Microsoft's Windows 8 only has 2.2% of the market?
Since the release of Windows 8 we have seen a complete barrage of devices! There have been literally hundreds released running the new operating system, but there's not been too much of a big dent made on the market share front.
The new OS has exactly 2.26% of the OS market share, which after three months doesn't compare too favourably with the market shares which Windows 7, at 44.48% and Windows XP at 39.51% hold.
To be fair we are only three months after the release of the platform so we can only learn so much from these figures, but it's safe to conclude that Windows 8 hasn't taken the world by storm, perhaps because Windows 7 is such a good platform already people just haven't felt the need to upgrade.
NetMarketShare Via Slashgear.
The impact of war games on gun sales!
Apparently Call of Duty, Medal of Honour, Battlefield and any other war and shooting game series you can think of may well be having more of an impact on you than you think! According to an interview conducted by Eurogamer gun brands are very happy to have their guns included in the game because this will sooner or later transfer into actual sales of the weapons.
It's somewhat surprising, from a British perspective, that playing video games can actually make you more inclined to buy guns from certain brands in real life. Although, it is in effect in game advertising and the real impact of this in-game exposure has been highlighted by Ralph Vaughn, the man charged with negotiating deals for the inclusion of Barrett branded weapons in games. He said:
"It is hard to qualify to what extent rifle sales have increased as a result of being in games... But video games expose our brand to a young audience who are considered possible future owners."If you're interested in this subject we cannot recommend this article from Simon Parkin on Eurogamer, the source of this news, highly enough. It goes into fantastic depth and some of the reactions from games makers are somewhat concerning!
In other news:
- HP will be closing down their site in Ruesselsheim, south-west of Frankfurt, Germany by the end of October this year. This is reportedly part of a multi-year restructuring plan and it will unfortunately see the loss of around 850 jobs.
Via Reuters.
- Sony's controller for the upcoming PS4 console will reportedly have a little touchscreen area for you to control certain games with. The whole thing will reportedly add in more social features too!
Via TheVerge.
- Evasion are reportedly going to be releasing the first untethered jailbreak for iOS since May 2012 on Sunday! Check out their website on Sunday here and you can have full control of your device again!
Via Slashgear.
- The Gamestick has had an insanely successful Kickstart and the funding wrapped up today with $647,658 raised in total. If you backed the project and everything goes nice and smoothly then you the first batch of units will be in people's hands at some point next month!
Via Slashgear.
- Amazon have locked down an exclusive on the TV show Downton Abbey! This comes as Amazon and Netflix really try to step up their offerings!
Via TheVerge.
And finally, the WSJ is reporting that Sony will unveil their plans for the next generation of Playstations on the 20th of February. Visitors will reportedly "see the future" at the event. The people the WSJ thinks are familiar with the matter believe the Playstation 4 will debut on February the 20th. We're not entirely convinced it will, but they will probably show off some details. It's only because the current PS3 debuted nearly two years after the Xbox 360, so it would be strange of Sony to shorten their product cycle so much compared to their nearest competitor! But, we'll have to wait and see!
Via WSJ.
