The number of U.S. video game players has increased 11.4 percent to 76.2 million, up from 67.5 million a year ago, according to a random survey of 1,500 households conducted by Ziff Davis Media. "We're seeing a broadening of the gamer base as gaming goes more mainstream, and simultaneously a heightening of intensity among core gamers," said John Davison, vice president and editorial director of Ziff Davis Media Game Group. The study also found that 24 percent of gamers reduced their TV watching over the last year, watching on average 16 hours per week compared with 18 hours per week in 2004. Console games are increasing their gains over PC games, after topping PC games in popularity for the first time in 2004. Currently, 62.6 million households play console games and 56.6 million play PC games, versus 54.5 million and 52.3 million, respectively, in 2004. In the mobile gaming sector, the survey found that 86 percent of gamers own a cell phone, up from 70 percent a year ago, and that 48 percent play games on their phones.
The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...