1988 Games releases console “Black Paper”

1988 Games released a "black paper" last week, urging consoles "away from the TV".

"We called it a "black paper" for two reasons: first, it stands out, second, it deals with a lot of ‘death’ of traditional practices and business models", said 1988’s Producer/Designer Benjamin Krotin.

The paper, entitled "The Evolution of the Videogame Console in 2012 & Beyond", is written in response to "a lot of speculation" on future consoles, and what new streaming technologies mean for the games industry.

"We’ve been pretty successful at predicting trends in the gaming industry, and we wanted to get our thoughts out there to generate discussion", said Krotin.

"What we’re seeing is a move away from the traditional understanding of a console… with the lines between peripherals and consoles being blurred."

According to the Black Paper, the trend has already begun, but it will take some time for the industry to accustom itself to the new technologies.

Including several quotes by industry analysts and innovators such as Michael Pachter and Dave Perry of Gaikai, the Black Paper aims to focus discussion on key points and give industry insiders an open source reference for the general trends in cloud gaming.

The main trends identified are the rise of mobile gaming as the dominant platform, the availability of new cloud technology, and new peripherals which revolutionize the way we play games. All of these trends, driven by consumer convenience, are expected to produce a move away from traditional model consoles in the not-too-distant future.

Krotin’s company has garnered recent attention for securing a movie deal for their unfinished game "Zombie Massacre", and Ben hopes that the combination of this and the discussion around the "Black Paper" will help draw more attention to his studio.