HP steps up gaming push

In an attempt to build out its gaming business, HP is expanding its line of gaming PCs and is developing a series of new gaming concepts.

At a company event on Wednesday in San Francisco, the company showed off new mobile gaming platforms, as well as PC-controlled projection systems and a touch-screen system built into a table.  HP said that the prototype products typify its strategy to explore new avenues in gaming, along with improving the ways existing games are developed and presented.

One such product was "Misto," a home computing device that looks like a coffee table with a built-in touch screen. Misto would be marketed as a gaming platform for families and social gatherings. Users sitting around the table are able to view photos and movies or play touch-screen games.

Showcasing another product that came out of HP Labs, the company demonstrated "Mscape," a mobile platform that uses multiple sensors to trigger events on a mobile device such as PDAs, cellphones or portable gaming consoles.

Mscape's sensors will be scattered throughout a large area. As gamers approach the sensors, they trigger an event in the game. A sensor for instance could function as a bonus object that provides additional power, or serve as an obstacle or activate a puzzle that the gamer has to solve.

"We want our kids to get off of the couch. We want to get them into a more physical gaming experience," explained Rahul Sood, chief technology offer of HP's global gaming business unit and personal systems group.