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:21 AM, Mike Rozak <Mike at mxac.com.au> wrote:
> I posted about netbooks mid last year when only a few million had sold. I have recently read
> that 14-17 million netbooks were sold last year. The reuters article is now talking about
> predictions of 35 million for 2009.
>
> The trend is getting more difficult to ignore. Low-end processors with tiny screens and
> keyboards have serious design ramifications for virtual worlds.

I bought one myself, recently. The processor isn't so much low-end for
me, because I'm upgrading to a 1.6GHz dual-core Atom, from a 750MHz
single-core Pentium III, and the new machine is now capable of doing
modern-game-quality graphics. However, I realize that this would be
low-end to anyone who bought a machine capable of running Vista
(without the bloat and slowdown of Vista on it). The keyboard is
small, but not entirely unmanageable (I miss having a separate cursor
key block and number pad, though, especially since I have to use the
Fn key to get "Home" and "End" cursor movement, and the Del key feels
utterly out of place); and I've mostly learned how to manage a
touchpad (though I may still grab my Marble Mouse for this thing).

I get that "serious" gamers would choose more powerful hardware to get
what they want. Casual gamers most likely wouldn't. This does add to
the dichotomy of choosing one's audience: do you presume that your
players will use the best hardware they can get hold of, or do you
allow that they might be using a machine which is less than
cutting-edge? As an example, I don't have a CD-ROM drive on my
netbook. I can copy CDs to a USB key, but that's not guaranteed to
work, and things like SecuROM might get all crosseyed at me. A
downloadable install file might be best, but how big can you allow
before it's untenable even with broadband?

Also, mouse control is harder with a touchpad, so you can't rely on
both speed and accuracy at the same time if you want to account for
that piece of hardware. I can tap the pad quickly, or I can aim well;
but to do both requires a mouse (or other external pointing device).

And as for screen resolution, if I don't plug another monitor into my
netbook, I can do either 800x600 or 1024x600, and that's it. Running
in a windowed mode would be best for me, if your game wants a
particular resolution that I can't provide.

Now, with three USB ports and a VGA Out socket, I can plug in a CD-ROM
drive, a full-size 101 key keyboard, a mouse, and a large monitor. But
it's all still running on a netbook and its teeny little processor.
Left 4 Dead is something I go to the local gaming shop to play, 'cause
there is no way I could do it at home.

-- 
Zach Collins (Siege)
"If code can be speech, then software can be art."