ABSTRACT

The Video Game Industry provides a platform for the research on the video game industry to draw a coherent and informative picture of this industry. Previously this has been done sparsely through conference papers, research articles, and popular science books. Although the study of this industry is still stigmatized as frivolous and ‘only’ game oriented, those who grew up with video games are changing things, especially research agendas, the acceptance of studies, and their interpretation.

This book describes and defines video games as their own special medium. They are not pinball from which they grew, nor movies which they sometimes resemble. They are a unique form of entertainment based on meaningful interactions between individuals and machine across a growing sector of the population. The Video Game Industry provides a reference foundation for individuals seriously interested in the industry at the academic level. As a result, this book will serve as a reference in curricula associated with video game development for years to come.

chapter |14 pages

Introduction

ByPeter Zackariasson, Timothy L. Wilson

part |81 pages

The Nature of the Industry

chapter 1|17 pages

This is not a Software Industry

ByCasey O’Donnell

chapter 2|22 pages

Video Games

A Subcultural Industry
ByMikolaj Dymek

chapter 3|19 pages

Marketing of Video Games

ByPeter Zackariasson, Timothy L. Wilson

part |57 pages

Geographical Comparisons

chapter 5|17 pages

The North American Game Industry

ByO’Donnell Casey

chapter 6|18 pages

The UK and Irish Game Industries

ByKerr Aphra

chapter 7|20 pages

The Development of the Swedish Game Industry

A True Success Story?
ByUlf Sandqvist

part |63 pages

Effects of the Industry

chapter 8|22 pages

Console Hardware

The Development of Nintendo Wii
ByErnkvist Mirko

chapter 9|19 pages

“Warm and Stuffy”

The Ecological Impact of Electronic Games
ByMaxwell Richard, Miller Toby

chapter 10|20 pages

Gamification as the Post-Modern Phalanstere

Is the Gamification Playing with Us or Are We Playing with Gamification?
ByEscribano Flavio

part |43 pages

The Future

chapter 11|23 pages

The Evolving European Video Game Software Ecosystem

ByGiuditta De Prato, Sven Lindmark, Jean-Paul Simon

chapter 12|18 pages

Through the Looking Glass Sharply

ByL. Wilson Timothy, Zackariasson Peter