Question 4: Technology

Explain the impact of technology on the relationship between audiences and producers in the video gaming industry.

Refer to Minecraft to support your answer.

Task 1 - Read the example responses below:

• Transfer key evidence onto a flashcard
• Find two pieces of additional evidence and add to flashcard
• Revise for timed essay

EXAMPLE 1

In 2006, the film industry was estimated to be worth 21 billion dollars and the gaming industry only 13 billion. By 2020, the film industry had grown to 42 billion, but worldwide estimates suggested that the gaming industry had grown to 160 billion dollars. Within this is the rise of Minecraft, an independently created video game which sold for a colossal 2.5 billion in 2014 and which, by 2020 boasted 141 million active users per month, far more than the footfall for any movie released in the same year. So, what accounts for this meteoric rise? Technology seems to be the answer.

The most significant impact of technology is upon consumption (gameplay) and distribution (sales). Quantix Foundry have identified a series of gamer motivations and we can see how these psychographics have been impacted by technological breakthroughs. Increasing game speed and improved graphics have positively impacted both action and immersion, but the most significant change in the gaming experience seems to be related to increased broadband speeds. By 2010, online gaming had begun to rise in popularity, allowing gamers to form communities, work creatively together and even create new games. Cross platform gaming also became possible; Minecraft has clearly benefitted from the capacity to play the game on PCs, a variety of different consoles and even using the pocket edition, which allows access via mobile phone.

Minecraft users clearly see themselves as a community. At no point was this more obvious then in 2014, when Microsoft purchased Minecraft. Users expressed worries about the way that this would impact the game. e.g. subscription, loss of platforms for developers, removal from non-Microsoft platforms. The fact that this was a worry implies that it had happened before, but the fact that it didn't happen to Minecraft was important as it demonstrated the capacity for partnership between producers and audiences.

Technology also had a huge impact on distribution, advantaging consumer and producer alike. The capacity to sell and distribute games online meant a substantial reduction in distribution costs for producers, which in turn they could investing in improving the gaming experiences. Audiences can purchase games instantly even when mobile. Minecraft users on PC have always had a ‘store’ option which allowed them to purchase game mods and new skins, but this option became ubiquitous across all platforms in June 2017. By September of the same year, the Minecraft Store announced that they had exceeded 1 million dollars in sales. These mods are almost all fan-made by ‘prosumers.’  Here then we see improvements for general players, a way for prosumers to generate revenue and also a method for Microsoft, in partner with these independent creators, to share some of the revenue.

The democratisation of game production and the rise of the prosumer is the result of the reduced cost of gaming technology and the increase in connectivity. Independent game developers can now compete with the large studios, taking risks that the larger companies often avoid and widening the variety of experiences available to audiences. Minecraft is arguable the best example of this. The most popular game of 2010 was Call of Duty: Black Ops, so the idea of creating an online 'lego' game would have likely been rejected by any of the big games producers; but Markus Persson (Notch) - the creator of Minecraft - was able to take this risk because he was an independent developer. However, Notch was also a member of the gaming community and had some reason to believe such a game would be popular. He engaged in constant back and forth with other gamers to make improvements to the game that appealed directly to users. Thus, the game developed through a very different relationship between audience and producer and its popularity grew through ‘word of mouth’ rather than conventional methods of marketing.

In addition to game development, the democratision of distribution across media platforms like YouTube.com and in more recent years Twitch.com has lead to a secondary industry growing in tandem with the gaming industry. Video producer ‘Dream’ has 6 million subscribers on Twitch and 30 million YouTube subscribers. Their content is exclusively focused on Minecraft gameplay. We might ask ourselves why companies like Microsoft make little or no effort to charge these prosumers for use of their intellectual property, but it is clear that these channels provide free and highly targeted marketing for game producers, as well as providing entertainment for audiences.

 

EXAMPLE 2

Over the past twenty years, the technologies available to video game producers and audiences have massively improved in capability, availability, and convenience. Partially as a result of this, the video games industry has experienced a dramatic boom, with it being worth thirteen billion dollars in 2006, rising to 160 billion in 2020. This is especially significant when compared to the film industry, which in 2006 was worth twenty-one billion, but in 2020 was worth forty-two billion, significantly less than the video game industry. Minecraft serves to illustrate this point, an independently created video game, enabled in large part due to technological improvements being sold for 2.5 billion in 2014 and boasting 141 million active users per month in 2020

 The distribution of games has been made significantly easier by improvements to broadband speed, while in 2006 the average broadband speed was 4 Mbps, by 2020 this figure had risen to 80 Mbps. This dramatic rise in speeds allowed for much faster and more convenient digital download platforms to be possible. These platforms allow consumers to access video games quickly from their own homes, reducing the potential barrier of travelling to a physical shop to purchase a game. Mojang, the producers of Minecraft took advantage of this as initially Minecraft was not given a physical release at all, instead relying totally on an online store. This only sales method drastically cut costs for Mojang by avoiding manufacture of physical copies, and increased sales. This changed the relationship between audiences and producers as audiences were able to access games far more easily than had previously been possible. This improvement in broadband speeds also allowed Mojang to offer beta and demo versions of the game freely. The beta versions of Minecraft allowed for a closer relationship between audience and producer, as the audience could playtest the game prior to its release and give suggestions for improvements. Demo versions allow users to try the game before purchasing, improving sales as users do not feel they are committing to an unknown when purchasing the game. Betas would be impossible without fast broadband, as these versions rapidly change as the game is developed, and a physical beta version would be impractical and costly to the producer. Finally, the increased broadband speeds made online gameplay viable, a key feature of Minecraft.

Technological improvements have also impacted the relationship between producers and audiences by improving aspects of the gameplay itself. Increasing processing and graphical capabilities increased the variety, graphics, and immersion of games. For example, the 3D open world sandbox design of Minecraft was only made possible by improvements in PC technology, as despite Minecraft’s blocky appearance, it requires significant power to allow players to interact and build in this environment. This corroborates several of Quantic Foundry’s ‘gamer motivations’, used to measure the psychographic profile of a game, notably creativity and immersion, technological improvements allowed great improvements to both of these areas.  This shifted the relationship between audiences and producers, as with the rise of sandbox games such as Minecraft, producers often needed to include greater scope for user creativity than had previously been the norm for video games.

The combined impact of broadband improvements and the improved power of computers allowed for online play and collaboration. This is especially significant to Minecraft as players of the game tend to see themselves as part of a community. When Microsoft purchased Minecraft, users expressed worries about the way that this would impact the game negatively. e.g. subscription, loss of platforms for developers, removal from non-Microsoft platforms. The fact that this was a worry implies that it had already happened, but the fact that it did not happen to Minecraft set a precedent. Additionally, the increased level of community created by technology allowed for the development of ‘mods’, these are created by consumers to enhance aspects of the game and are shared freely between consumers. This represented a fundamental shift in the relationship between audiences and consumers as both groups now actively contributed to Minecraft’s gameplay- leading to the emergence of prosumers, someone who both consumers and produces. Minecraft mods could always be used on PC, however in June 2017 Minecraft added a store option, to all platforms. By September of the same years they had exceeded one million dollars in sales of skins, maps, and mods on the marketplace. Prosumers make some of the revenue for their creations and Microsoft partner with them, sharing some of the revenue.

Task 2 - Complete timed essay