Round-Up: Industry Growth, In the Groove Schooled, Indie Radio

Today's round-up includes new statistics from analysts on the possible direction for the video game market, information on how a dancing game has apparently helped schoolchildren interact, and news of IGF-related interviews on an online radio show, as well as the latest product news, Letter to the Editor, and job postings. - DFC Intelligence, a market analyst group, has released new forecasts for the video game industry as a whole. The forecast focuses on the potential income from the next generation of consoles from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, which DFC expects will increase the industry's revenue from 2004's $18 billion to $26 billion by 2010. The growth is expected to reach those levels no matter which of the three scenarios DFC posits takes place: the possible outcomes tracked by the research firm are a Sony best-case, a Microsoft best-case, and a Nintendo best-case. In each scenario, the PlayStation 3 is expected to be the market leader. - Use of music game In the Groove has fostered gains in elementary school settings, according to publisher RedOctane. Vern Patrick Elementary School has been using the game in a 5-month old pilot program, and found that the game promoted social skills as well as teamwork. "Children are highly motivated to play video games and infusing In The Groove as a teaching tool had a great impact on overall learning," said Vern Patrick study coordinator Judy Shasek. The study has been recognized by Microsoft in their Innovative Technology Teacher award. - Video game-related Internet radio show Pixel Addiction has announced that it will be interviewing a number of the finalists from the 2005 Independent Games Festival over the next few weeks on the show, which runs on Thursday nights at 11pm EST. This Thursday will feature an audience with Dan Paladin (Art Director at The Behemoth, maker of Alien Hominid), and subsequent weeks will include interviews with Simon Hallam and Brian Fisher (Producer/Lead Programmer and Programmer at Wik & The Fable Of Souls creator Reflexive Entertainment), as well as Edmund McMillen (Art Lead on Chronic Logic's Gish). - Also updated today: product news including Softimage's announcement of Xbox 360 support with its .FX plug-in, Wizaid's unveiling of its Visor visibility culling tool SDK, and a Letter From The Editor further discussing The Hero's Journey and its gaming relevance, as well as the latest industry jobs from companies including Ageia Technologies, ATI Technologies, Atlantis Cyberspace, DiSTI, Gameloft, High Moon Studios, and OGaming.