To push sales, AMD unveils new branding for gaming PCs

By Tim Conneally | Published May 19, 2008, 7:58 PM

AMD has launched a labeling campaign that differentiates PCs capable of supporting the latest in high-end gaming and media from the rest.

The labels AMD Game! and AMD Game Ultra will act as easy identifiers for systems that can handle the more demanding games.

Acer, Alienware, Logitech and Microsoft are all participating in the AMD program to ensure that consumers get the intended experience from the latest games.

PC gamers as a whole are more apt to know what's running in their system and how well it performs under load than the average console gamer. By eliminating the need for "enthusiast-level knowledge of PC hardware" to actually provide a full gaming experience, the market for PC games begins to actually open up a bit.

AMD Game! labelNPD research for 2007 showed that of the $8.85 billion in total video game sales, a scant 14% came from PC games. The top selling PC game, World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade from Blizzard entertainment sold 2.25 million copies in the US (1.2 million were reportedly sold on the first day).

While this is an admirable feat, it is far from the norm. The PC gaming consumer base is smaller than the console market, and AMD looks to be trying to change that by applying these labels.

Much like television manufacturers labeling their products with big "1080p HD" stickers in stores, so too will gaming computers be labeled "GAME!" such that the less-informed consumer can know what system to purchase.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Badges? We dont need no stinking badges!

Score: 0

|

Very cool!!!

Score: 0

|

That badge looks awesome and I've always respected AMD.

Score: 0

|

For their badges?

Score: 0

|

The amount of money made from PC games may be around a fifth of the total take, but the number of PC gamers well exceeds the console crowd. PC games just tend to have more mileage thanks to the superior content capabilities and sophistication of the desktop computer. AMD's little self-promoting logo program is all well and good, but most games are still being written around the Intel-Nvidia platform. Savvy gamers know this and it won't take long for the less informed to catch on. This "GAME!" thing could turn out to be the kiss of death if the opposing camp decides to come out with their own badge.

Score: 0

|

Now that is a badge and a half!

Score: 0

|

Mark Russinovich on MinWin, the new core of Windows

The next version of Windows three years hence will likely build onto a significant architectural change implemented in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2.

Security firm: Windows patches not responsible for 'Black Screen of Death'

On second thought, maybe that access control list thingie with the lockdown something-or-rather didn't trigger an alleged, perhaps non-existent, pandemic.

My Windows 7 confession (and why you should confess, too)

I've held back the real reason for sticking with Windows 7, even as, gulp, iLife calls me to go back to the Mac.

Apple settles with Psystar except for 'circumvention devices'

The fracas with the Florida clone computer maker might have ended today had Apple not have muddled the issue over a cheap piece of Psystar software.

Google begrudgingly adjusts news crawling for paid publishers

If publishers want to make readers pay for news content, and thereby drive down its popularity and Google ranking, the company says, they can just go right on ahead.

Fee or free? Murdoch, Huffington square off over the cost of Internet news

Participants in an FTC workshop yesterday witnessed the two extremes of the Web news publishing debate, still centered on the issue of long-term profitability.

Microsoft denies latest 'Black Screen of Death' claims

After an anti-malware producer announced a fix to what it says is a swarm of recent KSoD problems, evidence of the swarm itself has yet to turn up.

Latest Firefox 3.6 beta fixes 133 bugs, promises faster page load times

A once-sluggish beta testing process has kicked into overdrive, with astonishing success at finding serious bugs. Will Mozilla be able to fix all the others in time?

Confirmed: Office 2010 to ship in June

Two weeks after Microsoft had been expected to draw a clearer roadmap for its principal applications suite, it's finally ready to commit to the end of H1.

New EU antitrust commissioner will oversee Microsoft, Oracle+Sun, Intel issues

As one of Europe's most prominent politicians shifts positions in January, her replacement remains a question mark over technology's biggest issues.

Without its own 'iTablet' yet, is Apple missing the boat?

Steve Jobs is on record as dissing "single-purpose" devices like e-readers. But given their recent popularity, was that a mistake?