So before there was Playstation, Sega Genesis, even Nintendo, there was Intellivision. It was a popular home video game console in the early 1980s. But by the late ’80s, competition from Nintendo, Atari and Sega took it’s toll. The company disbanded. However, it seems like now, Intellivision video games make a comeback.
So the new Intellivision is coming up with a retro style gaming system. But so far, we know little about it. They don’t even have a name for it yet. However, they say it will be for all ages. They also say this new system will be easy for non-gamers and beginning gamers to enjoy.
Don’t expect a Nintendo like revival, either. You have to remember. Intellivision has been in the ecomomic dog house for the last 30 years. So it’s going to take a long time to get out of there. Intellivision is calling a press conference on Facebook on May 31. What will they say and how much will they reveal? Experts and IT support journalist don’t expect much. In fact, they don’t expect to hear much until their big conference on October 1. And there is literally no telling when they’re coming out when this new Intellivision. It could be past 2020.
But for their sake, I hope it doesn’t take that long before Intellivision video games make a comeback. Because other retro video games are making a comeback. The old school Nintendo consoles are selling like hotcakes. Even in our Boston computer service shop, some of us, like me, prefer Pac-Man and Legend of Zelda to Destiny 2 and Call of Duty. Many of my younger readers may not even know what Intellivsion is. Well, between 1980-1984, they sold over three million consoles. Back in the day, they were almost as big as Atari and ColecoVision. Intellivision gave us games like Dungeons and Dragons (that was a great cartoon by the way) and Astrosmash. I hope it works. Will Intellivision video games make a comeback?
So tomorrow night, the 2018 Winter Olympic games begin in?Pyeongchang, South Korea. Yes, NBC will cover it, but they’re not the only ones. Apple helps cover Winter Olympics with NBC.
Apple News is dedicating a whole section exclusively to these Winter Olympic games. Actually, it will be a part of the ‘For You’ section. However, Olympic coverage will have it’s own section within ‘For You’. Then, you have NBC’s help with this service. It has to be this way because NBC owns all copyrights to these Olympics. Of course, Apple will cover events, news, and winners. However, you can schedule events you want to watch.
For example, my favorite Olympic sports are luge and bobsledding. So I can use this new Apple feature to clear my schedule so I can watch my luge and bobsledding. They will also have live streams and replays, especially of those historic and spectacular moments. Any you know they’re coming. It will also include medal counts. This means you will see which countries are getting the most medals, gold, silver or bronze. Apple helps cover Winter Olympics, but they’re not the only IT service conglomerate doing so. Because Google offers it’s own Olympic coverage. I don’t know if NBC backs them or not.
Nonetheless, I think I know why Apple is going all out with Winter Olympic coverage. When people who come in our computer service shop think of streaming, what comes to mind? It’s usually Google/You Tube, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu. Apple is relatively low on the list. The Winter Olympics is a good time to change that. I know not as many people follow the Winter games as they do the summer. But millions of people worldwide will. And if Apple can get even 10% of that, that would be huge on Apple’s part. So let’s say Apple does that. Then can Apple keep that momentum going?
Did you know back in 2000, defunct video store chain Blockbuster rejected an offer to buy a struggling Netflix? But now, streaming IT service Netflix rakes in billions a year. Meanwhile, those under 18 can’t even remember Blockbuster. Also, people watch one billion hours a week on Netflix.
However, this is according to Netflix’s own blog post. As of September 2017, Netflix has over 109 million subscribers globally. About half of them are in the USA. But let’s take a look at how far Netflix came in just two years. Because in December 2015, they had just under 75 million subscribers around the world. Those viewers watch around 43 billion hours that year. I was no math major, but play with those stats, and you see more people are watching more Netflix.
This could mean good or bad news for competitors, and there are a lot in 2017. We have Hulu, Amazon Prime, and also several others. Furthermore, I have to admit, some of Hulu’s own shows are very good. And a lot of my computer repair colleagues like the HBO GO show Silicon Valley.? This is good because Netflix shows the potential of streaming entertainment. Think about it…one billion hours a week. I don’t know how much Amazon Prime has, but I doubt it’s that many. That’s the bad news. How can they compete with 109 million subscribers and a billion hours a week? You know they’re going to try.
Stockholders must be happy with this news. Because Netflix stocks went up 50% this year. However, not all the news is good about Netflix. Sexual assault scandals affected the company. In fact, one of it’s most popular shows, House of Cards, is now in limbo. But Netflix is going strong and shows no signs of slowing down. I can think of some prime time TV shows they should bring to Netflix. I’m sure some of you can too. What will 2018 hold for the most popular streaming service in the world?
I stayed quiet about this sensitive subject for as long as I could. But now, I have to write something. In the last several weeks, sex scandals affect online streaming, especially two very popular shows.
Recently, Kevin Spacey was fired from the Netflix hit show ‘House of Cards’. They fired him because of a sexual assault allegation…from 30 years ago. Actor Anthony Rapp claims Spacey got him drunk and took advantage of him. Keep in mind Rapp was only 14 when he says this happened. But now, Netflix is working around the clock to produce a post-Spacey House of Cards. However, some reports say they can’t fire Spacey because of the scandal. But the way things are looking now, don’t expect to see Spacey on Netflix again.
Then there is Jefferey Tambor. He announced he’s leaving his hit Amazon Studios show, Transparent. He’s leaving because two women accused him of sexual harassment. A former assistant accused Tambor of groping her. Then another producer accused Tambor of lewd remarks and inappropriate touching. Tambor denies any wrongdoing. He states he would never deliberately harass anybody. But like House of Cards, Transparent scrambles to take a main character out of the show.
So what does any of this have to do with IT service? Much! Look at how popular Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Studios are. In the old days, we used to gather around the TV (ok, we still do to some extent). But now, we gather around the desktop and laptop (we specialize in laptops fixed, I know, cheap plug). So now, they will alter two shows, maybe even cancel them all together. I feel these sex scandals are the tip of the iceberg. I hate to say it, but I think many more scandals will come out in the near future. Thus, this will affect even more Netflix and Hulu shows. Keep in mind, House of Cards won Emmys. They paved the way for streaming shows, or at least, made Hollywood take streaming shows seriously. Now, will there even be a House of Cards?
Everybody knows what ESPN is. Almost everybody knows what Shapchat is. But both try to expand their audience. So that’s why ESPN and Snapchat combine media skills.
ESPN will premiere a mini Sports Center. The premiere should happen at 5pm Eastern time today. Then they will have the show twice a day, 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening. This ESPN and Snapchat version will only last around five minutes. It will have sports news, game highlights (and not so highlights, hopefully) and debates. They’ll also have ESPN staff like Katie Nolan (who just came from FS1) and Jason Fritz. So basically, it will be like Sports Center, just five minutes long.
But why do ESPN and Snapchat agree to this? Because both step out of their zone. Snapchat usually caters to teen and twenty somethings. However, with this mini-ESPN show, they can reach the older, more sophisticated audience they crave. Of course, the older audience has more money to buy their sponsors’ products. Then there’s ESPN. Their most popular demographic is men between 30-60 years old. They would love to make lifelong viewers among the teen and college kids. Also, they’re trying to get into the social media age. Yes, there is obviously the ESPN app. But going forward in 2018 and beyond, just having an app isn’t going to cut it.
Certainly not for a major TV channel trying to integrate IT services with sports and entertainment. Others are doing it as well. CNN and NBC News already have five minute news reports on Snapchat. It’s safe to see this is to get a younger audience interested in news. With political, social and global tensions today, that won’t be a problem. The mega sports channel ESPN is a huge conversation piece in our computer service shop. But will this ESPN and Snapchat combination work?
Most people would say (Snapchat’s child) Snap and TV shows don’t mix. But they do now. Because Snap and NBC now produce script television shows.
So Mark and Jay Duplass lead the charge. You don’t know who they are? Over the years, they gave us independent films like Jeff Who Lives at Home. Then, from 2015-16, they gave us HBO series Togetherness. And now, they own their own production company, Donut. However, Snap and NBC came together before. We all know NBC’s talent show mega-hit The Voice. At our computer service shop water cooler, we talk about that show often. Well, they cater that show to Snapchat audiences.
I say this to prove they did this before, and they can do it again. We don’t know much about what this show. But the Duplass brothers say that it will be “a terrifying and terrific creative challenge”. It will also be in vertical video format. But that’s not all. Snap and NBC will start a partnership venture. This involves a new digital content studio in Santa Monica. It will also be run by NBC executives. So basically, it’s Snap’s own studio in Hollywood, which NBC runs. This is the closest Snap comes to actually producing original TV shows.
However, there is another problem, here. I am somewhat familiar of the Duplass’ body of work. Movies like Jeff Who Lives at Home and shows like Togetherness didn’t exactly cater to the 13-24 year old crowd. This is a problem because 60% of Snapchat users are between ages 13-24. So we can assume the majority of Snap users are in this age group. I don’t know what the Duplass next show, but it needs to cater to this age group. And I hope their Santa Monica office gets this message too. You know, IT service and entertainment are so intertwined today that it makes me wonder. Will we even need TV’s by the 2020s?
