Who needs a console to play games? That is the question raised by a number of new video games which are playable online, requiring merely a web browser for play to commence.
One of the firms at the forefront of this new development is Abu Dhabi-based Karkadann Games, which has just released 'Cricket Power', the official game for the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The firm launched the "browser based simulation game" in mid-February, in time for this year's tournament, which is currently taking place in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India.
'Cricket Power' allows gamers to play as any of the participating teams or top players taking part in this year's tournament.
It cannot compete with official PC, Xbox or PlayStation 3 cricket games when it comes to graphics, but considering that its played in a web browser, its appearance is more realistic than many of the simplistic games that the casual gamer may have become used to.
Its manufacturer hopes the game's relatively low cost of $10 will make it more appealing to cricket fans who can't afford consoles or are just casual gamers who don't want to spend on equipment.
"We wanted to make it available to as many people as possible, and the console penetration in different regions is still struggling to grow," David Ortiz, general manager of Karkadann Games, told 7DAYS.
Campbell Jamieson, commercial general manager of the International Cricket Council (ICC), added: "It certainly gives us the opportunity to... engage a wider audience through a platform like online gaming, which is becoming more relevant to the next generation of cricket fans."
With official sports games having been traditionally reserved for the console or PC, the release of 'Cricket Power' illustrates a wider trend of more high-end video games moving onto our browser screens. Classic PC first-person shooter 'Quake' is unlikely to have further releases on a console, but its browser version, Quake Live, launched in 2009 and has kept the title alive.
Then there's the advent of OnLive in the US, a device that allows you to play games with console quality graphics through an internet connection. A server hosts games and then streams them to an OnLive device.
"The graphical quality will catch up with the fun factor of these casual games," Oritz told 7DAYS.
"You'll start to see more and more robust offerings that rival some things you see on some of the current or earlier platforms going forward.
If that proves to be the case, then the likes of 'Cricket Power' might be part of a bigger trend in which online gaming puts consoles on a sticky wicket.
© 7Days 2011
