25Jan/120

Hybrid TV Prospects : Impacts of Connected TV

Jacques BAJON

Head of Distribution Video Practice at DigiWorld IDATE

 
 
 

Montpellier, 24 January 2012 – IDATE provides readers of its recently published market report “Hybrid TV Prospects, Impacts of Connected TV”. This study aims to position the hybrid solutions in this new context and to measure their impact on the "big" TV markets.

“Hybrid TV is now a reality. The appealing for OTT video content, amplified by the development of connected TV solutions, is further spurring this trend”, says Jacques Bajon, Head of Distribution Video Practice at DigiWorld Institute. “These developments are attracting the attention of the big Internet companies who will throw themselves into the trend and surely have an impact on the key segments in the video distribution chain.”

IDATE estimates the market for OTT video services on the TV at EUR 3.4 billion in 2015

The market for video services on connected TVs is still only taking shape, as we see the first hints of how players are positioning themselves and how they are structuring their service offerings. Though virtually non-existent in 2010, this market is set to explode. IDATE estimates the market for OTT video services on the TV will be EUR 3.4 billion in 2015, with the following geographic breakdown:

- United States: 40%

- Europe: 24%

- Rest of the world: 36%

Trends in hybrid’s development and positioning of hybrid solutions

Hybrid solutions seem to be positioned in one of four ways:

  1. Two-way broadcast: The DTT/broadband or satellite/broadband hybrid network is becoming the leading network for distributing packaged on-demand and linear offerings.
  2. Cable and IPTV extension: DTT/broadband or satellite/broadband hybrid solutions provide additional coverage to the TV offerings of managed network operators.
  3. Competition with cable and IPTV: The DTT/broadband or satellite/broadband hybrid network offers an alternative to cable and IPTV services.
  4. Optimization of wired networks: Hybrid solutions help alleviate congestion on wired networks, which prioritize Internet access quality over the distribution of managed video services. The potential of hybrid TV distribution varies by market:
  • · In the US, the trade-offs made by cable and IPTV operators will determine the direction the hybrid market takes. Satellite may still capitalize on this solution to counter these operators’ triple play offerings.
  • · In Germany, the hybrid TV landscape will primarily depend on how quickly cable migrates to digital and IP. If the current trend plays out, these operators will play a central role along the same lines as their American counterparts. If not, FTA satellite operators will have the trump card.
  • · In France, where IPTV penetration is extremely high, hybrid could take multiple forms, depending on operators’ strategies. The situation could go one of two ways—cooperation between wired and broadcast operators to provide additional coverage or close competition between networks where the full IP migration of the wired operators would go up against hybrid’s vague efforts in the FTA DTT TV segment.
  • · The UK is the most advanced hybrid market today thanks to the broadcast/OTT combination. This trend will continue, and FTA TV operators will reap the rewards.
  • · In Spain, DTT will play a central role. The DTT + OTT combination will dominate, with additional opportunities for wired operators to expand their coverage using the terrestrial network.
  • · Italy is the country with the most potential for gain from hybridization. The "absence" of two-way TV networks clears the way for partnerships between OTT and broadcast (DTT and satellite) to dominate. 
OTT & Hybrid distribution chain: war-time?

More informations on http://www.Idate.org

________________

Contacts

Jacques Bajon

Head of Distribution Video Practice at DigiWorld IDATE.
j.bajon@idate.org

PR- Emmanuelle Renauld

Presse & Technologies

erenauld@pressetech.fr - Tel +33 (0) 156 566 464

16Jan/120

Digital Home & Connected Devices

Laurent MICHAUD 

Head of Consumer Electronics & Digital Entertainment Practice IDATE

 

Internet-ready device sales will reach 1.6 billion units worldwide in 2015 

 

Montpellier, 15 January 2011 – CES 2012 closes tonight at Las Vegas. An edition widely focused on Connected Devices and Smart TV. Directly associated with these emerging technologies, DigiWorld IDATE provides readers of its recently published market report “Digital Home & Connectable Devices” with a detailed inventory of the internet-ready device market: TVs, set-top boxes, home & handheld game consoles, DMA/DMR, DVR, desktop and laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. It also includes market figures up to 2015, along with a series of case studies that supply the foundation for a strategic analysis of the issues facing industry players, and innovative applications that will help further the deployment of the digital home.

“Even before the connected television has become ubiquitous, the TV today accounts for more than 20% of connectable devices sold, in particular thanks to the popularity of game consoles. By 2015, most televisions will be able to access the Web directly through built-in connectivity capabilities”, says Laurent Michaud, Head of the Consumer Electronics & Digital Entertainment Practice at IDATE. “The emergence of digital home solutions has been spurred in part by game consoles and in part by devices dedicated to managing content and providing access to the Web. By providing access to content that is stored or distributed in the cloud, connected TVs, ISPs’ new-generation set-top boxes and now tablets are the new driving forces in the digital home’s development.”

Three innovative connected devices

The emergence of digital home solutions was enabled in part by game consoles and in part by devices dedicated to managing content and providing access to the Web. By providing access to content that is stored or distributed in the cloud, connected TVs, ISPs’ new-generation set-top boxes and now tablets are the new driving forces in the digital home’s development:

  • The connected TV. Although theoretically enabling access to a broader range of services, it is driving a higher degree of integration, especially of user interfaces and the accessories involved in user-device interaction. The proliferation of proprietary solutions naturally limits the influence of the app store model which has been so instrumental in the rise of the smartphone. This segment is still waiting for a “crossover” player capable of imposing an efficient end-to-end solution that combines the device, the user experience, an app store, video products and a payment solution.
  • Thanks to their mastery of managed solutions, ISPs can get new-generation STBs into their customers’ homes which are more in sync with the TV viewing experience. The set-top box can also easily take on additional functions such as gaming, Web browsing, an app store, etc. Because of the market’s potential and ISPs’ desire to continue to invest in acquiring new customers, the STB could eventually become a solution capable of housing all of the functionalities of the digital home.
  • Multimedia tablets mark a decisive step in the creation of a fleet of personal multimedia screens.

In 2010, half of all devices sold were internet-ready

In 2010, close to 560 million connectable devices were sold around the globe: mobile phones, touch-screen tablets, Blu-ray players, multimedia gateways, multimedia hard drives, video game consoles, televisions, IPTV set-top boxes… which represents just over half of all device sales that year.

More than 300 million of these devices are portable (game consoles, tablets, smartphones) and internet-ready, either independently or over a home network. Smartphones alone account for 45% of connectable devices sold in 2010.

There were a total 1.3 billion connectable devices in use at the end of 2010, which accounts for over a third of the deployed fleet of CE devices.

Breakdown of global connectable CE device sales by type of device, in 2010

Source DigiWorld IDATE
 

The TV’s connectivity enabled by digital multimedia boxes, and especially game consoles

In terms of sales, digital multimedia boxes are the prime vector for the TV’s connection to the Web. They account for 8% of connectable device sales in terms of units, and for close to 50% of the devices sold that supply a connection to the Web, well ahead of the connected TV (18%).

PC and mobile phones dominate the connectable device market by a wide margin, with the TV coming a distant third.

Even before the connected television has become ubiquitous, the TV today accounts for more than 20% of connectable devices sold, in particular thanks to the popularity of game consoles.

Breakdown of the global installed base connectable CE devices by type of device, end of 2010
Source DigiWorld IDATE
 

Further information on our Website : www.idate.org

CONTACTS :

Laurent MICHAUD : l.michaud@idate.org

Press : Emmanuelle Renauld - erenauld@pressetech.fr - Tel +33 (0) 156 566 464

 

 



20Dec/110

E-Book : An impressive yearly growth rate of 30% to reach the 5.4 billion EUR in 2015

Sophie LUBRANO

Director of Studies - IDATE

 

IDATE has released recently its report "E-Book” which takes an in-depth look at the e-book market, and provides industry figures for 2008 to 2015. It breaks down the new digital value chain, identifies stakeholder strategies through some 20 case studies, details their business models and analyses the core technical issues (formats and portability, DRM, electronic ink, etc.).

“We expect the worldwide digital books market to grow at an average rate of 30% per year between 2010 and 2015 to reach 5.4 billion EUR in 2015, some 12% of the total book market. E-Book readers will also develop fast from 3.3 million units sold in 2010 to 29.8 million units sold in 2015, representing a 24% growth rate per year,”says Sophie Lubrano, project manager at IDATE. “Currently electronic-ink displays are the only solution for a comfortable reading experience, but the hybridization of tablets or other portable devices with e-reader will clearly be the compelling answer in a near future.”

Digital book market in million EUR vs E-reader sales in thousand units worldwide, 2008-2015

Source : IDATE DigiWorld

E-book markets are still on the rise

Digital book markets will continue to grow in the coming years:

  • North America, a mature market, is expected to soon be reaching its cruising speed, with an average annual growth rate of 13% between 2012 and 2015. At that time, sales of e-books are expected to generate a turnover of around EUR 2.2 billion.
  • Currently catching up, the five major European countries will experience higher growth on the same period, to reach in 2015 an overall turnover of about EUR 1.4 billion for an average annual growth rate of 30% over that period.
  • Japan should experience a more chaotic development. While the annual growth rate of e-book sales appears to be stabilising around 12% in 2011 and 2012, the Japanese market should rebound in 2014, and even more in 2015. This dynamism can be especially explained by a rise in e-book sales on tablets and e-readers, in parallel to historical sales levels on smartphones. At that time, sales of digital books in Japan should total around EUR 1.7 billion, still ahead of the European top 5 market.

In addition, 2015 market share forecasts in terms of value and volume establish a clear distinction between two groups of countries in addition to the particular case of Japan, which corresponds neither to the North American model, nor to the continental European model.

The most advanced countries in terms of market share are the US, Canada and the UK. In terms of value, these markets should range from 13% for the UK to 18% for the United States. In terms of volume, the 2015 market share should reach 35% in the US, against 21% in the UK.

Analysis of the growth/disruption factors

The development of digital book markets is determined by four major factors.

The digital book offer

The digital book offer reflects the mind-set of publishers with respect to digital works. Outside the US, the catalogues available in each language remain relatively modest in size and should increase significantly in coming years.

In general, publishers opt for providing an electronic version of their new releases before embarking on the digitisation of their back catalogue.What is more, new genres historically adverse to the digital world are now converted into e-books since the advent of color tablets. Examples include comics, art books, photo books and cookbooks.

The price difference between digital and paper versions

After the offer of available contents, the price is the second determining factor in the rapid rise in e-book sales. In the United States, where the price of digital books is not regulated, an average price difference between printed books and e-books of almost 50% was recorded in 2010. Conversely, the difference is only 20% in France and does not encourage consumers to migrate to digital media.

By 2015, the various markets of the study should have reached a price difference of at least 44% (Italy, United Kingdom, Germany), and up to 60% in the United States.

The average price of an e-book on a given market depends largely on the regulatory framework in place. In countries where the price is not regulated, retailers regularly offer significant discounts on the books sold under the wholesale model for the benefit of consumers. Conversely, in countries where the sales price of e-books is regulated, publishers are able to harness and control the market’s evolution, and prices fall more slowly.

As a rule of thumb, to achieve mass consumption, an e-book should always be less expensive than the paperback version.

The presence of "big player" retailers

The take-off of a market also depends on the presence of powerful players able to cater their customers with attractive reading ecosystems. Globally, this highly competitive status is currently only coveted by Amazon, Apple and, eventually, Google. Although significantly smaller in size, Kobo has also opted for an international presence.

Locally, the markets are developing under the influence of national players such as the major print booksellers also involved in e-book sales and a few large telecom operators.

The penetration of connected devices

The digital book markets will be driven by the increasing penetration of connected reading devices: tablets and e-readers. On the one hand, the display technologies of tablets should improve, especially to reduce the backlight’s aggressiveness and the daylight reflections. On the other hand, e-readers based on electronic ink should gain in power and speed, and eventually offer color and video support. In addition, device prices should continue to drop (less than EUR 100 for e-readers), while the spread of connectivity (3G, Wi-Fi) will foster compulsive e-books purchases among consumers.

More information about this study and other IDATE research solutions on www.idate-research.com

14Dec/110

Interview with Jean-Bernard LÉVY

COMMUNICATIONS & STRATEGIES No. 84, 4th Quarter 2011
Net Neutrality : Act II

Summary : What are the minimum regulatory tools needed to ensure an acceptable level of net neutrality while giving network operators flexibility to innovate and manage their networks? Act I of the debate resembled a war of religion, each side rejecting out of hand the other's philosophy. In Act II, market actors have understood that neutrality is not a binary topic and that the subject must be addressed in a collective and collaborative way for the sake of achieving economic and social efficiency. The debate has progressively shifted and focused on several key issues that are essential to the design of a well-functioning neutrality: (i) traffic management, (ii) IP interconnection arrangements, (iii) transparency, (iv) price differentiation and markets for enhanced quality, and (v) the setting up a suitable regulatory framework. Such are the main stakes of "Net Neutrality: Act II" and the focus of this special issue of COMMUNICATIONS & STRATEGIES.

Exclusive:

Interview with Jean-Bernard LÉVY
CEO, Vivendi
Conducted by Yves Gassot (Idate)

 


C&S
: Does the fact that your company is involved in the telecoms sector (SFR, Maroc Telecom, GVT) as well as the TV (Canal Plus), movies (Studiocanal), music (Universal Music) and gaming industries (Activision Blizzard) give you a unique perspective and position on the Net neutrality debate?

Jean-Bernard LÉVY:  Vivendi is involved in numerous parts of the digital value chain: we create and publish content, we run service platforms that we make available to our customers and we deploy and operate infrastructure networks.
Every year, Vivendi invests over €5 billion (distributed equally) in content creation and acquisition, in platforms and network technologies.
Vivendi has a balanced approach to the net neutrality debate as we advocate both for the most diversified and innovative legal content offers and a robust and reliable network to provide a strong basis for content creation and interactive services.

C&S:  You were personally involved, along with the CEOs of Alcatel-Lucent and Deutsche Telekom, in organising widespread discussions between ICT sector players, and in presenting recommendations for improving Europe's role in digital industries to Neelie Kroes in July. What part did the Net neutrality issue play in these discussions and the resulting recommendations?
J.-B. L.:  Vice-President Neelie Kroes took the initiative to ask Ben Verwaayen, René Obermann and myself whether we would accept a mission on behalf of the Industry to come forward with concrete proposals on how to address broadband investment.
As you know, the Digital Agenda for Europe aims to ensure that very fast internet access will be available to all European citizens thanks to the deployment of next generation networks. This Agenda sets very ambitious and specific targets in infrastructure deployment. One of the objectives is to provide basic broadband coverage for all EU citizens and businesses by 2013 and Internet coverage of 30 Mbps or above for all Europeans by 2020.
Nevertheless, Europe is far behind schedule on this target. As stated in the Commission Digital Agenda Scoreboard (published 31-05-2011):
"The deployment and take-up of ultra-fast broadband is still low, and only 5% of all fixed lines deliver speeds of 30 Mbps and above, although 28.7% of households could have access to such speeds if they wanted to".
To come forward with concrete proposals to achieve the Digital Agenda targets required  intensive work during 4 months between more than 40 companies. The discussions focused around three main topics:
• Possible new business models for Internet development;
• Interoperability and standardization issues for next generation access and networks;
• Investment framework/models and financing sources to foster NGA roll-out.
In early July, we converged on 11 points, of which some touch on net neutrality discussions directly. In proposing a new ecosystem between over-the-top players and ISPs, we achieved a big step forward.

C&S:  Vivendi has a great deal of experience in the American market. Do you think that the Net neutrality debate is being approached on the same terms on both sides of the Atlantic?
J.-B. L.:  It is indeed relevant to compare Europe and the US on this issue, although there are significant differences.
On our side, we have seen the net neutrality issue being built and developed in the United States over the last three years by a coalition of Internet players, including Google. Until autumn 2009, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) limited itself to setting out four open-Internet principles listed in the 2005 Internet Policy Statement, according to which consumers:
- can access the lawful Internet content of their choice,
- can run applications and use services of their choice,
- can connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network,
- are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.
Since 2009, only 2 new principles have been introduced by the FCC, according to which broadband providers:
- cannot discriminate against particular Internet content or applications (non discrimination),
- must be transparent about their network management practices.
The FCC approach to the net neutrality issue echoes a situation in the United States where the broadband market has structured itself into a duopoly. Consumers can access the services of either a cable or ADSL operator. The relatively limited competition results in a comparatively high subscription fee of above 100 dollars monthly for the equivalent of a triple-play offer.
In France, contrary to the United States, there has been significant investment from alternative operators over the past ten years. This competitive situation translated into monthly triple-play fees of only 30 euros. Therefore the economic balance is very delicate for the handful of players who have been able to survive.

C&S:  Although the intensity of Net neutrality discussions has not abated for several years now, we do get the impression of having moved past the staunchly ideological stage of conflict between the "libertarian" stance and the position taken by telcos.  Discussions today seem to be structured more around specific points, such as the role and potential place of managed services vs. Best effort. What, for you, are the crucial points that need to be considered?
J.-B. L.:  The main challenge ahead is to define how networks are able to handle the explosion of traffic on the internet and to design a framework that will create incentives for investment in networks and infrastructure.
In the short term, optimizing the use of bandwidth appears increasingly essential to manage networks effectively and avoid congestion, especially during peak hours. Traffic management techniques allow a better end-user experience regarding applications, content and services, notably through guaranteed quality of service and a more efficient use of the telecom operators' network resource.
Access to Best effort Internet is a service valued by the customers. Best effort internet is and should continue to be the "by default" option for all players, which means that consumers will continue to access all the content and applications they want. However there is a general desire for the market to explore other alternatives where all players might create more value out of content, applications and services.
That is why, at the July CEO Roundtable, the Industry recommended the creation of two-sided business models in the broadband market.
Two sided markets applied to telecoms would mean that, downstream, there is a relationship between ISPs and consumers, and, upstream, possibly but optionally, contractual relations between ISPs and content or online service providers to offer enhanced managed services.
The opportunity to develop upstream wholesale offers in the telecom market will enable very positive effect in leveraging the R&D of telecom operators to the benefit of content & service editors and, basically, allow some very specific services to keep working on the internet. It will also give ISPs stronger incentives to invest in next generation networks such as fibre, and thus ensure a better service for consumers.

C&S:  Universal Music became a pioneer in bundling access and services when it rolled out a music service for SFR subscribers, while Canal+ has increased its presence on the open web by launching innovative new services. What lessons have you drawn from these innovations?  From your experience, does the Net neutrality debate result in operational cooperation between telcos and the top content aggregators, in particular to improve the quality of over-the-top services delivered to internet users?
J.-B. L.:  Yes, absolutely. One of the key ideas that came out of the CEO Roundtable was to develop new commercial relationships between ISPs and over the top / content / service providers.
In online music, SFR and Universal Music Group (UMG) have both been pioneers in launching innovative services. SFR was the first telecom operator in France to launch an online store to download music on mobile devices and to allow ADSL customers to stream music on a large catalogue of titles. UMG is the world leader for digital music and has signed, in France, over 40 partnerships with online music platforms.
What we see as a general trend is that the market is moving progressively from download to subscription offers. SFR recently signed a deal with Spotify and all record companies (including, of course, UMG) to integrate its unlimited streaming music service to SFR subscription offerings.
Spotify is an interesting example since it has built its service on a very low bandwidth consumption profile. In fact, the service has been designed to allow people to store their playlists locally so they are able to play their music even if the connection is low or not available. This partnership is an example among many others of the trend towards more sophisticated relationships between over-the-top players and ISPs.
In the audiovisual and movie industries, we are also witnessing significant changes under the influence of Internet and particularly connected TV. This is why, in addition to regular broadcasting, Group Canal+ has been developing IP-related offers for several years now. These provide multi-screen viewing experiences allowing customers to watch their favourite programs anywhere and on any device (smartphones, tablets, PC, game consoles, etc.). They also include new on-demand services such as catch up TV and transactional VOD, as well as enhanced viewing experience with customized Electronic Program Guides or streaming stats during live sport events.
Even more recently, Group Canal+ announced the launch of CANALPLAY Infinity, an ambitious subscription VOD (sVOD) offer that will be available over all managed networks, as well as over-the-top on XBOX and connected Samsung TV. At SFR, the service will be integrated directly in the box interface so that subscribers will have the easiest access to it.
This example shows that both best effort and managed services can coexist and serve various objectives.

C&S:  Presuming that distributing services in the cloud is inevitable, how do you see the future of the home box? Is it a crucial asset for providers?
J.-B. L.:  Network and customer relationship are both essential assets for ISPs. The box bridges these two components: it is the network termination point and it materializes the ISP presence at the customer's home.
The box is progressively enhanced and improved to reflect the technology shifts and to meet consumer demand. The NeufBox Evolution for example is compatible with Fiber, Femto, 3G and ADSL. Moreover, the NeufBox Evolution is "green": it has an economy-mode function, it is the smallest box on the market and has many functions that provide enhanced Quality of Service and problems diagnosis.
The future versions of the box will integrate new functions to adjust to cloud services and to satisfy the multi-device expectations both at home and when out and about.

C&S:  France stands out as a special case when it comes to fibre rollouts, thanks to its system that combines a desire to promote private investment and infrastructure-based competition wherever feasible, with co-investment between operators in medium-density areas and public financing where necessary. What are your views on this system? Do you think it contains elements that could help accelerate the switch from copper to fibre-based access?
J.-B. L.:  As a general standpoint, we are obviously willing to invest in fibre infrastructure. SFR is already investing and this investment is going to increase to become massive. However each decision must be driven by a strong sense of pragmatism.
That is why we believe the best way to achieve fibre-roll out in France and, more generally in Europe, is via co-investment. We strongly advocate this model since this is the only way for European actors (both private firms and public authorities) to pool their capital in the most efficient manner possible and share the investment risk.
We are about to take some important decisions in this field, so I guess it is not the best time to have a look at what has been done yet: we have to look forward and focus on how to give a boost to fibre rollout objectives.


Short biography:

Jean-Bernard LÉVY was appointed Chairman of the Management Board of Vivendi on April 28, 2005. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer. From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Lévy was Managing Partner, Corporate Finance, at Oddo Pinatton. He was also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Matra Communication from 1995 to 1998. From 1993 to 1994, he was Chief of Staff to Gérard Longuet, the French Minister for Industry, and Foreign Trade. From 1988 to 1993, he was General Manager, Communication Satellites, of Matra Marconi Space. From 1986 to 1988, Mr. Lévy acted as Technical Adviser to Gérard Lonquet, the French Minister for Postal and Telecommunications services and from 1978 to 1986, he was an engineer with France Telecom. Mr. Lévy is a graduate of École Polytechnique and Telecom ParisTech. He is a Board Director of Vinci, Société Générale and Institut Pasteur.

For more information about our activities: www.comstrat.org

Contact
COMMUNICATIONS & STRATEGIES
Sophie NIGON
Managing Editor
s.nigon@idate.org

12Dec/111

Les nouveaux visages du jeu vidéo

Laurent MICHAUD 

Head of Consumer Electronics & Digital Entertainment Practice IDATE

 

Secteur jeune ou par essence mouvant ?

 

Lors des 5éme assises de la convergence des médias, nous avons pu mettre en évidence que le jeu vidéo à de nombreux visages. En effet, dans un contexte « digital » il est plus que jamais polymorphe et voit cohabiter de multiples écosystèmes industriels bâtis sur les catégories de jeux: jeu AAA ou blockbuster, jeux occasionnels, jeu sociaux, jeux sérieux, jeux de réalité augmentée, ou virtuelle, jeux de géolocalisation, jeux ubiquitaire…

Depuis bientôt onze ans que j’observe le secteur avec un œil d’économiste et depuis 25 ans que je l’observe d’un œil de joueur, il a bien changé. Voici un inventaire d’une partie de ces changements. Ils montrent combien ce secteur plutôt jeune s’est structurellement modifié, mais peut-être trouve-t-il sont essence et son aisance dans le mouvement perpétuel ?

La taille du marché a changé. Entre 2000 et 2011, le marché mondial du jeu vidéo est passé de  22 milliards d’euros à 52 milliards… +30 milliards. Quel secteur d’activité des médias a gagné 30 milliards en 11 ans ?

Le contexte technologique a changé et change continuellement. Dernièrement le « cloud computing » associé au jeu vidéo offre des perspectives prometteuses.

Avant le jeu était présent sur PC et consoles, aujourd’hui il est « cross plateforme » et à ces terminaux se sont ajoutés le téléphone, la tablette, la TV et évidemment le Web avec son cortège d’impacts disruptifs au niveau de la pratique des jeux autant qu’au niveau économique.

On s’est longtemps préoccupé de la puissance de calcul des machines qui hébergeaient les jeux, à vrai dire jusqu’en 2005 et l’arrivée de la Wii. Cette date coïncide assez bien avec l’explosion du jeu occasionnel et de la domination sans partage de World of Warcraft (Activision Blizzard) en matière de jeu en ligne massivement multijoueurs. Désormais, on se préoccupe davantage d’expérience de jeu, enrichie par le pointeur, la reconnaissance de mouvement, le tactile, la reconnaissance vocale. Cette préoccupation est un bon signe de mon point de vue puisqu’il fait reposer le jeu, son succès, plus sur le contenu que le contenant. En en Europe, on est mieux armé pour fabriquer du contenu.

La qualité des graphismes des jeux s’est améliorée et est plus expressive. Si la qualité des images vient de la qualité des écrans et des outils, on doit aux artistes l’originalité artistique des contenus. Il se dégage en effet des jeux une touche artistique, un apriori qui pose la question du jeu vidéo dans l’Art ? J’en suis convaincu, le jeu vidéo est un Art, la technologie y est davantage tuilée au contenu que dans le cinéma, la musique ou l’architecture… En tout état de causes, les artistes dans le jeu vidéo bénéficient d’outils de création qui permettent cette expression et surtout une expression originale, de plus en plus encouragée par la demande.

La technologie n’est pas uniquement un outil mais une source d’inspiration, une source d’innovation, qui repose sur un principe de base : l’expérience utilisateur immersive, interactive et amusante.

Les processus de production de jeux vidéo ont également considérablement évolué. Ils se sont industrialisés à partir du milieu des années 90 dans les studios qui produisaient des jeux pour consoles de salon. Aujourd’hui, même un petit studio d’une quinzaine de personnes possède un « pipeline » maîtrisé, des « process » collaboratifs contrôlés, avec des tâches bien définies à chaque étape de la production. Cette organisation bénéficie à chaque nouveau segment de marché et à chaque nouvel entrant dans le secteur. C’est en partie ainsi que le jeu vidéo gagne en maturité industrielle.

Autre signe de maturité, les hommes à la tête des studios de développement ont changé : ils ont longtemps été d’abord des créateurs qui prenaient en charge le management, la communication, la veille industrielle, le projet d’entreprise, la gestion des ressources humaines, la gestion de la production… désormais, on compte davantage de « managers » à la tête des studios et lorsque ce sont des créateurs, ces derniers confient plus volontiers les clés de la gestion et du management à des spécialistes.

Les modèles économiques ont changé et le Web y est pour beaucoup. Pour chaque segment du jeu ou écosystème industriel du jeu vidéo, il existe un modèle économique idoine. Internet est évidemment central à bien des égards dans la chaîne de valeur et impacte l’ensemble des « business models » issus de l’économie matérielle.

Il a introduit la dématérialisation de la distribution mais également la dématérialisation des pratiques de jeux, de la production et de la restitution dans les foyers des contenus. Pour rappel, 40% des revenus générés par le secteur des jeux vidéo proviennent d’une diffusion ou d’une distribution numérique. Dans ce contexte, les modèles économiques sont passés d’un cadre physique payant à un cadre dématérialisé gratuit prônant le free2play, le « freemium », le « try before buy » et assurant des revenus aux acteurs de la chaîne de valeur par le biais de la vente de biens virtuels meubles ou immeubles, de commissions sur opérations de change, de publicité.

Avec le Web, les grands équilibres économiques entre segments de marché ont bougé. Au début des années 2000, le segment des consoles était à l’origine, au plus fort de son cycle commercial, de près de 70% des revenus du marché. Tout en continuant à prospérer, il pourrait n’en représenter plus que 40% en 2015. Il doit ce changement au développement des segments du jeu sur téléphone mobile, tablette, réseaux sociaux, navigateurs, TV Connectée.

La perception du jeu vidéo par la société est en train de changer. Même si le secteur souffre encore d’une image trop vite construite sur quelques jeux violents et un soi-disant lien de causalité avec des faits divers, son image s’améliore. L’effet générationnel n’y est pas pour rien. Pour vérifier ce changement, il convient d’observer la place de plus en plus conséquente qui est faite aux jeux vidéo tout au long de l’année dans la presse généraliste quotidienne, et hebdomadaire. Le travail critique qui y est réalisé est de meilleure facture que par le passé. La reconnaissance commence par la critique.

Signe des temps et de ses changements, les créateurs sont reconnus. Les anglais ont tôt fait « starifier » ce secteur, chaque année un classement des 100 personnalités les plus influentes du secteur est publié dans le magazine Develop. En France, ce vedettariat prend de l’essor. On connaît mieux nos créateurs David Cage (Heavy Rain - Quantic Dream, Michel Ancel (Rayman, Les Lapins Crétins – Ubisoft), Eric Viennot (In Memoriam – Lexis Numérique), Christophe Balestra (Uncharted – Naughty Dog)… Michel Ancel est devenu un créateur considéré, qu’on interroge volontiers pour le journal de 20 heures lorsqu’un des titres de son équipe sort. Il est devenu une vedette et j’en veux pour preuve sa capacité à remplir une salle de 800 personnes qui venaient simplement l’écouter discuter avec son ami Jordan MECHNER (Game designer de Prince of Persia) lors du Montpellier In Game 2011, en novembre dernier.

Il y a avait autant de monde pour une conférence qui rassemblait « les 4 mousquetaires » du jeu vidéo français, 4 créateurs qui ont participé à la construction de ce secteur : Paul CUISSET (créateur de Flashback, de Fade to Black, Time Commando, Moto Racer et aujourd’hui dirigeant de Vector Cell), Frédérick RAYNAL (Créateur de Little Big Adventure et aujourd’hui dirigeant de Ludoïd), Philip ULRICH (Créateur de Dune, Captain Blood et de la société Cryo et aujourd’hui fondateur de MXP4) et Eric CHAHI (créateur d’Another World et désormais game designer à Ubisoft). Il existe une culture du jeu vidéo en France, globalement en Europe. Et ce sont les professionnels du jeu à l’étranger qui nous le rappellent. Le Canada et les Etats-Unis accueillent nos meilleurs créateurs, qu’on vient chercher à la sortie des écoles, mais la culture du jeu vidéo ne semble pas y être aussi développé qu’en Europe.

L’impact du secteur sur les autres industries culturelles a changé. Les liens en termes de marques, de licences sont connus et parfaitement bien exploités par le cinéma, voire la télévision. Et le jeu vidéo sait aussi très bien s’inspirer des contenus des autres industries culturelles.

   

5Dec/110

Broadband : Le Bilan du DigiWorld Summit 2011

Le marché mondial des accès FTTx  a continué de croître au cours du premier semestre 2011, avec une progression du nombre d'abonnés de l'ordre de 15 % ; à juin 2011, on compte plus de 112.6 millions d’abonnés FTTx dans le monde.

L'architecture FTTH/B reste largement la plus répandue, avec plus de 67 millions d'abonnés dans le monde, pour un total d'environ 179 millions de foyers raccordables.

L’analyse des chiffres du premier semestre 2011 confirme une certaine stabilité dans l’évolution du marché THD mondial. La forte croissance du nombre d’abonnés FTTx du semestre précédent était à imputer principalement au marché chinois, sur lequel les opérateurs ont davantage communiqué quant aux niveaux de pénétration effectifs de leurs offres THD.

Désormais, l’augmentation du nombre de foyers raccordables est de nouveau supérieure à celle des abonnés, confirmant que la couverture THD reste la priorité pour bon nombre d’acteurs en prévision d’une évolution conséquente de la demande. Bien évidemment, cette tendance est valable au plan global, mais la situation varie d’un pays à l’autre.

La Chine conforte sa 2ème position derrière le Japon (si l'on exclut les abonnés de type FTTx + LAN). Les taux de croissance respectifs dans ces deux pays sont cependant très différents : 14 % pour la Chine vs 5 % pour le Japon de décembre 2010 à juin 2011. Si ces écarts se confirment, cela devrait avoir un impact assez rapide sur le classement international des pays leaders du FTTH/B, la Chine prenant alors le devant sur le Japon.

La Russie reste le principal marché du FTTH/B en Europe, avec près de 5.2 millions d'abonnés FTTH/B à mi-2011. La Suède reste dans le classement mais le marché y est très stable. La France présente une marge de progression intéressante mais il est encore difficile de convaincre les abonnés haut débit de migrer vers le FTTH/B et le taux de pénétration (nombre d'abonnés/nombre de foyers raccordables) reste faible. Pour le reste, les pays d’Europe – Est et Ouest confondus – ne pourront pas longtemps rivaliser avec la montée en puissance de marchés en plein développement et au potentiel nettement supérieur.

Les États-Unis, seul marché THD notable sur le continent américain, restent le 3ème marché mondial du FTTx derrière le Japon et la Chine, avec 11.4 millions d’abonnés à mi-2011. Les deux acteurs nationaux Verizon et AT&T portent le marché américain du FTTx faisant concurrence aux câblo-opérateurs. Néanmoins, ces derniers sont réactifs face à la montée en puissance des accès via fibre optique desservant plus de 65 millions de foyers à mi-2011.

En revanche, le marché FTTx en Afrique et Moyen Orient reste encore embryonnaire représentant moins de 1% du total des abonnés FTTH/B dans le monde en Juin 2011.

 

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30Nov/110

Virtual Communities

 Romain FARGIER

 CM/ Social Medias IDATE

 
 
 
 

Building a virtual community is similar to the construction of any other community, online or offline. They are built by users and are based on the experiences of individuals, thereby replicating the same physical characteristics of real-life communities.

From a general point of view, the strength of a community depends on the initial level of commitment from participants and the size of its membership. Maffesoli (1988) used the term "Neo- Tribes" to describe this kind of social behavior. In the case of social media, the formation of "Neo-Tribes" helps explain why people choose to come together to share a common passion or emotion, regardless of social class, age or sex.

These "Neo-Tribes" are sustained due to the constant development of its members as well as not being fixed entities with exclusive and inclusive pre-requisites. Virtual communities in social media are constantly changing yet adhere to rules typical of a sociological physical society; that’s-to-say, it has missions and specific roles. This is something which businesses have caught on to and are using what is called "tribal marketing" to reach these groups.

In my mind, there are 4 important points and behaviors that you must have in order to create and maintain theses "Neo-Tribes" or virtual communities, in the Web 2.0 :

- To favour acces to content: You need to simplify and bring members to your content.

- Moderation : A survey is unavoidable if you want to keep your reputation and protect your brand from "bad buzz".

- To organize content : Organization of your content into a hierarchy is important if you want to be efficient.

- To favour discussions and interactivity : It is one of the key factors of succes and the driving force of social medias.

22Nov/110

DigiWorld Game Summit ’11: vue d’ensemble

 

Laurent MICHAUD 

Head of Consumer Electronics & Digital Entertainment Practice IDATE

   

         Il se passe quelque chose en Languedoc-Roussillon en matière de jeux vidéo. La présence d’un des studios d’Ubisoft fait beaucoup pour le tissu économique notamment par de l’essaimage, il fait aussi beaucoup pour l’image de Montpellier. Mais un tissu de sociétés portées par le online se développe aussi en toute indépendance et connait désormais, pour certaines d’entre elles, un succès international. Je pense en premier lieu à Feerik, Looki, The Game Baker ou encore à Blablaland, et on attend avec impatience les AltShift, Okugi ou Swing Swing Submarine. Les laboratoires de recherche comme le Laboratoire d’Informatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique de Montpellier (le LIRMM) ou le laboratoire de recherche de l’école des Mines d’Alès (le LGI2P) contribuent également à cet écosystème régional par des compétences reconnues au-delà de nos frontières, compétences qu’ils affectent aux thématiques du jeu vidéo ou du serious gaming. Il y a enfin des parcours de formations, Créajeux, un master jeux vidéo à l’Université de Lettres de Montpellier, Objectif 3D, ACFA Multimedia, Epitech, IUFM3D… Bref, il existe ici une effervescence qu’il convient de considérer et de surveiller.

Une petite semaine du jeu vidéo a débuté le 17 novembre. En premier lieu, des événements professionnels avec le DigiWorld Game Summit (DWGS) puis un atelier du SNJV (le syndicat national du jeu vidéo) consacré "au financement du Jeu vidéo: croissance, innovation, production" le 18 novembre. Pour les étudiants, deux masterclasses sont organisées, l’une avec R.STRINFELLOW (Executive Art Director of EA Sports), et B.MULTERER (Director of Development for the Xbox Platform), le tout animé par S.WILSON de 3DVF. Après quoi, samedi et dimanche, le MIG pro laisse sa place au MIG grand public pour lequel ont été mobilisées quelques personnalités du jeu vidéo et de l’animation. D’abord G.MITCHELL (Cinematic Director at Epic Games) qui présente les étapes de création des cinématiques. Suit une session avec des représentants de la société de production de films et de séries d’animation TeamTo (dont G.HELLOUIN et P.GAUTHIER) qui évoquent au travers de leurs réalisations ce qu’est une stratégie cross-media. L’après-midi un dialogue entre J.MECHNER et M.ANCEL prend place, puis sur une table-ronde qui compte des créateurs de jeux, des pionniers et porteurs de projet qui reviennent sur le jeu vidéo français d’hier et d’aujourd’hui. E.CHAHI (Ubisoft), P.CUISSET (Vectorcell), F.RAYNAL (Ludoid), P.ULRICH sont les participants à cette discussion. L’ensemble de cette journée est animée par JM.BLOTTIERE de NX Publishing.

Il s’agit donc de la 10ème édition du Digiworld Game Summit. Si l’on devait retenir un point commun à la programmation de ce séminaire depuis 10 ans, ce serait la dématérialisation. Elle recouvre plusieurs aspects : la distribution numérique, la pratique du jeu en ligne, la production des contenus par les utilisateurs et les créateurs de jeux.

D'ici fin 2011, presque 40% des revenus de l'industrie du jeu vidéo devraient provenir de la distribution dématérialisée (téléphones mobiles, ordinateurs connectés, consoles de salon et portables) ou des pratiques payantes en ligne (item selling, abonnements, commissions sur opérations de change, opérations immobilières virtuelles). L'IDATE estime qu'à l'horizon 2014, les revenus issus de la distribution dématérialisée de jeux vidéo représenteront la moitié des revenus du secteur. L'ensemble des terminaux sera alors concerné et les consoles de salon généreront 7.7 milliards EUR de chiffre d'affaires par ce biais, soit 40.9% des revenus issus de la vente de jeux sur ces plateformes.

La dématérialisation va rester le fil conducteur de la journée et sera traitée au travers de keynotes et de tables-rondes.

On commence par une question “Is Cloud Gaming the Future?" avec F.SAVAGE (Chief Technology Officer of Blade Games World) passé par Origin System – Ultima Online, qui a participé au développement de WingCommander III, MechCommander… Il y a aussi I.LEBEAU (Manager France de Playcast Media), S.KESSISSIAN (Director, European Content at G-Cluster). Cette table-ronde est animée par J.OLIN, président émérite de The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

Le cloud gaming sur la TV connectée est le prochain gros challenge de l’industrie, son prochain segment avec son lot de nouveaux entrants prometteurs. Pour être un peu provocant, la télévision connectée, en exploitant le cloud computing pour diffuser du jeu vidéo streamé dans les foyers, rendra les consoles de salon caduques et au moins, conduira les consoliers à intégrer cette approche technologique, dans leur prochaine machine avant de les faire disparaitre au profit de serveurs répartis fort coûteux, à l’image des investissements colossaux consentis par Microsoft dans sa solution Azure. Quoi qu’il en soit, il y a beaucoup d'effervescence autour de ce segment de marché à peine émergent. On pressent que les "pures players" du Cloud Gaming (Onlive, Playcast, G-Cluster, Gaikai…) vont être rapidement rejoint par des géants du Web : Google (qui a échoué avec sa première Google TV, et qui devrait se rabattre sur la construction d'un appstore pour la TV connectée qui embarquera nécessairement du jeu) ou des acteurs de l’électronique grand public comme Apple dont on attend iTV depuis 3-4 ans maintenant.

Des questions restent posées sur les modèles économiques, variés, sur l’expérience utilisateur, sur l’efficacité de restitution en temps réel du jeu.

Session suivante, le social gaming avec en premier lieu un keynote de Ming HOAXIA secrétaire général de la Shangai Multimedia Industry Association qui nous présente les contours du marché chinois, où soit dit en passant des développeurs français rencontrent le succès et notamment le studio Ant Hive Games dont le jeu The LINE HD a été élu meilleur jeu mobile du festival chinois de jeux indépendants de la GDC China. M.HOAXIA rejoindra une session composé de J.CODORNIOU en charge des partenariats chez FaceBook, P.REISBERGER, chief game officer à BigPoint. J.OLIN est le modérateur de cette session.

Facebook est devenu une plateforme unique de jeux vidéo. Certes, le réseau social ne supporte pas la comparaison avec une console de salon au niveau graphique et technologique. Mais il a su parfaitement bien adapter ses contenus à son audience, et les monétiser avec une efficacité édifiante. Le succès de Zynga illustre très clairement ce nouvel Eldorado. Pourtant, ce segment encore récent souffre des effets de la viralité qui a fait son succès. Si une bonne audience se mesure en dizaines de millions de joueurs actifs par mois, on dispose encore d'assez peu de recul sur la pérennisation de l'exploitation d'un jeu sur les réseaux sociaux. Au regard de la croissance potentiellement explosive d'une application et dans des délais très courts, des fluctuations d'audience dont elle est victime et d'une décroissance parfois brutale, le sentiment qui prévaut est que cette exploitation est fortement soumise à la versatilité des joueurs, et à leur goût pour l'éphémère.

Quoi qu'il en soit, aujourd'hui le jeu sur réseaux sociaux est devenu un nouveau segment de marché à part entière, avec ses règles et contraintes spécifiques, ses acteurs du développement et de l'édition, ses nouveaux entrants, ses modèles économiques, ses gameplay…

Une session sur les prochaines expériences de jeu est organisée par la suite. Elle accueille C.OVERKOTT CEO de Visiware, E.VIENNOT, Co-fondateur de Lexis Numérique porte drapeau du Transmedia, M.CASTELLI de C4M Prod, qui propose un jeu multijoueur géolocalisé sur terminaux mobiles et N.GAUME CEO de Mimesis Republic qui développe son univers Mamba Nation sur le réseau en s’appuyant sur la "vraie vie". L’expérience utilisateur est au cœur du succès du jeu vidéo. La technologie sert le jeu, ouvre des perspectives de gameplay, les renouvelles, mais il ne peut y avoir de jeu à succès sans expérience utilisateur concluante. On aura dans cette session éclectique des approches industrielles différentes mais peut-être des convergences de vues sur la place de l’expérience utilisateur et les ce qu’on pourrait anticiper des prochaines expériences immersives sur tablettes, smartphones, nouvelles consoles de salon, Airplay, TV Connectées...

Session suivante : "Cultural industries: the convergence is still going on" avec des invites qui nous viennent de loin : G.MITCHELL d’Epic Games, C.TAYLOR CEO de Gas Powered Games et R.STRINGFELLOW de EA Sports. La session sera animée par JM.BLOTTIERE de NX Publishing.

Avant d’entamer la dernière session, Crytek et précisément N.BUTTON BROWN Director of Business Development propose un keynote qui s’intitule "Teach an old horse new tricks – AAA retail to AAA online".

Cette édition se termine par une table-ronde sur le jeu ubiquitaire avec B.MULTERER Director of Development for the Xbox Platform chez Microsoft, D.CHADWICK WW Development Director chez EA Mobile, et un représentant de 2 jeunes studios de développement, J.FERREBEUF Head of Business Development de Boostr et G.MARTIN de Swing Swing Submarine.

L’idée de l’ubiquité repose sur la généralisation de la connexion sur les terminaux. Tous les terminaux de jeu sont connectables aujourd’hui. Leur autonomie de connexion va s’accroître avec le déploiement de capacité 3G sur ces mêmes terminaux à commencer par la prochaine console portable de Sony. Cette capacité de connexion en standard offre des passerelles entre terminaux en matière de gameplay et cela peut déboucher sur du transmédia, ou cela m’offre une accessibilité continue à mes jeux quel que soit mon terminal. Du coup, on voit se multiplier les jeux accessibles au travers d’un compte unique sur Facebook, smartphone, le site Web du développeur, tablettes. (Laurent Michaud)

Meredith ALFROY 

Consultante Jeux Vidéo IDATE

 

 "L’expérience joueur" est au cœur du succès du jeu vidéo. Elle est mise en valeur par le gameplay et est réinventée au bénéfice d’innovations technologiques régulières dans le secteur.

Cette question est au cœur du débat concernant le phénomène du "cloud gaming", peu connu il y a encore quatre ans. En échos avec les discussions du séminaire de la veille, concernant les enjeux de la TV connectée et des stratégies multi-écrans, le "cloud gaming" pose la question de l’immersion, des contenus, de leur nature sociale ou de communication, de son environnement, en l’occurrence l’ordinateur ou la TV connectée. Les entreprises innovantes à cet égard, comme G-Cluster, Playcast Media, Otoy ou Gaikai proposent un service de fourniture de contenus jeux et vidéo visant différents terminaux du foyer, exigeant un temps de latence optimisé, et un réseau haut voire très haut débit. Pour les opérateurs de services comme les fournisseurs de solution de "cloud computing", le défi de cette technologie reste l’optimisation du transfert de données en voie ascendante et descendante, le traitement des instructions par le moteur de jeu réparti sur des serveurs distants, la rapidité de restitution, l’encodage et la compression de l’image, et le stockage sécurisé du contenu. L’enjeu principal du "cloud gaming" demeure dans sa capacité à se substituer à des offres alliant terminaux et logiciels dans les foyers des joueurs.

Toujours dans cet esprit d’inter connectivité, les studios de jeux vidéo s’intéressent à la révolution du caractère social des jeux. À titre d’exemple, la Chine est le premier marché mondial du jeu en ligne (MMORPG, réseaux sociaux, mobile). Il offre l’opportunité de développer ce genre de jeu de par une demande très importante et un coût en main d’œuvre de développement inférieur à la concurrence. Shanghai est devenue ainsi une plaque tournante de la délocalisation des investissements dans le domaine de l’informatique et des jeux vidéo.

Nous ne pouvons parler de "social gaming" sans évoquer le phénomène Facebook qui est désormais la plus grande plateforme de jeux vidéo. Afin de commercialiser et de promouvoir un jeu, grandes et petites entreprises profitent de plus en plus du large nombre d’utilisateurs actifs présents sur le réseau. Le profil du joueur évolue également. L’américaine de 35 ans reste la cible principale des jeux Facebook. Cependant, est-il possible d’amener et de convertir des joueurs classiques vers cette forme de jeu ? De plus en plus de développeurs et d’éditeurs de jeux pour consoles de salon "socialisent" leurs jeux "classiques" et proposent une expérience sociale plus poussée. L’objectif est de conquérir ou reconquérir des joueurs qui ont découvert ou redécouvert le jeu vidéo sur les réseaux sociaux.

Ubisoft, explique dans son "keynote" son ambition de rendre son contenu AAA plus social social et asynchrone grâce aux techniques du cross média et du cloud gaming.

Ce passage du synchrone à l’asynchrone pour le jeu vidéo attire de nombreux acteurs tels que Lexis Numérique, Visiware ou C4M Prod. À des niveaux différents, ils ont rénové l’expérience de jeu au travers de l’introduction de la géolocalisation dans le gameplay, l’introduction d’une composante sociales et d’un environnement ludique simple et efficace sur la TV connectée, la prédominance du storytelling cross plateforme et du transmédia...

Les studios d’animation sont de plus en plus attirés par la création du jeu vidéo. G.MITCHELL, d’Epic Games nous rappelle le lien fort entre le cinéma qui inspire le jeu vidéo (scénario, cinématique) désormais considéré comme un art à part entière en faisant appel à nos émotions (personnage, lumière, musique).

Le séminaire se termine par une table ronde traitant du jeu ubiquitaire, un des sujets récurrent du DigiWorld Summit. L’ubiquité dans le secteur des jeux vidéo naît de la connexion à Internet désormais généralisée des terminaux d’électronique grand public, fixes ou mobiles. L’ubiquité offre l’opportunité aux studios et aux éditeurs de développer des contenus substituables ou complémentaires en termes d’expérience utilisateur via un compte unique. Cette multiplicité de diffusion possible permet d’offrir une expérience différente, fonction de l’environnement ludique du terminal utilisé et des fonctionnalités particulières desdits terminaux.

Nous retiendrons de ce DigiWorld Game Summit 2011 que le monde du jeu vidéo est en perpétuelle mutation. Il tire très bien partie de la dématérialisation de la distribution et des pratiques de jeu en ligne sous toutes ses formes. Il se régénère en permanence, influencé par les nouvelles technologies et les attentes toujours plus exigeantes en matière d’immersion et d’interactions des joueurs.(Meredith Alfroy)

Is "Cloud gaming" the future?

Joseph OLIN – President Emeritus Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

Sevan KESSISSIAN – VP Content and Strategy G-cluster

Ivan LEBEAU – Manager France Playcast Media

Frank SAVAGE CTO – Blade Games World

Will the Social networks be the next video game platform?

Joseph OLIN – President Emeritus Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

Haoxia MING – Secretary General Shanghai Multimedia Industry Association

Julien CODORNIOU – Head of Partnerships Facebook

Philip REISBERGER – Chief Games Officer BigPoint

Franck TETZLAF – CEO Kobojo

The renaissance of HD Gaming

Benoît LAMBERT – Managing Director Ubisoft Montpellier

What expectations about nexgame experiences?

Mathieu CASTELLI – CEO C4M Prod

Nicolas GAUME – Co-founder and CEO, President, Mimesis republic, SNJV

Colas OVERKOTT – CEO Visiware

Laurent MICHAUD – Head of Consumer Electronics Practice IDATE

Eric VIENNOT – Co-Founder Lexis Numérique

Cultural industries: the convergence is still going on

Jean-Michel BLOTTIERE – CEO NX Publishing

Greg MITCHELL – Cinematics Director Epic Games, Inc.

Chris TAYLOR – CEO Gas Powered Games

Rick STRINGFELLOW – Executive Art Director EA Sports

Teach an old horse new tricks – AAA retail to AAA online

Nick BUTTON-BROWN – Director of Business Development Crytek

The Ubiquitous Game era

Jonathan FERREBEUF – Head of Business Development Boostr - Acute Games

Jean-Michel BLOTTIERE – CEO NX Publishing

Boyd MULTERER – Director of Development for the Xbox Microsoft

Davy CHADWICK – WW Development Director EA Mobile

Mr Stringfellow EA Sports Multiple Connected Devices on game

View more presentations from DigiWorld IDATE
8Nov/110

Online Video

Consumer OTT video already represents an impressive worldwide market of almost 5 billion EUR in 2010

IDATE has released recently its report "Online Video: Uses, Markets, delivery technologies/CDN” which spotlights both the online consumer and video delivery market with a segmentation of key services and key metrics on usage. It analyzes revenue models (ad, pay, freemium, bundling) and proposes key player and event case studies. It assesses the key technology for online video delivery (including CDN) and presents the main solutions regarding platforms, protocols and delivery solutions. It identifies the key drivers and provides forecasts.

“We expect the worldwide online video market to grow at an average rate of 35% per year between 2010 and 2015 to reach 21.7 billion EUR in 2015, some 6% of the total video market, whereas CDN should reach 4.7 billion EUR with a CAGR of 28%”, says Vincent Bonneau, IDATE’s Internet lead analyst. “Video CDN will even develop faster with 2.4 billion EUR at 33%, close to online video rates.”

The consumer online video market
IDATE estimates the world consumer online video market at 4.7 billion EUR in 2010. We estimate that 48% of the world online market derives from advertising revenues and 52% from pay-revenues, due to the peculiar structure of the USA market with strong sell-through on-demand revenues coming from Apple and Netflix, and to a lesser extent paid TV channels (especially from sport leagues). In most of other territories, the bulk of revenues originate from advertising.

The world online video market, 2010-2015 (million EUR)

Key online video services
The consumer online video services market can be broken down into five main segments, which differ in terms of content length, content quality (premium and therefore blockbuster/popular shows versus long tail), place in the media chronology and business models (free versus paid versus bundles):
•    Free short clips services
•    Streaming platforms (mostly illegal content coming from Megavideo)
•    Catch-up TV services (rerun but fresh content, only available for free for a short period of time)
•    Premium VOD offers (paid services on pay per view basis or subscription basis)
•    Live streaming services (all live video, especially sports, including also illegal contents).
The lines are less and less clear between the different providers of those services, as they tend to offer all services. The largest remaining differentiation is therefore the business model and to a lesser extent the quality of the content.

Online video is becoming mainstream

In developed countries, more than 80% of Internet users are watching audiovisual content via the Web. Short clips, such as provided by YouTube or DailyMotion, are the favourite online videos, with 78% of broadband Internet users watching them. Other popular short clip video services come from specialists (AlloCiné) or more recently from Facebook, as social networking is spreading on all Web services. Catch-up TV (coming from Hulu and from all popular TV channels such the BBC iPlayer) and streaming platforms such as Megavideo, and live streaming are also fairly used. TV series consumption is indeed growing fast thanks to streaming platforms (very high intensity per user) and catch-up TV services. The availability of streaming video services negatively impacts the use of P2P services. Other video services are still niche, as live is only emerging around dedicated platforms (Justin.tv) or for sport events around traditional broadcasters online video services, but often with a low quality. Premium VOD is developing, but is only being used online by a few users, even for Apple’s iTunes (most of VOD consumption being on managed services), except for the skyrocketing Netflix, whose future remains unclear. Adoption of online video remains higher among young people, but Pay-VOD is heavily used by middle-aged people. Unlike TV, Online video is often watched alone, except for pay-premium VOD which is mainly family entertainment. All the same, the bulk of the total time spent watching video is spent on TV. Consumers accept the trade-off between free content/lower quality and paid content/higher quality, which is currently reflected by the lower adoption of paid services (except for services relying on bundles as has been the case with Netflix or, more recently, HBO). A lot of users are still flocking to free content (legal or illegal), raising therefore questions around the business models. Multi-tasking is also an issue to be addressed in order to monetise online audience: people watching online videos surf on the Web or on Facebook at the same time, chat, or even watch TV.

Revenue models of consumer online video services
Online video benefits from traditional Web advertising formats, namely display, sponsoring and search marketing. Inserting video or non-video advertising inside the video programmes increases its impact and encourages the circulation of programmes. Pre-roll video ads are the most commonly used formats, but overlays, tickers and companion ads are also widely used. A key trend is to let the user personalise the ads he prefers to be offered. Implementing cost-per-click tariffs rather than cost-per-thousand is key for the adoption of online video advertising by advertisers.
Pay-revenue models are moving from pay-per-view patterns to flat-fee subscriptions, such as used by subscription video on demand services.
Services tend to combine the free and pay models into freemium services, where a subscription gives access to more recent content, higher quality and portability between terminals.
However, a significant share of online video consumption, bundled with other services, will not generate specific revenues: streaming services marketing their store and share offers (Megavideo); online free add-on versions of pay-TV channels (ESPN3, HBO Go); premium programming bundled with telcos triple-play services (Orange).

Project Manager
Vincent Bonneau

More information about this study on our website.

3Nov/110

Interview with Hervé BARGE

COMMUNICATIONS & STRATEGIES No. 83, 3rd Quarter 2011
ICTs and health

Summary : The papers presented in this issue shadow the diversity of approaches related to ICT implementation within the health system. The particular position of health within our economies, the weight of public financing, the role of public authorities in the decision process to launch a new product and change health delivery systems, the vital issue of improved outcomes for users of health services, and the specific relationship between them and healthcare professionals: all of these issues help to explain why the health sector is often “late” in terms of ICT penetration.
The two interviews illustrate these challenges from an international and institutional perspective, with Fredrik LINDEN, Project Coordinator, Smart Open Services for European Patients, epSOS, and from a regional and operational perspective with Hervé BARGE, Chief Information Officer of the French regional health agency.


Exclusive:
Interview with Hervé BARGE,
Chief Information Officer of the French regional health agency
Conducted by Robert PICARD (CGIET)

 


C&S
:  The French region of Franche-Comté is regularly cited as being on the cutting edge of the modernization of health information systems. How did this come about?

Hervé BARGE:  Since 2000 there has been a great deal of willingness to modernize the health information system in the Franche-Comté, first on the part of the Agence Régionale de l'Hospitalisation [ARH, regional hospital care agency] and then the Agence Régionale de Santé [ARS, regional health agency]. Senior public servants at the head of these administrations did not simply guess what they should do, but listened to a majority of health professionals who regularly condemned the lack of resources invested in information systems and tools for telemedicine.
The recruitment of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) specifically for information systems was a good first sign. In a number of regions, it has often been observed that individuals in similar positions were required to perform many other tasks and were unable to devote themselves completely to this specific job.  In my opinion, this point is one of the keys to success. The hierarchical position of the CIO, attached to senior management or the agency director, underlined the strategic importance of the information system to governance.
All regional stakeholders quickly understood the potential benefits of modernizing the information system and it has become a new source of power. Physicians quickly recognized that besides better case management for the patient, the information obtained by a global information system could be a gold mine. This "gold mine" would not only benefit the pharmaceutical industry, as some hinted; it would also benefit the quality of case management, ability to benchmark, statistics on actual activity, epidemiology and especially the evaluation of professional practices.
For some, Franche-Comté has some disadvantages due to its size and remote location, but in fact it is precisely its size and remoteness that made it possible to build on the regional traditions of co-operation well-developed in the traditional agricultural sector: communal cheese dairies is one demonstration of our ability to join forces. Franche-Comté has a population of only 1.2 million inhabitants; if we hoped to be able to invest in our entire region, we needed to pool our strengths and resources in order to develop the strategy wisely and show that this strategy could be efficient.

C&SWhat specific difficulties did you overcome in order to move forward?
H. B.: The problems in Franche-Comte may seem smaller but are nonetheless the same as in all regions; the competition between certain personalities and structures is just as intense.  Thus, certain engineers or information department managers did not understand that the profession of Information System Director in hospitals was destined to evolve just like the other professions of the field, e.g. towards more outsourcing, more skills and increasing specialization. After attempting to explain what could be accomplished by pooling our strengths, decisions occasionally had to be made bypassing entrenched stakeholders so as to maintain our momentum and not to drain our energy in unproductive infighting.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink… So, in 2004 after four years of collaborative work with two working groups (one technical, the other medical), initially without any legal framework, together with all the directors of private and public institutions in Franche-Comté and health network coordinators, one of the first Groupement de Coopération Sanitaire [GCS, health cooperation group] health information systems in France was created. This GCS was one of the first groups in the health information systems to benefit from shared resources.
Another stumbling block projects encounter is that a strategy is announced, but the financial means aren't there. The ARS has often funded between 50 and 100% of certain projects or services managed by the GCS Ensemble pour la modernisation des systèmes d'information de santé et le développement de la télémédecine [EMOSIST, Group for the modernization of health information systems and development of telemedicine]. ARS's choice to fund operating budget up to a total of 50% of the GCS EMOSIST was also carefully thought out. This solution has the advantage of striking a balance between oversight by the ARS and the GCS members, i.e. health networks as well as public and private hospitals. Even though the tensions inherent to all complex structures might occasionally arise, it appears that after five years a balance seems to have been struck. I also believe that a project approach made it possible to develop a real dynamic.  It didn't take long when payroll costs were increasing, for some people to think that there were too many "projects" and that they should be prioritized, even if this meant cancelling some. In the end, the GCS was a structure that enabled some "projects" to be brought together under a single heading of "SERVICE" and that overall the remaining projects were strongly demanded by members who provided ample funding. The evolution of this structure therefore has a life of its own, with periods of growth and periods of doubt; this is as it should be given that this is a new GCS. This concept of service is also an indicator of the value this structure creates.

C&S:  Exactly how can we measure the value added by this innovative approach?
H. B.:  This shared approach made it possible to quickly address the issue of value. Some institution directors and computer specialists were occasionally negative, along the lines of "nothing works on the regional level, the only thing that works is what I do at my place." It took the support of numerous medical teams as well as time for a certain number of projects to contradict the Solow paradox. In fact, everything takes time: it takes time for a system with a global approach to become efficient after it's set up (many applications are not designed to communicate with each other), time is needed for deployment, and time is needed for users to take ownership of them. When users hardly ever mention problems, other than to ask for upgrades, it can be said that things are working. We can only regret many early evaluations conducted with no respect for logic and within timeframes that do not take into account how long it takes for users to take ownership of the practices. What goes for the economy also goes for health; new evaluations and publications were needed to prove that the Solow paradox was wrong.
We can always add up the material and immaterial value of investments in our information systems, but I think that it is much more meaningful to look at the loss of value due to malfunctions in the health system to better understand the contribution of technology. We need to ask the question of what is the cost to society of a health care system, a shared patient record, and a medication system that comes to a halt and from which information is no longer available. How much would it cost if a tool for managing CVA (stroke) cases failed, even if for only one hour? Health professionals who have experienced breakdowns lasting a number of hours are staunch allies when talk turns to security and accessibility of data. The word "investment" in secure access to medical information no longer sounds like unproductive expenses and costs as it did prior to such breakdowns.

C&S:  What have you developed in your region in order to have the right information at the right time?
H. B.:  In Franche-Comté, certain patient cases are 100% computerized. In other words, the identities of the patient and health professional are closely linked, thus allowing complete patient-centred traceability. Subsequent to the heat wave of 2003, and under the impetus of the Direction Générale de l'Offre de Soins [DGOS, general directorate of health care supply], all Service d'Aide Médicale Urgente  [SAMU, emergency medical services] are completely computerized and able to electronically bring up thousands of items of useful information every day. In our region, we went further by incorporating the deaths from the region's admitting departments for all public and private institutions, and we have an infocentre where information is sent in to us every 15 minutes on the region's emergency activities, hence avoiding numerous entries and reprocessing. This query approach has been generalized to apply to all applications so that there would be no more guesstimates of the type "does it work or doesn't it; is someone there or not?" The query tools enable analysis what is going on in the system.

C&S:  What progress is being made in Franche-Comté on the patient's medical record?
H. B.:  Since 2000, our region has been working on a shared medical record that complies with international interoperability standards. All the work on the Dossier de Coordination Régionale [DCR, regional coordination record] enabled us to easily get the national Dossier Médical Personnel [DMP, personal medical record] and to work with the DMP Groupement d'Intérêt Public [GIP, public interest group] and then the Agence des Systèmes d'Information Partagés de santé [ASIP, shared healthcare information systems agency] to give them the benefit of our experience.
Beyond the national project, regionally coordinated records make it possible to improve sharing of information between medical applications and health professionals in the interest of both patient and health professional. The regional information system allows the various health professions to share the greatest possible amount of important information. The objective is to be as secure as possible while permitting better traceability and sharing of medical information. There is no competition between these records and the national DMP. The DMP is well defined; the legislative system wanted it and it is the patient's personal record. The DCRs are instruments that can supplement the national DMP as needed, but above all they are instruments to allow exchanges between the numerous health software programs. A few applications in the region operate perfectly and some manage 100% of patients' cases such as Bonnes Pratiques en Chimiothérapie [BPC, good practices in chemotherapy], a software package thought up and designed by the Besançon Centre Hospitalier Universitaire [CHU, university hospital] and developed by the SQLI database management software. This regional tool makes it possible to prescribe, make, and dispense all of the region's chemotherapy. This enables the region's patients and professionals to move between health structures without interruption in case management, by using national and international repositories. This software also makes possible exchanges between applications that manage the multidisciplinary meetings and the cancerology communication record without having to enter data twice. The atypical antibody screens (transfusions) sent by transfusion centre-specific programs to those specific to the blood bank also allow greater security for caregivers by preventing transfusion-related accidents.

C&S:  Let's go back to the strategy in Franche-Comté. How did you go about developing it?
H. B.:  This high degree of interoperability permits implementations that are interconnected like the pieces of a puzzle. As long as the final target is known, a project can be implemented if it is centred on common practices and the components (patient identities, health professional identities, directories, patient records, etc.) defined in detail in the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) approach. We have implemented our entire strategy using two techniques: The Proof of Concept (POC) to quickly show what works to gain the support of health professionals; and the "siphon technique", meaning going ahead and initiating the POC and the following phases before everything is in place. This speeds up production without committing total funding. Even though it is necessary to have some idea of what the project will ultimately cost, funds are committed gradually and indicators defined to track what is being funded and for which results. On the payer's side, such as the ARHs, there is less risk. If the phase 1 commitment is not successful, there is no point in committing further funds, and it is easier to accept losing a small amount of money.  I have often observed that in the case of failed projects, the entire budget envelope had been released and there is no room to manoeuvre, and in numerous other undertakings, project leaders wait for all the lights (and there may be many) to turn green.

C&S:  What are you are working on now?
H. B.:  After ten years of work in the region, we are currently setting up new knowledge and technology transfer structures in a Living Lab approach with an institute specifically created for this purpose. The Institut Edouard Belin is setting up industry/user partnerships centred on the theme of seniors' independence. Numerous projects are underway and we are implementing an R&D program with an information system that goes to where the patients live. In addition to the educational aspects, this Living Lab aims to provide a framework in which to reflect on and implement prototypes created by industry partners. Health professionals are not the only ones participating and giving feedback; the users and potential patients do as well.

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Contact
COMMUNICATIONS & STRATEGIES
Sophie NIGON
Managing Editor
s.nigon@idate.org