In a quiet corner of San Francisco's Moscone Center you'll find a couple of people playing an old 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. It's an exhibit by The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment in Oakland. It holds special meaning to the people riding up the escalators to the conference.
Gaming has come a long way since the days of Mario and Mega Man. Gaming keeps evolving. The PlayStation 2 and original Xbox are literally museum pieces now and the current PlayStation and Xbox are being replaced this year.
Gaming trends are going mobile. Nearly everyone at the conference is carrying a tablet. The industry's newest developers have noticed Microsoft is showing off tablet and phone games right alongside the Xbox.
As game developers navigate an uncertain future where the latest consoles play right alongside tablets and PCs, they're also trying to figure out how to make money when players expect their games to be free. Developers were very interested in a session on how to make money from a game that's free to download without scaring players off.
But don't count out the games you buy at a store. With the PlayStation 4 and a new Xbox on the horizon, they're not ready for the museum just yet.
The future of the console space is extremely bright.
