IS-4076, "Play Bigger – Gaming For The Masses", by Apu Kumar

the future

of

PC
Gaming

hinges on this...

Apu Kumar
Senior Vice President
Chief Deal Hacker
Game Console Designer
BlueStacks & GamePop

Summit
November 2013
San Jose, CA

Email: apu@bluestacks.com
Twitter: @apu_kumar
http://www.bluestacks.com
Mobile: +1 650.6199110

THE RISE OF

Apu Kumar | apu@bluestacks.com

MOBILE

The rise of smartphones and
tablets has caught the PC
world completely by surprise.
The PC ecosystem appears to
have a deer in headlight
reaction.


2013 is on track for 1.4 Billion
smartphones, with over 1 Billion
smartphones powered by Android alone.
These numbers are staggering and dwarf
everything we’ve seen in the device
space in the past 3 decades. This is total
shock and awe!

In stark contrast, PC shipments are
probably going to stagnate around 315
million in 2013, down 9% year over year.
While smartphones are on a tear, you
will notice that tablets are continuing to
grow just as fast as smartphones and
could soon eclipse the PC.

1400

MOBILE ENVY

ARM

x86

ARM

Million Units
Total Global Device Shipments in 2013 – IDF – August 2013


Over the past 4 years, Windows is on a
decline. Windows 8 did not live up to the
hype. Android and iOS have captured the
market and are sharing the spoils of a
mobile-crazy world. Wintel stranglehold
on personal computing devices is now
shaky at best. This has opened the door
for new players and new possibilities. The
PC has failed to tame the beasts that are
Android and iOS

TOP DOG


Yet another telling chart that clearly shows
the changing of the guard. Windows has
handed the baton to the mobile OSes.
Google and Apple have a runaway lead
and show no signs of slowing down. And
the most amazing part is that it took just 4
years for the mobile OSes to knock down
the incumbents. This is spectacular growth
on an fantastic trajectory.


The reversal in fortunes for the PC has resulted in
declining shipments, disappearing profit margins
and anemic earnings. This chart from IDC shows
the worldwide PC shipments from 2011 through
2013. PC OEMs are struggling. Some of the largest
brands have had to restructure. CEOs have resigned
or have been replaced.

But wait a minute. We are at the AMD summit
focused on PCs. So why am I singing praises of
smartphones and tablets? While PCs are on a
decline, the situation is not all that bad


But it’s not all
DOOM & GLOOM

the PC is alive & well
in
and emerging


markets
The reasons for this trend are not entirely clear, but it
might have something to do with the fiscal situation
that limits usage to 1 device per household in
emerging markets, with multiple users in the
household using the same device. Our own data from
users of the BlueStacks App Player software clearly
shows that the PC is the center of the household in
China. Users there are heavily dependent on the PC
to the point where they actually use the PC to
download Android apps and then sync over to their
smartphones via USB, as a workaround to reduce
their mobile data costs.


BROWSE ON MOBILE

BUY ON PC

In mature markets, the household comprises of many devices and many
screens. Users are accustomed to playing games on multiple devices . I
play Temple Run on my smartphone and my tablet and even on my PC.
And the same holds true for content like movies and videos. Many of us
watch Netflix and Hulu movies on our tablets, on our PCs and TVs. As for
shopping, the trend is an interesting one. Consumers tend to search and
browse products on phones and mobile devices, but when it comes to
actual transactions, consumers prefer to use the PC for ecommerce. So
the PC may not be the center of the universe in mature markets, but the
PC has carved out its spot and is here to stay.

So how is the PC Ecosystem


RESPONDING ?!
The PC ecosystem: x86 chipset designers, PC
manufacturers, PC ODMs, PC software vendors, are
acutely aware of the onslaught from smartphones and
tablets. How are they responding? What do they
foresee? What are they doing to improve their destiny?

PC Vendors and Chipset Makers


• Are busy with new PC designs
Adding touch screens
Increasing battery life
Improving performance

• Ironically, every OEM is also
adding Android tablets and
phones to their existing PC
portfolio !!

Chipset vendors and PC OEMs are
working feverishly to create ultra
thin and light designs with touch
screens. There is a manic focus on
battery life to get to the magic 24
hour single-charge use. While
touch, battery life and performance
are the absolute right parameters
to be focused on, this feels like an
incremental approach and more of
the same. Ironically, the very same
PC OEMs are hedging their bets.
While they are cranking out x86based PCs, they are also investing in
ARM-based smartphones and
tablets running Android.

PC Vendors and Chipset Makers
• Are stuck between a rock and a hard place
Windows 8 has not been a great success
Windows 8.1 is just starting
Android tablets did not take off
Android smartphones are growing gangbusters

But not from the traditional PC brands
Most PC OEMs that have ventured into Android smartphones are yet to
make an impression, with the exception of Samsung, LG of course. So PC
OEMs are now stuck between a rock and a hard place. Windows 8 did
not work out as planned. Windows 8.1 provides marginal improvements
but does not provide the warm fuzzies for the much needed turnaround.
Growth in the PC business is as elusive as the Yeti.

Now that is the 100 Billion $ question : What do
consumers really want? To fix the PC ecosystem,
is important to truly get to know the consumer.
So let’s try and understand the consumer.

But, what do consumers


REALLY WANT ?!

Time Spent Online By Platform
Smartphones and Tablets eclipse the PC


Consumers spend an inordinate
amount of time online. If you look at
the devices used to get online and
access the Internet, smartphones
and tablets account for 82% of these
devices. The PC is merely 18%.
Online behaviors have dramatically
shifted to mobile devices.

Movies and video consumption accounts for the largest
chunk of all online traffic. This behavior was predominantly
a PC-based activity, but has now shifted to mobile devices tablets, smartphones and game consoles. The PC is no
longer the entertainment hub it once used to be.



Gaming, By Platform & Demographic
Smartphones and Tablets eclipse the PC
The world of gaming has gone
through a complete change in the
past 3 years. Gaming used to be
the stronghold of the PC. Hardcore
games were developed exclusively
for powerful PC platforms. Stores
like Steam thrived on sales of PC
games. That is not true anymore.
Today, very few game developers
write games for PCs. Gaming has
made a 180 degree shift to mobile.
The most popular games are now
on mobile first. Almost 80% of all
age groups (18-24, 25-49, even
50+) are playing games on
smartphones and tablets. The PC is
down to 20% and dropping fast.

What Consumers Do
• Consumers:









Spend a lot more time on mobile devices
Play games, casual and mid-core, on mobile
Spend $$ in games and apps on mobile
Use more apps than ever before
Prefer apps over traditional web sites
Consume media / video on mobile

But this mobile content is just
not available on PCs 

So what do consumers really want?
They want phenomenal content.
They want useful apps. They want
great games. And if we give this to
them on their PCs, they will use the
PC a lot more than they do today

The answer is obvious


GREAT CONTENT


GROWTH OF MOBILE

CONTENT & APPS

25 BILLION

2012

App Downloads

The monetization of games and apps is
driven by the laws of large numbers. The
mobile app ecosystem has boomed from
100,000 to 250,000 to 1 Million apps in
Google’s Play Store and in the Apple’s
App Store. This growth in content has
never been seen before. App developers
and game developers gravitate towards
demand and towards large installed
bases. No one wants to write apps for
platforms that are not selling.

Embrace Mobile


Bridge the great divide
The PC needs mobile content like a donut needs a hole, like the heart
needs a beat, the ocean needs the tide and the body needs the soul. App
developers will continue to write games and apps for mobile first. This is
not going to change anytime soon. The mobile ecosystem will grown
from 1 Million to 5 or 10 Million apps. The PC ecosystem can be smart
about how we leverage this great content from mobile. We need to be
able to embrace mobile content and bring it to the PC ecosystem.

THE PC NEEDS TO EVOLVE ALONG


1

3

2

3 VECTORS

Price is a very sensitive topic and affects the
entire supply chain, from the chipset
manufacturer, to the component suppliers and
the branding companies. So I will stay out of this
for now. Suffice it to say that there are smarter
people out there who are trying to optimize the
supply chain, price the PC correctly and make it
more competitive at sub-$200 price points. But
Content and Design are 2 topics that we would
like to discuss and debate today.

2


CONTENT

Many of the OEMs that I have met with over the
past 2 years are acutely aware of the need for
mobile content and mobile apps on PCs. They have
spun up several projects in-house to understand
mobile apps and to bring apps to PCs. Android has
been the OS of choice because iOS is a closed
ecosystem. The PC OEMs have primarily gone
down 3 paths: (1) Android + Windows dual boot,
(2) Android + Windows side by side and (3)
Android apps embedded in Windows.

Bring Mobile Content to PC
• The PC Ecosystem is actively trying to:
Enable Android on PC
Bring mobile apps and content to PC
Bring mobile games to PC


• PC OEMs have gone down 3 paths:
Android + Windows dual boot
Android + Windows side by side
Android apps embedded in Windows

The End of Dual Boot
How many personalities does a PC really need?


Win 8 Desktop

Win 8 Modern

Dual Boot Android

The End of Dual Boot


How many personalities does a PC really need?
Dual Boot is a simple solution with 2 operating systems on the
same PC platform – in this case Windows 8 and Android. End
users can select the OS to boot into when they turn on the
PC. To switch to another OS, end users would need to reboot
the PC and wait till the PC comes back up again – which could
be several seconds or minutes even. This is a very painful
process and a very jarring experience. To make things worse,
dual boot creates 3 distinct personalities on the PC – the
classic Windows 8 Desktop that we are all familiar with – the
Windows 8 Modern or Metro UI that some of us are familiar
with – and the classic Android UI from tablets and phones.
And therein lies the problem. As the user of a dual boot PC,
where should I go to find my apps? Will the apps I install in
Android also show up on the classic desktop? Will I see
modern tiles for Android apps? Can I set up my wireless in
Windows and will Android pick up my wireless settings? Can I
share files and photos between Android and Windows? The
experience is all messed up. Consumers should not have to
deal with all this.

At BlueStacks, we put on our thinking caps to
solve these problems. Our solution is the
BlueStacks App Player, a very unique technology
to run Android and Windows side by side, i.e
simultaneously on the PC. We allow users to
create desktop shortcuts and modern tiles in
Windows 8 for Android apps. We restrict
wireless settings and other relevant settings to
the host OS – namely Windows. We detect
sensors like cameras, accelerometer, gyro,
compass, and enable them for the Android apps
the need sensors. We have smart key mappings
that are useful for playing touch games on nontouch PCs. And we run Android games and app
fast and full screen on the PC. The App Player
won the Best of CES award. Some of the largest
PC OEMs are shipping this product and many are
planning to ship in the near future.


Android + Windows
Side by Side

Android Apps Embedded in Windows


Users just want their games, apps on PC. They want a seamless
integrated experience with the same great content they already
have on their mobile phones and tablets

Android
games and
apps in
Windows 8
Modern UI
with
BlueStacks
technology

3


DESIGN

Design is paramount to creating a successful
product. Design-centric thinking has made Apple
what they are today. So what are our PC OEMs
doing about designing great PCs today?


Convertibles. Off to the races…
In the PC space, industrial design has
progressed toward convertible form
factors – also known as hybrid PCs or two
in one PCs. This is an attempt to bring the
goodness of mobile touch to the
traditional laptop. By introducing touch
screens and portable keyboards, the
OEMs are hoping that consumers will see
more value in PCs.


The Contorting Convertibles
The PC OEMs are racing their
convertibles trying to get ahead and
one-up the other. We are starting to
see all kinds of great designs and
some very strange designs. Some
OEMs have chosen to keep it simple
and just peel away the laptop display
from the keyboard. Others have
chosen to research and invest in fancy
hinge designs that will allow the
screen to swivel or snap or contort till
the PC turns into a tablet. It may be
too early to tell what design approach
will win, but it is refreshing to see the
effort and focus on industrial design
from the PC ecosystem.

The Next Great PC
Will you replace your laptop with a tablet?
When users were asked if a tablet could replace the laptop, 39% of
users responded that tablets cannot replace laptops, they would
expect to see another type of device to replace the laptop.
There is the need for phenomenal industrial design
to create the perfect convertible or hybrid

•

•

There is the need for all-day battery life combined
with powerful processors and graphics, but this
may not be enough

•

There is the need for great content and great apps

•

We truly need to think outside the proverbial box
to design the next great PC

So what is this mysterious device that
consumers would adopt as a replacement
for the traditional clamshell laptop? Is it
the convertible? But industrial design is
just the outer layer. Great design goes
through all layers of the hardware and the
software. And so we ask ourselves, will
these convertibles really work? Just by
adding a touch screen and a detachable
keyboard, will users rush in drones to buy
new PCs? Are convertibles the panacea
for the PC industry?

What if we started to tinker with
the 3-decade old PC architecture
What if we add
an ARM chip to
the x86 PC ?
What if we ran multiple

OSes on the same PC and
gave users all the apps and
games they ever wanted?

ARM SoC + x86 Platform
External USB with
ARM core + Android

On-board USB with
ARM core + Android


Will reveal
at CES 2014

The ARM SoC would run Android apps to seamlessly
merge the experience with the Windows OS on x86 PC

So let’s think outside the box. Let’s revisit
some of the core assumptions. Let’s try and
do something crazy like adding an ARM core
to the x86 chipset. ARM has been the bain
of the existence of the x86 PC. ARM runs
every smartphone and tablet – billions of
devices globally. But what if ARM were not
the enemy? What if we embraced ARM?
What if we ran multiple OSes on the next
great PC, with the most seamless
experience, the very best performance, and
the widest range of apps? We could easily
bring a really simple and inexpensive ARM
A9 SoC to the x86 PC. We could put this on
the main board. Or it could be externally
attached via USB. You will notice that the
graphic to the left is blurred out. There is a
reason for this. We are working very closely
with AMD to build the next great PC and we
want to show it off at CES 2014.

Best of Both Worlds
Embracing the ARM SoC and combining it with
the traditional PC architecture would result in the
most potent PC every designed


x86 PC, Windows 8

ARM SoC
via USB

Apps would run natively
on the ARM SoC. The
visual experience would
be seamlessly blended
with Windows OS. App
would show up as desktop
icons or tiles in Metro


Partnership with

AMD


AMD named their annual summit after me !!

To set the record straight,
my name indeed is APU.
This is not a marketing
gimmick. My parents were
not on the AMD founding
team back in the day, even
though some of my friends
at AMD believe that I may
have been conceived in
one of their R&D labs. To
that end, they ran a full ad
campaign for me and they
even named their annual
event after me.
Totally awesome!


BlueStacks + AMD
• Well, turns out BlueStacks
AMD as well
• We are collaborating with AMD at a strategic
level to optimize the BlueStacks software for
AMD’s next generation platforms and to
create “Android-enabled” PCs with AMD
• The new version of BlueStacks for AMD
platforms will be available in January 2014

Be sure to stop by the AMD booth and
BlueStacks booth at CES 2014

thank you
danke
ありがとうございました
merci
grazie
謝謝
gracias
Apu Kumar
Senior Vice President
Chief Deal Hacker
‫شکریہ‬
Game Console Designer
BlueStacks
감사합니다
Email: apu@bluestacks.com
‫תודה‬
Twitter: @apu_kumar
Website: http://www.bluestacks.com/
धन्यवाद
Mobile: +1 650.6199110

IS-4076, "Play Bigger – Gaming For The Masses", by Apu Kumar

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IS-4076, "Play Bigger – Gaming For The Masses", by Apu Kumar