次世代ウエブ標準HTML5の概要と、ゲーム／新聞／テレビ産業へのインパクト（前篇）

次世代ウエブ標準のHTML5が、ここにきて急速に勢力を拡大してきた。HTML5はホームページ記述言語「HTML」の最新バージョンだが、その実体は単なるウエブ技術の枠を超える。JavaScriptやCSSまで含めた「広義のHTML5」は、ホームページ記述言語の仮面を被ったITプラットフォームだ。もっと平たく言えば、Windows、iOS（iPhone）、Androidの次にくるもの、それがHTML5である。
　本レポートでは特に、「ゲーム」、「新聞」、「テレビ」に与えるHTML5のインパクトを前・後篇の2回に分けて報告する。今回（前篇）は、HTML5とは何か、その概要を紹介した後、それがゲーム産業をどう変えつつあるかを解説する。

The next-generation web standard HTML5 has recently been undergoing rapid growth. In technical terms, HTML5 is the fifth version of HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language), the computer language used to build web-sites. But in a broader sense, HTML5 is now a buzzword within the IT industry commonly referring to a set of cutting-edge web technologies surrounding the programming language, and these technologies tend to be conflated under the label of “HTML5”. Accordingly, when using the term HTML5, this report will be referring to the technology in this broader sense.
More than just a programming language, HTML5 also functions as an IT platform. This means it has the capacity to absorb and even succeed the role of current platforms such as Windows, iOS (iPhone) and Android, and it widely expected to have a huge impact on the entirety of the media and content industries. For example, major media companies including the Financial Times, Boston Globe, BBC and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, as well as IPTV companies such as Netflix, Internet radio services such as Pandora, Amazon’s Kindle Cloud Reader, cloud CRM such as Salesforce, cloud presentation services such as SlideShare, and social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn, are all now launching their web applications based on HTML5 technology.
This study into the effects of HTML5 takes place over two separate reports that will cover the video-game, newspaper and TV industries. This first part of the report explains the nature of HTML5 as a technology, and goes on to explore how this new technical standard is currently changing the nature of the video-game industry.