"In the 90s, the leap from 16- to 32-bit occurred quickly, but popular operating systems did not take advantage of the power made available with 32-bit architecture for several years. Now, it seems that operating systems will address this issue more readily. The fact that the x86 32-bit set remains available to run older applications should help make the transition with minimal adverse implications. 64-bit architecture and associated operating systems must ensure that full continuous addressing is available this time around.

Native software availability, full (and real) 64-bit support by the operating system, backward compatibility with older 32-bit applications and, of course, pricing and availability will help propel the transition from 32- to 64-bit computing. Memory cost and availability will, of course, play a major role in 64-bit architectures’ achieving real popular acceptance. At the same time, there are a lot of people craving for 64-bit power and its addressing ability in the gaming industry, both on the developers’ and the consumers’ side.

Those involved in real-time high-precision computation will definitely become early adopters of the new 64-bit systems. Simulations in the scientific and engineering fields will be more cost effective, thus making them available to a broader spectrum of users. This, of course, includes games benefiting from added realism to the experience. High levels of precision are required to convincingly convey a sense of credibility in very large 3D environments. Designers will find themselves less restricted in the scope to which their projects must be confined.

As an executive on the game development side, I am already looking at multi-user gaming in a different light, and can foresee new creative ways to use peer-to-peer architectures as this new platform gains a wide enough appeal. Our work should also benefit from the simplification of a number of processes, but at the same time, more production effort will be required to create the amount of high quality content and environments needed to fulfill the new systems’ ability to handle large values and vast memory. Adopters of this new platform will expect new games to take advantage of their systems’ capabilities to the maximum. AI will get additional headroom as well, adding further to the credibility of their virtual environments.

The gaming industry will certainly occupy a front seat in promoting 64-bit computing. The gaming industry has always been a key factor in pushing the envelope, and in giving its audience a reason for acquiring more power. Real-time simulations that lend the credible networked experience of either a “realistic” or a “fantastic” environment will become less of a utopia.

Electronic entertainment will have to undergo a certain transformation in time if it expects to retain its rate of penetration into the home. Making the interactivity with other humans in virtual worlds more real and immediate and reducing the awareness of the machine that stands between you and the “world” will one day change the way we view home entertainment. A new 64-bit architecture is a major stepping-stone towards this elusive goal.

The major roadblock that will remain will be more related to interface issues and input devices than CPU and local system architectures. The industry will have to figure out how to lower the interface dampening impact on immersion, and how to keep the learning curve to a minimum to achieve a penetration as universal as that of the VHS/TV set/cable combo.

It is to be hoped that game developers won’t forget that they are doing games however. Added power of that magnitude may create a very tempting environment for some developers to increase further the visual realism of their virtual environments (which is quite a fine goal in itself), but forget to push forward with AI and other game play issues that I feel have often been set aside, sometimes making what was meant to be a game somewhat of a high-tech demo. As the graphic ability of some gaming platforms is achieving a certain level of maturity, I hope that we won’t forget that a game must be fun first, and that other aspects of gaming need the commensurate push to help the gaming industry achieve recognition as the entertainment king of the future."