Journal articles on the topic 'Video game sales'

Many platform strategies focus on indirect network effects between sellers through platform expansion. In this paper, we show sellers on the console video game platform generate a positive intertemporal spillover effect and expand the demand for other sellers, holding the set of platform adopters fixed. We propose a novel identification strategy that leverages exogenous variation in the release timing of games exclusively available on a console platform, and examine how this variation affects the sales of games available on both platforms. We find a sizable intertemporal demand spillover effect between games: A 1% increase in total copies sold on a platform leads to a 0.153% increase in the sales of other games in the next month (i.e., an elasticity of 0.153). Additional analysis suggests this demand spillover effect is reminiscent of habit formation on the consumer side, in that past purchases keep end users active on the platform. Our finding provides a potential explanation for recent platform sales events and subscription services that provide free games to consumers every month. This paper was accepted by Eric Anderson, marketing.

This paper examines video game sales by platform in the global market from a period spanning 2006 through 2011. As the home video game industry has rapidly matured and become established as a forefront facet of interactive entertainment in the home, we seek to determine what aspects of the video game market have the greatest impact on sales. This question is particularly poignant, as the maturation of the video game industry has witnessed efforts at both vertical integration and horizontal expansion on the part of the top game publishers and developers in hopes of solidly grounding the industry. This study employs a Kruskal-Wallis test to compare eight different gaming platforms. The results indicate Nintendos Wii was the top selling global platform; Nintendo DS was the second tier; Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and the personal computer (PC) are in the third tier; the fourth tier consists of Sony PlayStation 2 and Sony PSP; and the retired sixth generation Nintendo GameCube is the lowest sales tier.

The article focuses on the analysis of the global video game industry. The structure of the gaming industry, which includes manufacturers from around the world, is considered. The study showed the controversial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global video game industry. The units of the global video games industry affected by the introduction of quarantine measures and self-isolation have been highlighted: cancelation or postponement of the events to 2021. Among the positive changes are the following: increased sales of video games, an increase in the number of users and the number of hours of online games. During the research, general scientific methods were used: analysis, synthesis, classification, historical method. The quantitative method was used to analyze the dynamics of economic indicators of the global video game market. The graphical presentation made it possible to visualize the obtained data. The source of information during the research was monographs and articles of foreign and domestic scientists; data from analytical agencies in the field of video games in the world; Internet resources specializing in market analysis and consumer behavior; analytical data of the World Economic Forum, etc. The scientific novelty of the study consists in a comprehensive analysis of the gaming industry, which has not been conducted before, in the unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millennials live in tandem with rapid technological development. Unlike the previous generation, this generation spends more time in cyberspace than the real world. Cyber entertainment often becomes the solution to relieve fatigue from daily activities. So is the millennial generation in Indonesia, where 56 percent of them tend to spend time playing video games. The existence of the internet has changed the way one play becomes unlimited. Currently video games are not only a means of entertainment, but can be a means of competition between players. There have been many millennials who have pursued the electronic game industry as a promising profession. However, there is still rarely a community forum for game lovers. The available containers are only limited to the place of sale / retail games without any means of playing video games and supporting facilities, such as in the Glodok electronic center. Or just offer a means to play video games without the means of sales and support, such as Timezone. In Indonesia, video games are still seen as mere hobbies for leisure time. Lack of government support and a negative public view of the game also impedes the realization of this kind of project. With the above considerations, hopefully the gaming community arena will not only be a means of entertainment, socialization and competition, but also as a means of learning and employment in the field of gaming. The main objective of the project this time is to accommodate the community as well as a place for competition for video game lovers. This game facility is a commercial value project, located in the West Jakarta area, precisely in the Grogol Petamburan area. The concept used in the building is inspired by the motherboard which is the driving core in all electronic video game devices.Abstrak Generasi milenial hidup beriringan dengan perkembangan teknologi yang pesat. Berbeda dengan generasi sebelumnya, generasi ini lebih banyak menghabiskan waktu di dalam dunia maya daripada dunia nyata. Hiburan dunia maya seringkali menjadi solusi untuk melepas kepenatan dari kesibukan sehari-hari. Begitu pula dengan generasi milenial di Indonesia, dimana 56 persen dari mereka cenderung menghabiskan waktu untuk bermain video game. Adanya internet telah mengubah cara bermain yang satu arah menjadi tidak terbatas. Saat ini video game tidak hanya menjadi sarana hiburan, namun dapat menjadi sarana ajang kompetisi antar pemain. Sudah banyak generasi milenial yang menekuni industri permainan elektronik ini sebagai profesi yang menjanjikan. Namun, masih jarang tersedia wadah komunitas para pecinta game. Wadah yang tersedia hanya terbatas pada tempat penjualan / retail game tanpa ada sarana bermain video game dan fasilitas penunjangnya, seperti di kawasan pusat elektronik Glodok. Atau hanya menawarkan sarana bermain video game tanpa sarana penjualan dan penunjangnya, seperti Timezone. Di Indonesia, video game masih dipandang hanya sebagai hobi untuk mengisi waktu luang semata. Kurangnya dukungan pemerintah dan pandangan negatif masyarakat terhadap game juga menghambat terealisasinya proyek semacam ini. Dengan pertimbangan diatas, maka diharapakan arena komunitas gaming ini tidak hanya menjadi sarana hiburan, sosialisasi dan kompetisi, namun juga sebagai sarana pembelajaran dan pekerjaan dalam bidang game. Tujuan utama dari dari proyek kali ini adalah mewadahi komunitas sekaligus menjadi tempat kompetisi para percinta video game. Fasilitas permainan ini merupakan proyek bernilai komersial, yang terletak di daerah Jakarta barat, tepatnya kawasan Grogol Petamburan. Konsep yang dipakai pada bangunan terinspirasi dari papan motherboard yang merupakan inti penggerak dalam seluruh perangkat elektronik video game.

This essay investigates the challenges that video game marketing encounters when selling the pleasures of playing virtual war. While marketing paratexts are crucial to video games because of the vagaries of their industry, they are especially important for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, as it is the first of the franchise to be set in the 21st century and immerse players in contemporary theaters of war. These marketing paratexts not only generate hype for the game and work to drive sales, but as importantly, they also suggest particular textual readings over others with the goal of insulating Call of Duty’s virtual war play from interpretations and criticisms that might link the violent play on-screen to the worldly violence unfolding in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This article examines the issue of copyright exhaustion for digitally distributed video games in the EU. In light of the case law of the CJEU and national courts, it applies to video games two relevant dichotomies – sale/licence and goods/services. Diving into the modern Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) trend, it argues that treating all transactions as sales and all games as goods poorly reflects the complexity of today's video game industry. The many uncertainties of the current legal framework and the impractical consequences of digital exhaustion could force the industry to change its distribution models in ways not necessarily beneficial to consumers. Thus, the applicability of exhaustion to digitally distributed games should be ruled out once and for all. Nonetheless, where copyright is unable to offer satisfactory solutions, consumer law may protect players vis-à-vis digital distribution platforms, while at the same time providing legal certainty to the industry.

This article examines the issue of copyright exhaustion for digitally distributed video games in the EU. In light of the case law of the CJEU and national courts, it applies to video games two relevant dichotomies – sale/licence and goods/services. Diving into the modern Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) trend, it argues that treating all transactions as sales and all games as goods poorly reflects the complexity of today's video game industry. The many uncertainties of the current legal framework and the impractical consequences of digital exhaustion could force the industry to change its distribution models in ways not necessarily beneficial to consumers. Thus, the applicability of exhaustion to digitally distributed games should be ruled out once and for all. Nonetheless, where copyright is unable to offer satisfactory solutions, consumer law may protect players vis-à-vis digital distribution platforms, while at the same time providing legal certainty to the industry.

The website Metacritic, which aggregates published reviews of various entertainment media into single “metascores,” has in recent years become highly influential in the area of video games, both with respect to consumers and industry members. This has resulted in an increase both in the attention paid to Metacritic and the level of criticism leveled at the institution. The present work examines the scientific validity of Metacritic as a measure of game quality and value, from both a qualitative and a quantitative perspective. Evidence for a strong correlational link between game sales and Metacritic metascores is presented, along with a detailed analysis of a number of threats to validity identified in the metascore production process. The present work concludes that while Metacritic suffers from a number of serious threats to validity, it remains an important tool for the industry if used correctly.

Blockbuster was a world leader in video rentals and sales, DVDs and video game retail outlets. Their international expansion strategy called for developing the video streaming market. Determining the ideal location for their first initiative is the subject of this case. A decision must be made between Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. The choice was not obvious, as all three had both positive and some less attractive features. Broadband was a requirement for video streaming and is already in use in the region, at least to some extent. However, several marketing issues arose. Realizing that success in the initial market would have a strong influence on the likelihood of success in South-East Asia and perhaps in the larger Asia-Pacific region, the decision as to which country to select and how to approach the market with video streaming was critical.

In the last decade, significant review and change have been done regarding the taxation of profits from multinational companies. The OECD BEPS Action 1 is focused on granting additional taxing rights to jurisdictions where the customers of the service are located. This is because consumers add to the value creation process (prosumers), together with the company itself. Many enterprises do not have a physical presence at market jurisdictions because of the worldwide digitalization of the business process. With distant sales, they avoid sufficient taxation at the source countries. Multiple jurisdictions, businesses, and individuals provided various taxing rights allocation proposals. OECD considered some of them as possible ways to address the issue of under-taxation at market jurisdiction. This article evaluates the applicability of the OECD analysis of the value creation to the video games industry under the angle of differences and similarities between single-player and multi-player video games with social networks. This work is focused on the differences related to user participation and network effects for the value creation process. It explores the importance of the user participation and network effects for the value creation process of single-player and multi-player video games, to find if that respective taxing rights allocation should be different for these types of video game. It also analyses main proposals on taxing rights allocation, their applicability to the industry, and if these proposals acknowledge the differences in value creation based on the network effects of the video game. It was found that the existing proposals are not always consistent with the preparatory work on value creation analysis performed by the OECD and do not consider the named differences. The results of this work support the position that the proposals, including the most recent one, meet the existing urge for the taxing rights reallocation, but are mainly politically-driven and not always in line with the existing principles of international tax law.

In the last decade, significant review and change have been done regarding the taxation of profits from multinational companies. The OECD BEPS Action 1 is focused on granting additional taxing rights to jurisdictions where the customers of the service are located. This is because consumers add to the value creation process (prosumers), together with the company itself. Many enterprises do not have a physical presence at market jurisdictions because of the worldwide digitalization of the business process. With distant sales, they avoid sufficient taxation at the source countries. Multiple jurisdictions, businesses, and individuals provided various taxing rights allocation proposals. OECD considered some of them as possible ways to address the issue of under-taxation at market jurisdiction. This article evaluates the applicability of the OECD analysis of the value creation to the video games industry under the angle of differences and similarities between single-player and multi-player video games with social networks. This work is focused on the differences related to user participation and network effects for the value creation process. It explores the importance of the user participation and network effects for the value creation process of single-player and multi-player video games, to find if that respective taxing rights allocation should be different for these types of video game. It also analyses main proposals on taxing rights allocation, their applicability to the industry, and if these proposals acknowledge the differences in value creation based on the network effects of the video game. It was found that the existing proposals are not always consistent with the preparatory work on value creation analysis performed by the OECD and do not consider the named differences. The results of this work support the position that the proposals, including the most recent one, meet the existing urge for the taxing rights reallocation, but are mainly politically-driven and not always in line with the existing principles of international tax law.

The attitude of society towards education change due to changes in the needs for education, shifts of young people's attitudes and preferences, the dynamism of life, the demand for “ad hoc” learning that saves time and practical applicability of the acquired knowledge, and the pursuit of quick professional realization. This means that the conventional training methods should either be modified or replaced with new methods that would meet these requirements. Such a new method is the gamification – an educational approach to learning by using video game design and game elements. Its goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement through capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning. This paper investigates some of the most popular types of computer games whose logical structures can be used to develop training games. Gamification is compared with the case-study approach in terms of automated computing, student feedback throughout the training process, changes that may be made in the course of the game to create new situations to which trainees are required to respond, achievement rate feedback, gradual increase of the game difficulty level by setting increasingly difficult tasks. The comparison clearly outlines the advantages of the new approach, viz. greater learners’ enjoyment of the learning content, improved engagement and more active participation in the learning process. The paper presents six models of computer games that can be used for training in the field of business planning in both secondary and higher schools (forecasting a company's market share, organizing production at minimal cost, profit maximization, risk mitigation, sales and output planning, and optimization of return on equity.) Each game is described in terms of the input data that should be provided to the participants at the beginning of the game, parameters that will be changed in the course of the game, restrictive conditions, and the role of the player/trainee.

Media publishers that have commonly relied on profits from advertisements and content sales to fund their operations are not only content providers (manufacturers) to media aggregator platforms (retailers) but are also competing service providers (rival retailers) in the digital video supply chain. Different from a traditional media supply chain, they can easily operate their own direct distribution channels in the Internet era. In the digital video supply chain, it is not clear whether commercialization of the direct distribution channel would be beneficial for the media publisher because it would decrease profits from advertisements. The choice about commercialization should be investigated thoroughly because it is closely related to the media publishers’ sustainability as a public medium in a digital environment. In this study, we analyze the impacts of commercializing the direct distribution channel based on a game-theoretic approach. Specifically, we compare the profits of a media publisher with and without the commercialization of the channel from analyses of sequentially defined games. Our results show that media publishers prefer to use a free service on their direct channel if the content they provide is not highly valued. They can also choose not to provide their content to the media aggregator with a paid service.

Prosumption can be described as an involvement of customers in the process of production. Customers obtain certain benefits related to increasing the degree of customization of the product or service. On the other hand, prosumption minimizes the costs associated with the purchase and/or use of products by consumers by undertaking of certain activities traditionally performed by the company. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of creating and modifying computer game content by players as an act of prosumerism. Player used a game as primary materials to create some game elements or even producing a completely new one. They make unpaid work on game modification, called by its practitioners as “game modding”. Game modding is a process of changing, adding or removing game code that alters the way the game is played. This process includes many different actions, such as creating characters, houses and gardens in The Sims, changing the appearance of the residents, creating virtual buildings and landscapes in Second Life. Players build their own virtual environment. Creators gather in modding communities in which they sharing created content, advice each other’s, cooperate with other creators. Cooperation facilitates some platforms like Steam, various online forums or video sharing sites like Youtube. Besides players, also companies can take advantages from users’ creativity. They obtain information’s about consumer preferences which can be used e.g. in advertising or future product design. The modding community is a valuable source of innovation and recruitment for the game industry. Game modds can expand period of time when the game is played and consecutively receive high sales revenue. Presented approach is based on literature review.

This paper measures the impact of vertically integrated and exclusive software on industry structure and welfare in the sixth-generation of the US video game industry (2000–2005). I specify and estimate a dynamic model of both consumer demand for hardware and software products, and software demand for hardware platforms. I use estimates to simulate market outcomes had platforms been unable to own or contract exclusively with software. Driven by increased software compatibility, hardware and software sales would have increased by 7 percent and 58 percent and consumer welfare by $1.5 billion. Gains would be realized only by the incumbent, suggesting exclusivity favored the entrant platforms. (JEL D12, L13, L22, L63, L86)

The purpose of this mixed-methods case study is to examine the performance of the Nintendo brand during the eighth generation of home video game consoles and to assess whether the low sales of the Wii U can be attributed to a paradox in the relationship between the brand image of Nintendo’s first-party software and the perceived quality of Nintendo consoles. The results demonstrated that while the brand image of Nintendo’s first-party software does have a positive relationship with the perceived quality of Nintendo’s consoles, this relationship did not lead to a higher degree of consumer utility for the Wii U console. Despite this, Nintendo’s perceived quality and brand image remained higher than their competitors, reinforcing that positive brand equity can act as a defense mechanism from underperforming products.

This study uniquely employs a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) technique to account for complex relationships in consumption. The fsQCA technique assumes that relationships are based on a set–subset relationship. This assumption is fundamental when decision-makers are affected by information asymmetry and are, thus, required to jointly evaluate the credibility and reliability of a range of external signals. This issue also affects consumers in markets for cultural goods, where the quality of products is not known with certainty in advance of the purchase decision. Our study uses fsQCA to establish the effect of different quality signals on consumption in the US market for video game software. Our results show that reviews from professional critics alongside brand extension and multi-platform release strategies act as signals of product quality and, therefore, lead to high sales performance.

Platform and complementary products configure platform-based markets. This study focuses on the genres of complementary products in a platform-based market. We examine differences in the influences of mediating factors on the evolutionary mechanisms of genres, based on different diffusion strategies in the Japanese video game sector: Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. This study shows that a rapid platform diffusion strategy generates bandwagon effects in the evolution of genres, and, in turn, the excessive evolution of various genres negatively influences the sales distribution of software in the platform-based market, leading to a rapid decline of the platform. Additionally, this rapid decline results in an evolutionary failure of genres at a later stage in the platform’s lifecycle. Thus, we imply that a rapid platform expansion strategy may cause a rapid decline of the platform-based market and may exclude innovations based on undeveloped genres of complementary products.

This article studies the process of spreading generations of industrial products in the competitive market and assessing the influence of the characteristics of generations of products and destabilizing factors on the volume of their sales. The level of innovation and competitiveness of generations is used as characteristics, their definition and mathematical formalization are given. The study uses the generalized model of F. Bass, the provisions of the concept of “multi-product competition” by R. Peterson and V. Mahajan, and the concept of the va­riability of consumer behavior of different generations by T. Islam and N. Mead. A model of the spreading of generations of industrial products of competing brands in the duopole market is obtained, taking into account destabilizing factors. Based on this model, equations are constructed that establish the relationship between the shares of consumers of competing generations of pro­ducts. The statistical data on the spreading of generations of video game consoles from Sony and Microsoft in the global and regional markets serve as a basis for approbation. To identify the parameters of the model and determine the presence and closeness of the relationship, correlation-regression analysis and the least squares method are used. These results demonstrate a high level of correlation between the sales volume of each console generation and the characteristics of the console generations. It was found that with an increase in the influence exerted by a competitor, the cumulative market share of the considered generation of the product decreases, and with an increase in the level of innovation of the generation of the product, its level of competitiveness increases. The obtained results of processing the predicted and actual data on the spread of generations demonstrate a significant influence of destabilizing factors on the process of spreading generations. The theo­retical significance of the work consists in the development of a model for the distribution of generations of industrial products for a particular case with a duapole market structure. The practical significance lies in obtaining the calculated values of the link between the sales volume of each generation of consoles and their characteristics.

This article synthesizes the work of video game theorists such as Gonzalo Frasca (2003), Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman (2003), Ian Bogost (2008), and Steven E. Jones (2008) in order to build on academic and interdisciplinary discussions of play and its effect on PC- or console-based video games. Examples are used to elucidate the potentially problematic categories of “paidic” and “ludic” games, as well as to explore further the ways in which uninhibited play, “metagaming,” and the inevitable influence of socio-cultural factors gradually transform—and become codified within—the landscape of digital games. Finally, the article offers Mikhail Bakhtin’s notions of opposing “centripetal” and “centrifugal” forces as analytical tools according to which the connections between in-game activities and out-of-game social and cultural contexts can be usefully examined by future critics.

The aim of this study is to determine the characteristics of the referees who have an important place in the football world where great developments are experienced day by day. Football has grown incredibly and globalized in recent years. Many sports clubs and leagues constitute a large sector that extends far beyond the national community to international audiences. This global growth has enabled the expansion of financial resources, especially in the professional market sector. This development of football and clubs also affected the referee process. Now audiences, athletes and club managers expect the referees to show management that they are making less mistakes, making the right decisions, being fair, and preventing sports injuries from occurring. The referees are persons who are assigned to competitions by national and international federations that have the authority to administer the competition on the basis of rules. In many parts of the world, fans, athletes, coaches are often complaints about the judges’ prejudice against the teams and their inadequacies. Referee decisions are very important in terms of a team winning the championship, falling league and competing in Europe. It is increasing day by day to criticize the judges ‘behavior and decisions in the competition, especially since the clubs’ ever-growing incomes and sales of TV broadcast rights are expressed in millions of dollars. In particular, the monitoring of the game field with many cameras and evolving video technology is closely examining the actions of the referees and the players in the closest distance and the number of repetitions too intensely. Referee also is an athlete. Hakem has to be nearest to the game, run as well as the players, have the mind open, and have to make the correct definition. The aim of this study is to explain the mental suitcase of the referees, which is a new definition in the referee literature and which includes the mental processes of the referees before, during, and after the competition.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the marketing literature and practice by examining the relationship between evaluations of past editions in a series and the success of a sequel. Design/methodology/approach – A set of hypotheses was developed, guided by the theory of reasoned action, that state under what conditions past edition evaluations are more strongly related to sequel success. Data obtained from video game aggregator Web sites are used to test the hypotheses by means of a two-stage model estimation. Findings – Past evaluations of previous editions are related to sequel success. High variability among evaluations of past editions seems to be a negative weighting factor regarding the impact that past evaluations have on sequel buying. The relationship between consumer evaluations of past editions and sales of the sequel is more positive if there is a large community of users and if the product is consumed socially. Research limitations/implications – This study pertains to the strategic marketing of sequentially released products and provides new insight into whether and how past evaluations carry over from past editions in the series to the latest sequel. Practical implications – This study helps marketing managers to better manage sequels and use evaluations of earlier editions to assess the potential of a sequel. Originality/value – The paper explores the carry-over mechanism between earlier editions of a product and later sequels by studying evaluations of earlier editions in the series. It highlights the impact of variability of evaluations in the series as well as other factors, including whether the product is consumed individually or socially.

Introduction: The active video games (AVGs) emerge in order to enhance the participation of physical activity (PA) in sedentary people. However, it has been seen that the practice is associated with the development of many lesions. Objectives: To present a review of the major injuries reported during and/or after the session with active video games. Method: The procedure of search of the literature was composed by two researchers independently (RJ) and (JL), in databases: Bireme®, PubMed®, Scopus® and Web of Knowledge®, between the years 2006 (year of creation and sales of Nintendo Wii) to 2014, only in the english language. Results: Initially identified 664 articles. However, after the selection criteria thirteen papers were selected and analyzed, all were performed with the console Nintendo Wii. Moreover, it can be noted that the games presented a framework of injury with the degree of light to vigorous. Being the major injuries around the shoulder joint and knee. Conclusion: The sports games especially Wii tennis and Wii bowling are the ones generated under higher incidence of injuries with the practice of active video games.

Performance feedback research addresses how firms respond to performance that diverges from their aspirations. Whereas the majority of research in this vein involves financial performance, we apply this framework to product quality performance, arguing that when performance diverges either below or above aspirations, firms will pursue a slower subsequent product introduction rate, either to identify the cause of the underperformance or to incorporate the successful product characteristics in the case of overperformance. We also investigate whether our predictions hold when two boundary conditions are applied. Since product quality aspirations are derived from the “reputations for quality” of the firm and its peers, we argue that the stability of these reputations will amplify the delaying effects of below- and above-aspiration performance. Consistent with research on firm responses to financial performance, we also predict that greater sales revenues relative to sales aspirations will attenuate the delaying effects of aspiration-relative performance divergence. Our analysis of 1,332 video games released by 48 publishers from 2006 to 2009 is largely consistent with these predictions.

Mobile phones are getting more sophisticated from year to year, and there are many features that have the latest in these cellphones. Mobile phones have the fastest network today with fourth generation technology so it's not slow to watch videos, play games, study online, and so on. Mobile phones sold have variations of Android and Iphone Operating System. The sale of the cellphones is through mall counters, roadside counters, and street vendor counters. Cellphone sales counters still use tables, cell phone holders, brochures to promote cellphones, and others seem boring, there must be something unique to attract customers' attention. This study aims to develop innovation in selling cellphones that are unique and different from other cellphone stores. The research method uses Deterministic Finite State Automata on the Vending Machine. State Diagram design to define features, main view design, and purchase flow. The results of the study using Deterministic Finite State Automata in the Vending Machine design make it easier for buyers to make purchases of cellphones independently and have their own uniqueness to attract customers' attention

Nowadays, more and more people can enjoy fast internet access that can be used for various activities such as browsing, shopping online, video calls, playing games and so on. Businesses are also utilizing this very rapid increase in internet technology. They sell products and services through the internet with various attractive offers and competing with each other to increase their sales. One strategy that can be done to get more sales is through the method of personalizing services for customers. The personalization aspect in e-tourism has been predicted to increase. Customers who are making valuable data at every stage of their journey are making a challenge for travel companies to collect and link these data points to improve their customer experience. Learning the customer behaviour can be very significant for Online Travel Agent. Because collecting millions of search results through their services and provide a smart travel experience, Online Travel Agent in Indonesia must use Big Data and Cloud technology alignment to win the competition in the market. The entire data lifecycle must be simple because of the needs of users to keep batch ingesting a lot of data likes once in an hour. Streaming analytics has grown over the past few years, it has become one of the most critical components of most of the businesses. We proposed Online Travel Agent (OTA) for Tourism System Using Big Data and Cloud.

Aim. We analyze temporal dynamics of entertainment industry including literature,music, fi lms and video games, introducing possible analogies between them. We providea framework for further explanation based on the economic concepts as revenue, organizationstructure and marketing goals in these creative industries for different technologicaleras.Methods. Initially, accurate data collected for time series of weekly record sales areanalyzed from statistical point of view (e.g. networks of artists, record labels and producers).This method may be extended to other parts of entertainment industry in search ofanalogies, under the infl uence of technological revolutions.Results. We provide the statistical properties of the mass art entertainment industry(including value of the markets, seasonality, products life-cycles) and interactions betweenvarious kinds of entertainment (e.g. fi lms might be infl uenced by literature with a delay).We are able to distinguish predigital, digital and postdigital eras.Conclusions. There are many ways of describing and measuring the impact of selectedentertainment industries with the most important as literature, music, fi lms and videogames. However, universal analogies may explain objective properties of entertainmentindustry in general.

El terrorismo, en todas sus manifestaciones, afecta a todos. El uso de Internet para promover fines terroristas va más allá de las fronteras nacionales, lo que amplifica el efecto potencial sobre las víctimas. Las nuevas tecnologías han creado un nuevo campo de batalla, creando unos nuevos retos a los que enfrentarse. En el ciberespacio, las respuestas que han dado las autoridades nacionales e internacionales han sido diferentes, teniendo especial protagonismo las políticas antiterroristas, infiltración y monitorización por parte de los servicios de inteligencia, de actividades y comunicaciones con objeto de prevenir acciones terroristas y recabar pruebas que puedan ser utilizadas judicialmente, y contraterroristas, mediante la creación de mandos especializados como el español Mando Conjunto de Ciberdefensa. La promoción de la retórica extremista, que fomenta los actos de violencia, también es una tendencia común en toda la gama, cada vez mayor, de plataformas basadas en Internet que hospedan contenido generado por los usuarios. Contenidos que antes podrían haber sido distribuidos a un público relativamente limitado, en persona o a través de medios físicos como discos compactos -(CD)- y discos de video digital -(DVD), han ido pasando cada vez más hacia Internet. Los contenidos pueden distribuirse ahora usando una amplia gama de herramientas, tales como sitios web especiales, salas virtuales de charla y foros, revistas en línea, plataformas de redes sociales, como Twitter y Facebook, y sitios web populares de videos y de intercambio de ficheros, como You-Tube y Rapidshare, respectivamente. El uso de los servicios de indización, como los buscadores de Internet, también hace que sea más fácil descubrir y obtener contenido relacionado con el terrorismo. El anonimato relativo que ofrece Internet a los terroristas para promover sus causas o facilitar sus atentados, sumados a complejas cuestiones relacionadas con la ubicación, retención, incautación y presentación de los datos relacionados con Internet, hacen que la cooperación internacional eficaz y oportuna entre los organismos encargados de hacer cumplir la ley y los servicios de inteligencia, sea un factor cada vez más importante para el éxito de la investigación y el enjuiciamiento de muchos casos de terrorismo.

Marketers of digital content such as books, news, video, music, and mobile games often provide free samples of the content for consumers to try out before buying the product or signing up for subscription. Similarly, firms selling software (such as software as a service), and cloud-based services may provide free limited-version products or a free-trial period for the service. In this article, the authors focus on how firms should design such free samples to maximize their revenue. They examine in an analytical setting how quality and other design parameters of the sample affect profit generated by the product or service. They then test the normative implications in the application context of a book publisher that provides free samples for the books it sells online. Using a field experiment, the authors vary the design parameters of the sample and, based on the demand estimates, provide recommendations for the firm on the optimal design of the sample. They find that, rather than being substitutes, free samples of the entire content can be very effective in increasing revenues. Furthermore, they find that higher-quality samples have a greater impact on the sales of popular content. This has important implications for freemium and free-trial business models.

The features of book distribution systems in different countries of the world are investigated. The role of book clubs and book chains in the way of a book to its reader is revealed. The leading role of the state support for book publishing is outlined. Factors of state support for book publishing and book distribution, such as creating reading development programs, facilitating the opening of new bookstores, organizing book fairs, exhibitions, festivals and other events to support the book, establishing literary prizes and competitions, replenishing library funds, protecting copyright, have been identified. Possibilities of introduction of experience of leading countries of the world (in particular Canada) in support of book publishing and book distribution industry, such as granting of preferential credits, influence on book pricing, introduction of a "fixed" price during book realization, are investigated. The media habits of the inhabitants of different countries of the world have been researched, it has been found out how much time a person spends watching TV programs, listening to music on the radio, reading. Although in the modern world, residents are spending less and less time on the book, preferring other types of entertainment and leisure, the books are no less printable, book publishing remains a large business, valued at $ 151 billion and generating more than cinema, magazines, video games and music. In an effort to survive, book publishers are united in media conglomerates, most of their profits are from book sales. The readers' preferences been investigated. The competitiveness of paper and e-books has been investigated too. The advantages of paper books over e-books have been proved. Research shows that e-books are growing in popularity, but growth has slowed slightly since 2016. It is emphasized that paper books are the basis of reader's attention and demand.

Este trabalho detalha o processo produtivo de um produto jornalístico para tablets-iPad no formato Folio voltado para a Educação. A concepção envolve apuração, checagem de informações, redação, editoração e demais etapas do trabalho do Jornalista, mas pensado para ser aplicado de forma didática em sala de aula, para um público-alvo de ensino fundamental, de 12 a 14 anos. A partir do software Adobe Indesign e as ferramentas gratuitas Adobe para publicação e distribuição de documentos na nuvem, cria-se um modo simples, rápido, barato e de fácil atualização para professores trabalharem com os estudantes em salas de aula de qualquer lugar com acesso à internet. O formato Folio permite adicionar um visual atrativo e possibilidades de interação como jogos, botões de navegação, vídeos, galerias de imagens e áudios para despertar a curiosidade diante de assuntos que devem ser trabalhados como parte do currículo escolar, mas não precisam estar limitados ao espaço do livro didático. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Jornalismo digital; tablet; dispositivos móveis; educomunicação. ABSTRACT This paper details the production process of a journalistic product for tablet-iPad Folio format in facing education. The design involves counting, checking information, writing, publishing and other stages of the work of the journalist, but thought to be applied in a didactic way in the classroom for an elementary school audience of 12 to 14 years. From Adobe Indesign software and free Adobe tools for publication and distribution of documents in the cloud, you create a simple, fast, cheap and easy to update for teachers working with students in classrooms from anywhere with internet access. The Folio format allows you to add a visual attraction and possibilities of interaction as games, navigation buttons, videos, galleries of images and audios to arouse curiosity on matters that should be worked out as part of the school curriculum, but need not be limited to the space of the textbook. KEYWORDS: Digital journalism; Tablet; mobile devices; Educommunication. RESUMEN Este trabajo detalla el proceso de fabricación de un producto periodístico para tabletas iPad Folio formato centrado en la educación. El diseño implica la verificación, comprobación de información, escritura, publicación y otras etapas de la obra de la periodista, pero pensado para ser aplicado en el aula de enseñanza, a un público objetivo de la escuela primaria, de 12 a 14 años. Adobe Indesign software y herramientas gratuitas de Adobe para la publicación y distribución de documentos en la nube, se crea un simple, rápido, barato y fácil de actualización para profesores que trabajan con estudiantes en las clases desde cualquier lugar con acceso a internet. El formato de Folio le permite añadir un atractivo visual y posibilidades de interacción como botones de navegación, videos, juegos, galerías de imágenes y audios para despertar la curiosidad en asuntos que deben elaborarse como parte del currículum escolar, pero no necesita ser limitado al espacio del libro de texto. PALABRAS CLAVE: Periodismo digital; Tableta; dispositivos móviles; EduComunicación.

Abstract Purpose This study aims to examine how piracy via peer-to-peer (P2P) network affects sales of original version in the video game industry. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted an online questionnaire survey in 2009 with a focus on 9970 users of portable video game platforms, and collected information of how familiar respondents were with techniques for downloading pirated video games via P2P network and how this knowledge affected their purchase behavior of original video games. Findings First, 38% of the respondents know how to download pirated video games via P2P network. Younger male respondents with greater enthusiasm for video games are exposed to greater opportunities to learn to pirate. Second, different respondents employ different channels to learn about piracy. Third, 95% of the respondents who knew how to pirate did not download any pirated video game. Once involved in piracy, jobless respondents with less enthusiasm for video games who were informed about piracy by their friends tend to download pirated video games more intensively. Fourth, there is no significantly negative relationship between the number of pirated video games respondents downloaded and the number of original video games they purchased. Fifth, respondents who downloaded pirated video games also purchased original video games of which pirated version they have downloaded. Originality/value This study clarified that heavy pirates are also heavy buyers not only at the aggregate level, but also at the individual level, and interpreted the results from the viewpoint of peculiarities of video games as a cultural product, making piracy harmless to sales of original version.

The exploration of the potential link between aggression and violent video game play has been extended to violent video game play as a precursor to violent crime. If violent video game play does increase aggression in players, that does not translate into real-world violence or violent crime. There is no single criminogenic risk factor that causes someone to commit violent criminal acts, so the idea that violent video game play causes players to commit a crime, through desensitization or otherwise, is not plausible. Therefore, this paper discusses if violent video game play is a contributing factor for an individual to participate in violent crime. The conclusion is that violent video game play and violent crime exist in a negative correlation to one another. Crime data compared to video game sales, implying higher video game play rates, shows a decrease in property and violent crime in areas where violent video game play is increased. This outcome may be explained by more time spent in the home playing video games via Routine Activities Theory as well as the presence of a catharsis effect. Since violent video game play contributes to lower crime rates, this may produce lower social costs for society as well as a heightened feeling of safety in impacted areas. Future research in this area includes violent video game play and violent crime studies conducted with a broader range of participants with various demographics, as well as the long-term effects of violent video game play on players.

This project evaluates the current state accessibility of video games, specifically in terms of designing for disability. We evaluate 50 games chosen for their sales data, critical reception, awards won, and other criteria to examine the widest possible sample of the most prominent games released in 2019. This approach to selecting games allows for identifying design trends as they emerge from the most widely played or influential games. The results highlight design pitfalls and innovations regarding accessibility in four key areas: auditory, visual, motor, and difficulty. As a feed-forward project, the aim is not simply to catalog what games include which accessibility features, a nearly impossible feat considering how varied the design features are, depending on the game. This report also attempts to point to future directions for how games can continue to innovate in accessibility.

Purpose This study aims to distinguish between the indispensable (software) versus discretionary (accessories) complementary products to a platform. It investigates the impact of accessories on increasing the perceived value and sales of a base platform. In particular, the role of two distinct characteristics of accessories – innovativeness and structural nonalignability – in driving the sales of the base platform. Design/methodology/approach Combining sales data from the US video gaming industry with primary data on the above two aspects of accessories, this study quantifies the effect of accessories portfolio on the sales of three brands of video gaming platforms. Findings A distinct network externality arises from accessories for video gaming platforms, above and beyond the effects of game titles. Importantly, the average level of innovativeness and nonalignability of the accessories portfolio, as well as the frequency of introduction of highly innovative and/or nonalignable accessories positively impact the sales of the platform. Research limitations/implications This research seeks to address the gap in the innovation literature on the role of discretionary complementary products (i.e. accessories) on platform sales. Future research should examine this in other platform contexts as well. Practical implications Managers of platform-mediated products should give due consideration to accessories, as an important driver of the sales of the platforms. Product managers can leverage the advantage of innovative and nonalignable accessories to enhance consumer demand for the platform. Originality/value This study is the first to conceptualize and empirically verify the network externality arising from accessories, a heretofore much neglected component of platform-based markets.

With virtual reality (VR) video game users beginning to see beta advertisements within game play, this conceptual article adds a needed digital and interactive marketing research foundation to the new construct of VR in-game advertising (IGA) activation. New consumer VR technology continues to disrupt traditional media as a $7.7 billion USD industry, that is expected to reach $57.55 billion by 2027. As such, marketing researchers must continue to evolve and understand the interdisciplinary VR research evolution as many VR users are likely to view IGA as intrusive. IGA and VR are not new constructs, but IGA within VR is unique as VR consumers have not yet experienced VR IGA intrusion. This article utilizes a sport marketing focus to provide an industry specific set of examples for the reader, however this article can be applied to broader fields including communications and interactive marketing. The main contributions of this article are 2-fold. First the development of a VR In-Game Advertising Congruity Framework is developed through a review of the literature and application to VR IGA in the topical areas of congruity of the IGA, interactivity of the IGA, intrusiveness of the IGA, realism of the experience, telepresence, brand awareness, and attitude toward the IGA. Secondly, a proper VR context definition of telepresence is provided through review of the literature that takes into account the interaction of a VR participant. This article aims to aid marketers in making informed IGA development decisions through strategic choice, via a centralized VR IGA congruity framework, that not only enhances brand awareness, but leaves participants with a favorable attitude toward the IGA to increase sales activation.

Platform markets involve indirect network effects as two or more sides of a market interact through an intermediary platform. Many platform markets consist of both a platform device and corresponding software. In such markets, new software introductions influence incumbent software sales. New entrants may directly cannibalize incumbents. However, entrants may also create an indirect halo impact by attracting new platform adopters, who then purchase incumbent software. To measure performance holistically, this article introduces a method to quantify both indirect and direct paths and determine which effect dominates and when. The authors identify relevant moderators from the sensations–familiarity framework and conduct empirical tests with data from the video game industry (1995–2019). Results show that the direct impact often results in cannibalization which generally increases when the entrant is a superstar or part of a franchise. For the indirect halo impact, superstar entrants significantly increase platform adoption, which can help all incumbents. Combining the direct and indirect impacts, only new software that is both a superstar and part of a franchise increases platform adoption sufficiently to overcome direct cannibalization and achieve a net positive effect on incumbent software; all other types of entrants have a neutral or negative overall effect.

ICT (Information Communication Technology) development has already changed many aspects of our life. One of the most successful industries in using ICT as a means for development of new products as well as marketing and sales activities, is the entertainment industry. The games industry is developing rapidly and has penetrated every layer of society. In 1998 video and electronic game revenues reached USD 5.5bn in North American markets alone. The annual increase has been approximately 25% during a number of years.The success of ICT based entertainment products depends to a high degree on the penetration of PCs and Internet connections. Many governments all over the world have strategies and programs in order to reduce the digital divide and to offer all citizens Internet access. In the not so distant future Internet access will be as natural as water, electricity, radio or telephone.Time is more and more becoming an important variable for market segmentation. Everybody has 24 hours per day and night at his or her disposal. However, the perception of time varies. Some feel they have too much time and they are time-rich. Some feel that they have too little time and they are time-poor.Traditionally, time-rich people were also money-rich, but the big majority was both time-poor and money-poor. This is completely turned upside down in the Information society. Nowadays people are equally divided between time-rich and money-poor, and time-poor and money-rich. Both time-rich and time-poor need entertainment and are potential consumers of entertainment especially games as e-services but in different ways.This is a conceptual paper and its purpose is to investigate the importance of the division on time-rich and time-poor for the entertainment industry and practical implications with a special focus on computer games as products and e-services.

Reward-based crowdfunding has enabled entrepreneurs to interact with consumers even before product launches. However, this market persistently suffers from a high failure rate; that is, entrepreneurs fail to launch and deliver their products as promised. We investigate the extent to which this high failure rate is because of information distortion—entrepreneurs have uncertainty about consumers’ evaluation of the new products. We model the product launch decisions of different types of entrepreneurs who raise funds through preselling on reward-based crowdfunding platforms and subsequently decide whether to continue with the product launch. To do so, we collect structured and unstructured data from Kickstarter’s digital video game category and classify attributes using supervised learning methods. We develop and estimate an integrated model of crowdfunding demand and entrepreneurs’ product launch decisions. We find that the information entrepreneurs gather from crowdfunding sales has sizable impacts on the product launch decisions of entrepreneurs with low managerial capital or new to the crowdfunding platform. Our counterfactual simulations suggest that platform policy regulating overfunded projects can reduce the product launch failure rate by about 13%. This paper was accepted by Matthew Shum, marketing.

A common criticism of the rhythm video games genre — including series like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, is that playing musical simulation games is a waste of time when you could be playing an actual guitar and learning a real skill. A more serious criticism of games cultures draws attention to the degree of e-waste they produce. E-waste or electronic waste includes mobiles phones, computers, televisions and other electronic devices, containing toxic chemicals and metals whose landfill, recycling and salvaging all produce distinct environmental and social problems. The e-waste produced by games like Guitar Hero is obvious in the regular flow of merchandise transforming computer and video games stores into simulation music stores, filled with replica guitars, drum kits, microphones and other products whose half-lives are short and whose obsolescence is anticipated in the annual cycles of consumption and disposal. This paper explores the connection between e-waste and obsolescence in the games industry, and argues for the further consideration of consumers as part of the solution to the problem of e-waste. It uses a case study of the PC digital distribution software platform, Steam, to suggest that the digital distribution of games may offer an alternative model to market driven software and hardware obsolescence, and more generally, that such software platforms might be a place to support cultures of consumption that delay rather than promote hardware obsolescence and its inevitability as e-waste. The question is whether there exists a potential for digital distribution to be a means of not only eliminating the need to physically transport commodities (its current 'green' benefit), but also for supporting consumer practices that further reduce e-waste. The games industry relies on a rapid production and innovation cycle, one that actively enforces hardware obsolescence. Current video game consoles, including the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, are the seventh generation of home gaming consoles to appear within forty years, and each generation is accompanied by an immense international transportation of games hardware, software (in various storage formats) and peripherals. Obsolescence also occurs at the software or content level and is significant because the games industry as a creative industry is dependent on the extensive management of multiple intellectual properties. The computing and video games software industry operates a close partnership with the hardware industry, and as such, software obsolescence directly contributes to hardware obsolescence. The obsolescence of content and the redundancy of the methods of policing its scarcity in the marketplace has been accelerated and altered by the processes of disintermediation with a range of outcomes (Flew). The music industry is perhaps the most advanced in terms of disintermediation with digital distribution at the center of the conflict between the legitimate and unauthorised access to intellectual property. This points to one issue with the hypothesis that digital distribution can lead to a reduction in hardware obsolescence, as the marketplace leader and key online distributor of music, Apple, is also the major producer of new media technologies and devices that are the paragon of stylistic obsolescence. Stylistic obsolescence, in which fashion changes products across seasons of consumption, has long been observed as the dominant form of scaled industrial innovation (Slade). Stylistic obsolescence is differentiated from mechanical or technological obsolescence as the deliberate supersedence of products by more advanced designs, better production techniques and other minor innovations. The line between the stylistic and technological obsolescence is not always clear, especially as reduced durability has become a powerful market strategy (Fitzpatrick). This occurs where the design of technologies is subsumed within the discourses of manufacturing, consumption and the logic of planned obsolescence in which the product or parts are intended to fail, degrade or under perform over time. It is especially the case with signature new media technologies such as laptop computers, mobile phones and portable games devices. Gamers are as guilty as other consumer groups in contributing to e-waste as participants in the industry's cycles of planned obsolescence, but some of them complicate discussions over the future of obsolescence and e-waste. Many gamers actively work to forestall the obsolescence of their games: they invest time in the play of older games (“retrogaming”) they donate labor and creative energy to the production of user-generated content as a means of sustaining involvement in gaming communities; and they produce entirely new game experiences for other users, based on existing software and hardware modifications known as 'mods'. With Guitar Hero and other 'rhythm' games it would be easy to argue that the hardware components of this genre have only one future: as waste. Alternatively, we could consider the actual lifespan of these objects (including their impact as e-waste) and the roles they play in the performances and practices of communities of gamers. For example, the Elmo Guitar Hero controller mod, the Tesla coil Guitar Hero controller interface, the Rock Band Speak n' Spellbinder mashup, the multiple and almost sacrilegious Fender guitar hero mods, the Guitar Hero Portable Turntable Mod and MAKE magazine's Trumpet Hero all indicate a significant diversity of user innovation, community formation and individual investment in the post-retail life of computer and video game hardware. Obsolescence is not just a problem for the games industry but for the computing and electronics industries more broadly as direct contributors to the social and environmental cost of electrical waste and obsolete electrical equipment. Planned obsolescence has long been the experience of gamers and computer users, as the basis of a utopian mythology of upgrades (Dovey and Kennedy). For PC users the upgrade pathway is traversed by the consumption of further hardware and software post initial purchase in a cycle of endless consumption, acquisition and waste (as older parts are replaced and eventually discarded). The accumulation and disposal of these cultural artefacts does not devalue or accrue in space or time at the same rate (Straw) and many users will persist for years, gradually upgrading and delaying obsolescence and even perpetuate the circulation of older cultural commodities. Flea markets and secondhand fairs are popular sites for the purchase of new, recent, old, and recycled computer hardware, and peripherals. Such practices and parallel markets support the strategies of 'making do' described by De Certeau, but they also continue the cycle of upgrade and obsolescence, and they are still consumed as part of the promise of the 'new', and the desire of a purchase that will finally 'fix' the users' computer in a state of completion (29). The planned obsolescence of new media technologies is common, but its success is mixed; for example, support for Microsoft's operating system Windows XP was officially withdrawn in April 2009 (Robinson), but due to the popularity in low cost PC 'netbooks' outfitted with an optimised XP operating system and a less than enthusiastic response to the 'next generation' Windows Vista, XP continues to be popular. Digital Distribution: A Solution? Gamers may be able to reduce the accumulation of e-waste by supporting the disintermediation of the games retail sector by means of online distribution. Disintermediation is the establishment of a direct relationship between the creators of content and their consumers through products and services offered by content producers (Flew 201). The move to digital distribution has already begun to reduce the need to physically handle commodities, but this currently signals only further support of planned, stylistic and technological obsolescence, increasing the rate at which the commodities for recording, storing, distributing and exhibiting digital content become e-waste. Digital distribution is sometimes overlooked as a potential means for promoting communities of user practice dedicated to e-waste reduction, at the same time it is actively employed to reduce the potential for the unregulated appropriation of content and restrict post-purchase sales through Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies. Distributors like Amazon.com continue to pursue commercial opportunities in linking the user to digital distribution of content via exclusive hardware and software technologies. The Amazon e-book reader, the Kindle, operates via a proprietary mobile network using a commercially run version of the wireless 3G protocols. The e-book reader is heavily encrypted with Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies and exclusive digital book formats designed to enforce current copyright restrictions and eliminate second-hand sales, lending, and further post-purchase distribution. The success of this mode of distribution is connected to Amazon's ability to tap both the mainstream market and the consumer demand for the less-than-popular; those books, movies, music and television series that may not have been 'hits' at the time of release. The desire to revisit forgotten niches, such as B-sides, comics, books, and older video games, suggests Chris Anderson, linked with so-called “long tail” economics. Recently Webb has queried the economic impact of the Long Tail as a business strategy, but does not deny the underlying dynamics, which suggest that content does not obsolesce in any straightforward way. Niche markets for older content are nourished by participatory cultures and Web 2.0 style online services. A good example of the Long Tail phenomenon is the recent case of the 1971 book A Lion Called Christian, by Anthony Burke and John Rendall, republished after the author's film of a visit to a resettled Christian in Africa was popularised on YouTube in 2008. Anderson's Long Tail theory suggests that over time a large number of items, each with unique rather than mass histories, will be subsumed as part of a larger community of consumers, including fans, collectors and everyday users with a long term interest in their use and preservation. If digital distribution platforms can reduce e-waste, they can perhaps be fostered by to ensuring digital consumers have access to morally and ethically aware consumer decisions, but also that they enjoy traditional consumer freedoms, such as the right to sell on and change or modify their property. For it is not only the fixation on the 'next generation' that contributes to obsolescence, but also technologies like DRM systems that discourage second hand sales and restrict modification. The legislative upgrades, patches and amendments to copyright law that have attempted to maintain the law's effectiveness in competing with peer-to-peer networks have supported DRM and other intellectual property enforcement technologies, despite the difficulties that owners of intellectual property have encountered with the effectiveness of DRM systems (Moore, Creative). The games industry continues to experiment with DRM, however, this industry also stands out as one of the few to have significantly incorporated the user within the official modes of production (Moore, Commonising). Is the games industry capable (or willing) of supporting a digital delivery system that attempts to minimise or even reverse software and hardware obsolescence? We can try to answer this question by looking in detail at the biggest digital distributor of PC games, Steam. Steam Figure 1: The Steam Application user interface retail section Steam is a digital distribution system designed for the Microsoft Windows operating system and operated by American video game development company and publisher, Valve Corporation. Steam combines online games retail, DRM technologies and internet-based distribution services with social networking and multiplayer features (in-game voice and text chat, user profiles, etc) and direct support for major games publishers, independent producers, and communities of user-contributors (modders). Steam, like the iTunes games store, Xbox Live and other digital distributors, provides consumers with direct digital downloads of new, recent and classic titles that can be accessed remotely by the user from any (internet equipped) location. Steam was first packaged with the physical distribution of Half Life 2 in 2004, and the platform's eventual popularity is tied to the success of that game franchise. Steam was not an optional component of the game's installation and many gamers protested in various online forums, while the platform was treated with suspicion by the global PC games press. It did not help that Steam was at launch everything that gamers take objection to: a persistent and initially 'buggy' piece of software that sits in the PC's operating system and occupies limited memory resources at the cost of hardware performance. Regular updates to the Steam software platform introduced social network features just as mainstream sites like MySpace and Facebook were emerging, and its popularity has undergone rapid subsequent growth. Steam now eclipses competitors with more than 20 million user accounts (Leahy) and Valve Corporation makes it publicly known that Steam collects large amounts of data about its users. This information is available via the public player profile in the community section of the Steam application. It includes the average number of hours the user plays per week, and can even indicate the difficulty the user has in navigating game obstacles. Valve reports on the number of users on Steam every two hours via its web site, with a population on average between one and two million simultaneous users (Valve, Steam). We know these users’ hardware profiles because Valve Corporation makes the results of its surveillance public knowledge via the Steam Hardware Survey. Valve’s hardware survey itself conceptualises obsolescence in two ways. First, it uses the results to define the 'cutting edge' of PC technologies and publishing the standards of its own high end production hardware on the companies blog. Second, the effect of the Survey is to subsequently define obsolescent hardware: for example, in the Survey results for April 2009, we can see that the slight majority of users maintain computers with two central processing units while a significant proportion (almost one third) of users still maintained much older PCs with a single CPU. Both effects of the Survey appear to be well understood by Valve: the Steam Hardware Survey automatically collects information about the community's computer hardware configurations and presents an aggregate picture of the stats on our web site. The survey helps us make better engineering and gameplay decisions, because it makes sure we're targeting machines our customers actually use, rather than measuring only against the hardware we've got in the office. We often get asked about the configuration of the machines we build around the office to do both game and Steam development. We also tend to turn over machines in the office pretty rapidly, at roughly every 18 months. (Valve, Team Fortress) Valve’s support of older hardware might counter perceptions that older PCs have no use and begins to reverse decades of opinion regarding planned and stylistic obsolescence in the PC hardware and software industries. Equally significant to the extension of the lives of older PCs is Steam's support for mods and its promotion of user generated content. By providing software for mod creation and distribution, Steam maximises what Postigo calls the development potential of fan-programmers. One of the 'payoffs' in the information/access exchange for the user with Steam is the degree to which Valve's End-User Licence Agreement (EULA) permits individuals and communities of 'modders' to appropriate its proprietary game content for use in the creation of new games and games materials for redistribution via Steam. These mods extend the play of the older games, by requiring their purchase via Steam in order for the individual user to participate in the modded experience. If Steam is able to encourage this kind of appropriation and community support for older content, then the potential exists for it to support cultures of consumption and practice of use that collaboratively maintain, extend, and prolong the life and use of games. Further, Steam incorporates the insights of “long tail” economics in a purely digital distribution model, in which the obsolescence of 'non-hit' game titles can be dramatically overturned. Published in November 2007, Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) by Epic Games, was unappreciated in a market saturated with games in the first-person shooter genre. Epic republished UT3 on Steam 18 months later, making the game available to play for free for one weekend, followed by discounted access to new content. The 2000 per cent increase in players over the game's 'free' trial weekend, has translated into enough sales of the game for Epic to no longer consider the release a commercial failure: It’s an incredible precedent to set: making a game a success almost 18 months after a poor launch. It’s something that could only have happened now, and with a system like Steam...Something that silently updates a purchase with patches and extra content automatically, so you don’t have to make the decision to seek out some exciting new feature: it’s just there anyway. Something that, if you don’t already own it, advertises that game to you at an agreeably reduced price whenever it loads. Something that enjoys a vast community who are in turn plugged into a sea of smaller relevant communities. It’s incredibly sinister. It’s also incredibly exciting... (Meer) Clearly concerns exist about Steam's user privacy policy, but this also invites us to the think about the economic relationship between gamers and games companies as it is reconfigured through the private contractual relationship established by the EULA which accompanies the digital distribution model. The games industry has established contractual and licensing arrangements with its consumer base in order to support and reincorporate emerging trends in user generated cultures and other cultural formations within its official modes of production (Moore, "Commonising"). When we consider that Valve gets to tax sales of its virtual goods and can further sell the information farmed from its users to hardware manufacturers, it is reasonable to consider the relationship between the corporation and its gamers as exploitative. Gabe Newell, the Valve co-founder and managing director, conversely believes that people are willing to give up personal information if they feel it is being used to get better services (Leahy). If that sentiment is correct then consumers may be willing to further trade for services that can reduce obsolescence and begin to address the problems of e-waste from the ground up. Conclusion Clearly, there is a potential for digital distribution to be a means of not only eliminating the need to physically transport commodities but also supporting consumer practices that further reduce e-waste. For an industry where only a small proportion of the games made break even, the successful relaunch of older games content indicates Steam's capacity to ameliorate software obsolescence. Digital distribution extends the use of commercially released games by providing disintermediated access to older and user-generated content. For Valve, this occurs within a network of exchange as access to user-generated content, social networking services, and support for the organisation and coordination of communities of gamers is traded for user-information and repeat business. Evidence for whether this will actively translate to an equivalent decrease in the obsolescence of game hardware might be observed with indicators like the Steam Hardware Survey in the future. The degree of potential offered by digital distribution is disrupted by a range of technical, commercial and legal hurdles, primary of which is the deployment of DRM, as part of a range of techniques designed to limit consumer behaviour post purchase. While intervention in the form of legislation and radical change to the insidious nature of electronics production is crucial in order to achieve long term reduction in e-waste, the user is currently considered only in terms of 'ethical' consumption and ultimately divested of responsibility through participation in corporate, state and civil recycling and e-waste management operations. The message is either 'careful what you purchase' or 'careful how you throw it away' and, like DRM, ignores the connections between product, producer and user and the consumer support for environmentally, ethically and socially positive production, distribrution, disposal and recycling. This article, has adopted a different strategy, one that sees digital distribution platforms like Steam, as capable, if not currently active, in supporting community practices that should be seriously considered in conjunction with a range of approaches to the challenge of obsolescence and e-waste. 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