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AMD aims to simplify PC gaming with GAME!

by Scott Bicheno on 19 May 2008, 10:55

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

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PCS ARE BEST!

AMD has continued its attempted transition from being a component seller to a solution provider by launching its latest solution: AMD GAME!. The launch is just in the US for now, however.

As it announced at its Channel Summit last week, AMD is adding GAME! to the solutions it has already launched – Live! for multimedia and Business Class for business systems. GAME! is designed to address the mainstream gaming market, i.e. the one dominated by consoles.

Of course, as AMD itself stresses, it is “the company powering the visual experience of the two most popular gaming consoles in the world today.” In other words, the Xbox 360 and the Wii both run ATI graphics, so it’s fair to assume that AMD doesn’t want to be seen to be attacking console gaming...too much.

It has created a divide by stressing that it wants to “ensure consumers can easily identify PCs that deliver HD gaming (our italics) and entertainment experiences out of the box.”

Nigel Dessau, new AMD top marketing exec, said: “With the support of industry leaders in PC gaming, AMD GAME! ensures consumers don’t need an enthusiast-level knowledge of PC hardware for an optimal gaming system. We in the PC industry owe consumers the same predictability, simplicity and affordability in finding a PC for gaming that the console industry currently provides.”

So, in essence, AMD is targeting the mainstream gaming market – let’s say a gaming machine costing £500-£1,000 – so fair enough, that's still more expensive than a console. It cites Jon Peddie Research, which found that two thirds of the PCs sold last year had specs too basic to provide a “great gaming experience”.

This slide from the Dresden presentation below shows that there will, in fact, be two solutions, with AMD GAME! Ultra designed to service the more affluent half of the mainstream segment with higher spec systems.

 

 

And here we have a summary of what AMD thinks GAME! brings to the table

 

Lastly, there is a new feature being introduced to GAME! configured systems: AMD GAME! Igniter. This appears to be a one-step system configuration tool that does things like close superfluous background tasks to ensure that the system is in its optimal state to play games. It looks like it won't officially be launched for a month or so.

 

We expect to hear more about AMD GAME! soon, including when it will be rolled-out to the UK. In the meantime, here’s the official website, which is also the home to the AMD gaming community.

 

Further reading: Jon Peddie gives AMD GAME! a thumbs-up 



HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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Noble aim indeed. Only doomed to failure by not including Intel parts of equivalent spec and failing to specify how the twice-yearly refresh will be distinguished from historical GAME! certifications.
Anthing to make PC gaming simpler is good.
Put the year as part of the logo!
Simple.
Game! 2008<Game! Ultra 2008
Game! 2008<Game! 2009
Who knows whether Game! 2009 will be better or worse than Game! ultra 2008
If AMD really want to make this a success, also include Nvidia discreet GPU's as part of the comparison, not just their motehrboard chipsets. The losses of epople potentially going for Nviaid stuff when they would otherwise have gone for AMD stuff because of the Game logo will likely be offset by this brand getting more widespread recognition.
And so AMD launches another confusing ‘solution’ brand.

As has already been noted, there are two serious flaws with the concept:

Firstly, assumed system specifications increase, year on year. A solution branding that does not account for this is of no long term use to the games market.

Secondly, as the solution branding will be unique to just AMD, roughly half the userbase will fall outside of the solution branding. This is compounded further by nVidia having traditionally been better at aiding game developers to optimise for their PC gear.

Without getting the game development community on board, the solution is nothing more than a gimmick, that will ultimately be meaningless. The AMD Game Igniter is a nice idea, but it remains to be seen how effective it will be, and ultimately it should be the games themselves optimising to the system specification, rather than needing the user to call upon some additional tool first.
I figure that the mainstream gamer just accepts what they get, and so what we want to make sure that what they get is a good experience.

From this interesting interview: Interview: AMD Talks ‘Console-like’ PC Brand - Shacknews - PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and downloads