The Case For Games In Electronic Picture Frames

Electronic picture frames have been around for some time now and have found a place in most peoples homes, however very few of these offer gaming functionality. There have been a few exceptions with small games coming built in but these have been added as bonuses and are largely meant for children. The Kodi electronic picture frame is a prime example, offering only basic functionality but including a dice shaking game for kids or very bored adults.

It would seem logical to most of us to begin to include games with digital photo frames existing functionality sets. Manufacturers are constantly looking to increase the number of features on their frames in order to increase their desirability. The Elonex 7 provides a good example as it has included the ability to watch Freeview TV alongside the other normal functionality offered by frames. Personally this seems like a case of adding it for the sake of it as I cant imagine who would actually want to watch TV through a small picture frame?
It would seem that most manufacturers have a hesitance over including games in their frames as they think people wouldn't play games with them. This seems incorrect considering that frames match the size and shape of common gaming platforms nowadays such as the iPad. Its very common for people to play games on the iPad alongside ither things such as reading the news, surfing the internet etc. Even the iPhone with its much smaller screen size has a large gaming contingent and in fact games make up a large proportion of apps sold on the apps marketplace. Considering that digital photo frames are very similar to these devices, offering the same touch screen functionality and clarity LCD screen, it seems odd that they have not yet included games.

I think the main concern for manufacturers is how well games would be received on digital frames. Is it likely that someone will use a frame to beat their high score on R-Type? This would probably take a leap of faith on the part of manufacturers and would definitely require a shift in thinking from consumers. However this inst an impossibility and a similar leap of faith was required for consumers to being using smart phones to play games, read news and surf the internet. Perhaps there is even a market for a digital frame apps market, offering the same kind of applications as smart phones. Electronic frames may not be portable like the smart phones however they do reside in the home, generally next to the sofa which means they are within reaching distance for a relaxing person.

Personally I think that including games with an electronic picture frame is not a matter of technology but more about the frames intended use. It seems that manufacturers do not think there is a place for games on these devices. However they will have to think of other functionality as devices like the iPad can already be used as picture frames and apps can be used to turn your TV into one huge frame. Before you know it it could be that the digital picture frame is replaced by devices already offering gaming.

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