1 structure of the videogame industry

1 structure of the videogame industry

• 1.
  Learning Objectives: Institutions andaudiences revision: • Revise the structure of the videogame industry. • Understand how to create a quick and simple essay plan for this part of the exam.
• 2.
  Publisher • The publisheris responsible for licensing the rights and the concept on which the game is to be based. Large publishers/developers also handle both the marketing and distribution themselves. However, small developers normally use a distributor. • In the international game industry, the publisher and the developer are generally the same concern. For example, the large American game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) owns a number of development companies that develop games based on licences EA has obtained.
• 3.
  Developers • Some developersstarted as companies that developed games on contract. • Today, the great majority of developers are independent game companies that develop games based on their own rights, and publish the games themselves. Some game companies can thus be regarded as both publishers and developers.
• 4.
  The Distributor • Thejob of the distributor involves marketing the game, handling packaging and transport and in some cases providing user support. The international publishers sometimes function as distributors for small game developers. In such cases, the distributor owns no rights to the product, but helps in making it available on the market.
• 5.
  Sales channels anddistribution • Traditional (offline) • Digital (online) (either net trading, download, or online games with monthly fee) • Online sales channels have helped to lowered barriers - developers can now distribute their games on the Internet without needing to be associated with a distributor. • Distribution process is still demanding: – marketing – choosing a payment solution must be chosen – security aspects (e.g. illegal copying) – packaging and dispatching
• 6.
  End users andaudience • Lots of options • Purchase largely dependent on hardware • Convergence allows for devices intended for another to use to be used for gaming (e.g. smartphones).
• 7.
  Which companies dowhat? • Rockstar is a developer and publisher. • Take – Two is a developer, publisher and distributor. • Ubisoft is a developer and publisher. • EA is a developer, publisher and distributor. • Zynga is a developer (Farmville, Words with Friends) • Chillingo is a publisher now owned by EA (Angry Birds, Cut the Rope).
• 8.
  Approaching an examquestion • Read the question. Highlight and annotate any key words. • Decide what you will include in your plan. You always need to aim for 5 paragraphs in total, including an intro and conclusion, so you need 3 main areas in your essay.
• 9.
  ‘Media production isdominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences’. TO what extent do you agree with this statement?
• 10.
  Approaching an examquestion 1. Plan to mention at least two games, and both our case study institutions. 3. Mark on your plan where you can use technical terms (convergence, synergy, vertical and horizontal integration, streaming, social networking, etc). 5. Intro: Explain which industry and which institutions you are going to discuss in a brief introduction. (e.g. videogames, Ubisoft and Rockstar).
• 11.
  Writing your answer 1.Constantly link your response to the question. Use key words from the question at the start of each paragraph. 3. Try to mention and compare both our case study institutions in each paragraph. Use specific examples.
• 12.
  Homework • Complete theexam question. • Spend 45 minutes writing your answer. • Due in Tuesday 1st May.