The video game industry frequently connotes and restricts itself to the hotbed of console gaming. However, this segment, while quite large, fails to accurately represent the gaming industry’s economic, social, and interactive structure. And the game (or gaming) industry refers all to often to gambling rings. Thus, the “industry of games,” as a collection of interactive media, provides a more robust, inclusive notion of play that transcends platforms, roots of origin, and digital versus non-digital spaces. Analyzing the industry of games from past to future, with significant consideration given to present challenges faced therein, requires a holistic view of history and a critical evaluation of scholars’ and developers’ commentary on games as a whole. Graphing the Industry To illustrate the industry of games as it currently stands, the infographic denotes the different industry players in relation to each other and the channels through which players access media. The graphic shows a cross-section of a sphere that allows us to see inside the “gaming sphere.” A spherical shape was chosen to …show more content…
The growth of the indie game sector has enabled smaller developers to produce work on a budget than AAA titles and still reach an audience. Recent games such as Undertale (2015) and Stardew Valley (2016) can find major success online, despite being developed by only a few people. This is a result of digital marketplaces such as Valve’s Steam platform, which encourages the dissemination of indie games via its Steam Greenlight system (“What is Steam Greenlight,” n.d.). By Nature, Indie Games stand outside of large corporate Developers, which act as the mainstream producers. Lipkin (2013) suggests that the nature of indie as a notion exists solely to oppose mainstream products. Thus, in the graph, only Indie Developers have the ability to produce such
The video game industry is valued in $USD 9.5 billion in 2007. The main players in the industry Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are competing to grab the biggest market share. Each one of them has recently introduced new consoles aimed to set themselves apart f...
Key Changes in the Video Game Industry The first wave of home video games was launched nearly 30 years ago. By the early 1980s, this electronic entertainment medium had emerged as a cultural phenomenon, thanks to classics such as Asteroids, Centipede, Donkey Kong, and Pac-Man. The world of video games has, of course, changed drastically since then. For starters, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are now the key players in the console industry, having replaced Atari, Coleco, and Mattel for those top spots. Advances in technology are making game worlds more realistic and interactive than ever before.
The structure of the Video Gaming Industry is comprised of several stages. The first stage is the Development Stage. (3) Currently there are three giants in the gaming world. Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and, Nintendo’s Wii. For these consoles, there are companies that make agreements to release exclusive games. For example, one company can make games solely for Xbox 360. Another company can make games for a particular series offered by the Platform, such as Mario for the Wii. The most common companies are the ones that create games for all consoles, and have no agreement with any particular console.
Although video games have become more and more popular as time changes, it still has to face the criticism, ‘media panic’. Meida panic happens when a new media appears; people will have a highly emotional discussion about it (Drotner, 1999).
67% of U.S. households play video games. In 2012 north of $20 billion was spent on video games, with the amount vastly increasing each year. The worldwide video game industry exceeds $76 billion. It has well surpassed the movie box office industry and is becoming a serious contender with the entire television/film industry. What started off as a diversion for the few has quickly sparked into a mass medium, helping people live, learn, work and of course, play (Galarneau). Video games are now more than just mere games; they hold large influences over society and are almost ever-present in the modern day. In Ernest Cline’s fiction novel, Ready Player One, the future is heavily intertwined with a virtual video game simulation called the OASIS. In the story, the
ames have been played before we began to record time. Almost 50 years ago, games changed into a new form. Magnavox Odyssey can be debated to be the first game console. Throughout 50 years ago and now, video games have become essential to every living room and a pastime to every young child. Companies have risen from this new industry, to produce games to young investors and dominate the game world. With new technology, graphics, and software: gaming franchises run mostly by public support. Each decade that passes, games are changed by America’s public these games change based on how the public perceives them.
In 2012, software and hardware sales in the video games industry raked up more than over $65 billion dollars in revenue in comparison to just $10 billion dollars seven years prior. These statistics indicate that the gaming industry is not only one of the largest and fastest growing businesses in the world, but showcase that it is also outperforming other similarly popular mediums of entertainment such as film, books, and music in terms of revenue and annual growth. In the short fifty years that video games have been around, they’ve quickly become an integral part of the lives of many and are only continuing to increasing in popularity. I’m sure that everyone can attest to knowing at least one or two people who engage in regular video game playing activity. However, despite being a common leisurely activity and hobby for many in today’s society, there is still a shocking level of stigma surrounding the medium. There are various stereotypes in place which attribute to the stigma - from the gaming community mainly consisting of young adolescent boys to gamers being socially inept individuals; these ideas and the way video games are unfairly scrutinized and misrepresented in the media (by those who
Video games have been around since 1958, and ever since then video games have developed more. With video games becoming a bigger industry, there have been more people purchasing and buying more and more video games. For examples, up to 2001, “roughly 79 percent of America's youth played video games, many of them for at least eight hours a week” (Layton). Furthermore, in 2008, “97% of 12-17 year olds in the US played video games” (“Video Games”). With a growing industry, there has been more competition between video game companies. The companies that make these video games try to make a huge profit by appealing to people’s likes. In 2008, “10 of the top 20 best-selling video games in the US contained violence” (“Video Games”)
Historically video games have been considered a novelty or technical subject, but in recent year given the increase in technology video games have been able to show that they are more. While not a traditional art form, video games do have an artistic basis. Video games are increasingly becoming more story and visually based. With these increased artistic elements it is increasingly becoming harder to deny that video games are art, but maybe they are not the art defined by a traditional definition. Critics state that that video games do not have the artistic values that art has but perhaps there needs to be a new definition of what art is to include video games.
Instead of the franchises popularity having a positive impact, overtime, it infected the gaming market along with it’s consumers and developers such as Microsoft Game Studios and EA. It has become an aggrandized cancer on the face of video games everywhere, destroying franchises a...
Video games have quickly risen to a sprawling media since their first conception nearly fifty years ago. As they grew, video games have become an incredible new medium for art and design. However, video game developers, especially large ones, have collected several core problems that misconceive the potential of games. Further, this problem represses this potential by suffocating this potential artistry merit with meaningless traditions and poor business practices. These observations have led to the assertion that video games as a media are ineffective as an art form compared to other art mediums due to several problems stemming from the structure and values of the video game industry.
3. “Video Games” by Chris Jozefowics. Published by Gareth Stevens Publishing 2010. Pleasantville, NY 10570-70000 USA. Produced by Editorials Directions Inc.
Video games have come a long way. They have evolved from the simple game of Pong into a complex, multi-platform, multi-genre, multi-billion dollar industry.
Bell, Chris. "Video Games: The Sport of the Future?" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 26 June 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
The experience of game play can be described as an activity in which the player is virtually embodied in the game world. Anyone who has experienced the world of gaming knows how the engaging experience can manifest itself with “sweaty palms and chills down the spine” (http://www.eludamos.org/index.php/eludamos/article/viewArticle/80/147) when coming face-to-face with alien creatures; or with the adrenaline rush we get when racing a high speed automobile head-to-head with a friend. Gaming is an excellent source of entertainment. It provides an opportunity for social growth, provides a meaningful form of exploring expression, and provides heightened sensitivity.