With 14 million netbooks sold last year, I think the topic of gaming on netbooks is definitely one we should all think about. I wrote an article recently about Netbooks vs. Laptops, but unfortunately I was not able to specifically address the issue of gaming on Netbooks. I hope to write something about that in the future. The article I wrote is here: Netbooks vs. Laptops I think web games, MUDs, and that type of lower-tech game can really benefit from the Netbook crazy. If your game can run in a browser, it can most likely run on a Netbook. That is a huge chunk of customers that cannot play games like WoW, for example. Since people are not likely to play a game for 4 hours on their netbook, I think games designed to cater to the netbook market would tend towards slightly more casual as a result. What do you all think? [Edited by - Cambios on January 27, 2009 8:51:40 PM]

With a bit of hard thinking and some clever programming, you could get far more than simple MUDs working on some of these machines.

Take a look at the Asus EeeeeeeeeePC running

">Half-life 2 or even

">World of Warcraft.

I have high hopes for NVidia's upcoming Ion platform, which places a 9400M on an Atom board - the 9400M performs very decently for light gaming.

I think the problem beyond getting the game working is the small screen being a hindrance. That is a problem for graphical games, but browser based games or MUDs do not have that problem.

Quote: Original post by Cambios
I think the problem beyond getting the game working is the small screen being a hindrance. That is a problem for graphical games, but browser based games or MUDs do not have that problem.

I would argue the opposite - most commercial games up until very recently played fine in 800x600 or even 640x480 resolution, where as most website layouts are geared for 1024x768 and up. Obviously, if you are designing from scratch you can make either one fit, but the genre can also have an effect - a 4X or RTS typically needs far more space for GUI elements than does an action/arcade game.

I have an Acer Aspire 1, and while it won't run many modern hardcore PC games, it will pretty much run every casual game in existence. As a test, I downloaded a bunch of games from BFG and Reflexive, and could run every one of them and with no stuttering or resolution issues.

Also, since I develop casual games, I installed VS 2005 professional and the DX 9 SDK. So far, all of my games run pretty well ( 30 - 60 FPS ).

Again, heavy 3D apps don't fare so well, but anything 2D I've thrown at it is handled with ease, and 2D game development on it is super convenient on the fly.

Quote: Original post by shadowcomplex

Also, since I develop casual games, I installed VS 2005 professional and the DX 9 SDK. So far, all of my games run pretty well ( 30 - 60 FPS ).

Again, heavy 3D apps don't fare so well, but anything 2D I've thrown at it is handled with ease, and 2D game development on it is super convenient on the fly.

I think you are totally right. Casual games have a HUGE opportunity here imho.

This discussion prompted me to write a blog post about this.

Netbooks - A New Gaming Platform?

What segments of the gaming industry do you think are best positioned to benefit from the explosion in Netbook sales?

Quote: Original post by Cambios
I think you are totally right. Casual games have a HUGE opportunity here imho.
This discussion prompted me to write a blog post about this.
Netbooks - A New Gaming Platform?
What segments of the gaming industry do you think are best positioned to benefit from the explosion in Netbook sales?

Indies - if they play their cards right. The entry cost is much lower than devices or consoles, as you can develop on an existing PC, and there are no licensing fees. It is likely however that the existing browser game portals will dominate, especially as pervasive net access becomes more common.

Who are using these netbooks for anything real?

They're too small to do any real work on, but they're too large to carry around as a phone. For true portability, the iPhone and Blackberry form factors are pretty good. For actual work, something less than a 13" laptop really isn't cost effective, even in an airplane coach seat...

Quote: Original post by hplus0603
Who are using these netbooks for anything real?

They're too small to do any real work on, but they're too large to carry around as a phone. For true portability, the iPhone and Blackberry form factors are pretty good. For actual work, something less than a 13" laptop really isn't cost effective, even in an airplane coach seat...

I think the netbook's success has more to do with the price than the form factor. But maybe that's just me.