HP outlined its strategy to capitalize on the rapid growth in online, mobile and PC gaming and demonstrated technologies applicable for the gaming industry.

HP will focus on providing the technology that powers PC, online and mobile gaming, including infrastructure and workstations for gaming companies, content developers and service providers that participate in this demanding and rapidly growing market.

HP also will utilize its high-end gaming brand, VoodooPC, and its R&D resources to commercialize new PC, display and networking technologies that create an immersive, high-definition and interactive experience for gamers.

HP is currently a leading technology provider for the gaming industry. The company provides technology infrastructure through its Communications, Media and Entertainment business within the Technology Solutions Group for online gaming companies such as Trion World Network.

In September 2006, HP extended its reach into gaming with the acquisition of VoodooPC, a manufacturer of high-performance and personalized computer gaming systems. With the acquisition of VoodooPC, HP added the No. 1 premier lifestyle brand in gaming to its technology portfolio.

Gaming is a large and growing industry, driven by rising rates of broadband penetration and innovative online gaming services. The total gaming market worldwide is estimated at more than $36 billion, according to Informa Media Group. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that active online gaming subscriptions now exceed 12 million, and PC gamers in the United States alone spent more than $20 billion on gaming software and hardware in 2005 - a figure that rivals movie industry revenues.

HP also demonstrated some advanced technologies from HP Labs, its central research arm, which could be applied to gaming. These include a curved, seamless display that fills a gamer’s field of view for an incredibly immersive visual experience and a way to superimpose multimedia digital experiences on physical landscapes so people could, for example, play a game throughout a city using wireless handheld devices. The company also demonstrated a “super projector” capable of high resolution, brightness, deep contrast and a wide color gamut, ideal for projecting games for multiple players on a big screen.

HP Labs’ display technologies for games have applications that could prove useful for teleconferencing systems such as the HP Halo Collaboration Studio or provide the basis for inexpensive digital film projection for movie theaters.