The Rise of Mobile Gaming

A few weeks ago, I read a very interesting article, written by my good friend, Matt Watts. The article (link here: http://bit.ly/16bnlFx) talks about how gaming has become much more focussed on short-term time-wasting, and much less focussed on longer, more involving games such as, to use Matt's example, the Mass Effect series, "a game which allows you to intricately foster friendships and relationships with other characters". Now, don't get me wrong, this post is not meant to attack his argument, so Matt, if you're reading this, don't take it personally! But my immediate thought was that he's missed the point of the time-wasting games that he so dislikes, such as Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. 

In my opinion, the point of the time-wasting game is exactly that - to pass the time whilst waiting for the bus, or whilst on the train on the way to work or school. Sure, it's different from what people were doing on their commute a few years ago, such as reading the paper or a book, chatting to other workmates/commuters or staring out the window watching the world go by. But now, people can spend that 20 minute journey (or however long) attacking pigs with flying birds, or feeding candy to a little green monster (at 7.30am?? Bit early for sweets, isn't it?!). Yes, the storylines are dreadful, if the game even has one! But the point of one of these games is being very stop-start - you can put it down to work throughout the day, then on your way home, you can pick it straight back up again, with very quick loading times. You don't have to remind yourself where in the story you are, it doesn't really matter! The fact that these games are available on mobile phones, MP3 players and tablets, many of which people have on themselves at most, if not all, times, means that people can play them wherever, whenever. I'm going to the dentist later today, and no doubt, whilst I wait to go through to the Chair of Pain (my dislike of dentists is another post altogether!), I'm sure I'll probably be playing some kind of game on my phone. It's significantly easier playing games on my phone than hauling around a console and TV (or PC) to play on!

Also, I think another attraction of these short-term games is that most of them are very cheap or free, whilst the Mass Effect trilogy is about £40 total. For that amount of money, you could get 50 or so games priced at 69p, or 20 games priced at £1.99. The point is that you can get a significantly wider scope of games for a similar amount of money, if you so choose. Yes, the games aren't going to be as deep or as well thought-through as "proper" games, like Mass Effect, but it means that throughout one day, if ever you get bored of one game, it's very easy to switch to another. 

I do like these mobile games. I'm especially a fan of puzzle-type games, whether that be Sudoku, Flow (in which you have to draw different coloured lines to different coloured dots), or Unblock Me, (where you have to free a red wooden block from a congested board of other wooden blocks). I find that they do pass the time on the train, or wherever. Maybe this time can be better spent doing other things, like reading, or studying (probably need to do more of that anyway...), but playing on my phone is so easy. That's why mobile gaming on cheap, some say "tacky" games is here to stay. Although, something is true with Matt's final point - watching people throw live birds in to other people's faces would certainly liven up the commute! 

Osborne: "Turning a Corner" or Turning an Eye on Society??

George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a speech today that the economy is “turning a corner”. Now, people who know me, know that I’m not a big supporter of the current Tory government, but the way that Mr Osborne is touting this story really takes the biscuit. In London, this morning, he said that there were “tentative signs of a balanced, broad based and sustainable recovery”. About time...! We’ve now had this Conservative theory of austerity and budget costs for the last three and a half years, and we’re only starting to see signs of recovery!

 

Looking at the GDP growth figures per quarter, during the time that the Conservatives have been in power, there have been six quarters of growth and four quarters in which the economy shrank. Now, admittedly, a lot of the financial trouble that we have been in has been due to the recession in the Eurozone (i.e. the countries who use the Euro as their currency), but other EU countries have weathered the storm better than the UK. Germany, for example, has fared better, as well as other, lesser European nations, such as Estonia.

 

But, and this is my key gripe with economists, many only care about the figures on the page. Whilst growth figures look good in news reports, can anyone really honestly say that living standards are better than they were in 2010, when this Conservative government took power? Food prices are on the increase, energy bills are on the increase and more and more families are struggling to make ends meet. But, I’m sure that come Spring 2015, when the campaigning for the General Election is well under way, that the Conservatives will wheel out the growth statistics, saying that “look at our GDP figures! We’re helping people!”, even though more people may be living in poverty than before.

 

My final problem with George Osborne’s speech this morning was his boasting statement that “those in favour of a Plan B have lost the argument”. This is clearly rubbish. It took three-and-a-half years for any real, sustained improvement in the figures. In the UK, quarterly GDP growth has not been above 1% since Q3 2007 (July-September 2007), showing that whilst the UK economy has “turned a corner”, it’s hardly a fantastic recovery. Whose is it to say that if Ed Balls was running the economy, we would have favoured any better (or indeed worse)? No-one - we will never know. So Mr Osborne cannot, and should not, state that his plan was better than any other plan, because there is no way of knowing. All that should matter is the question of whether living standards (because that’s all that important) are better or worse than they were in 2010 with the Coalition came together. If it is better, then it has been a success, if not, then they have been a failure.

 

We can all stand up at the front of the class (or a press conference) and read out a list of figures, saying, “look, everything is better now!”, but the real people who know whether the Coalition have made living easier and better for them, or worse for them. And they hold the key at the next general election in 2015.

 

The Rise of the Coffee Shop

In my town, a new coffee shop has opened called Moment by Greggs. The pasty shop, specialising in bakes, slices and sausage rolls, has diversified to offering tea, coffee and cakes. And it's not just Greggs offering a coffee break to customers. Household names litter the high street, including Costa (over 1,600 stores nationwide), Starbucks (over 800 stores nationwide) and Café Nero (over 500 stores nationwide). Whilst these three companies do dominate, there has also been a rise of independent coffee shops. But what is the appeal of having a cup of tea or coffee when you can have one made at home, in your favourite mug, curled up on the sofa?

Well firstly, (and as I don't drink coffee or tea) I would imagine that people go because of the vast variety of drinks that these places offer. Frappuccinos, Cappuccinos, Mochas, Americanos, Hot Chocolates, Espressos, Babycinos, fruit smoothies, milkshakes, and that's just the start of it!! Gone are the days of simply asking for "a cup of coffee, please", and it's not just as easy as asking for a Mocha. "Do you want chocolate sprinkles?", "whipped cream?", "an extra shot of coffee?", every drink made is different. Maybe this is the key to it. At Starbucks, they ask for your name, so they can write it on the cup, and thus makes it personalised to you. It becomes your drink, no-one else's. It's not just one coming off a coffee conveyer belt, it's tailor-made to you. It becomes part of your identity. If you think of a busy metropolitan middle-aged women in New York, you think of her striding purposefully with a Starbucks Skinny Latte in hand. You only have to browse through a couple of pictures on Instagram, Facebook or other picture-sharing social networking site to see someone (usually a teenage girl) sharing their coffee with the world. It's seen as being trendy. Whilst a recent YouGov poll showed that fewer 18-24 year olds drank instant coffee than their over 55 counterparts, a lot more chose the wider variety that a coffee shop has on offer (such as, as mentioned earlier, mochas, cappuccinos, Americanos etc.).

I suppose another reason for the explosion of coffee shops on Britain's high streets is that they are a common place in society to meet up for a drink. From teenagers on school holidays, to pensioners going for a catch-up, it's a common ground where people can relax and unwind. The setting is often one of mellowness, a place of calm away from the hustle and bustle of the busy town and city centres. There are sofas and newspapers, relaxing lounge music playing, and the distant background noise of chatter, talking about how university is, or how the grandkids are. Meeting up in these cafes means that you don't have to dust, clean and hoover the house top to bottom just so a couple of friends can come over for half an hour. And no washing up either!

And, the rise of these coffee shops is not only good for the coffee industry. It means that people get down on to the high street more, using local shops and bolstering the local economy, especially if there is a local independent coffee shop open. In addition, these coffee shops offer many jobs to local people. Whitbread, the company behind Costa, but also behind other restaurant brands such as Bella Italia, Café Rouge, and Beefeater, employs around 35,000 nationwide.

It seems that the rise of the coffee shop is here to stay with us. From a pre-work caffeine boost to get you through the morning, or as a place to catch-up with family and friends, the coffee shop seems to be everyone's cup of tea! (Or skinny hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, if you so choose!)