Video Games: Patterns of ownership and control

Video Games: Patterns of Ownership and Control

Patterns and Models of Ownership

• The video game industry is dominated by a small number of major corporations such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, a pattern known as oligopoly.
• These companies gain control through owning Intellectual Property rights for popular game franchises, providing them with exclusive power to publish and benefit from these games.
• Indie game developers often struggle to compete in a market ruled by these giants; however, platforms such as Steam have allowed for more visibility and accessibility for smaller development companies.
• The globalisation of the game industry has allowed companies to distribute and market games across the world, resulting in shared global cultural icons and narratives.

Factors Influencing Control

• Market control by big corporations is influenced by several factors including financial power, access to massive distribution networks, and capacity to invest in new technologies and innovation.
• The rise of digital distribution platforms has significantly transformed the market structure, allowing for less middle-men involvement, but has also raised issues of digital piracy and copyright.
• Technological convergence enhances control by large companies who produce both hardware and software, such as Sony’s PlayStation and its associated games.
• Control is also exerted through regulatory policies and age-ratings systems, which can influence the content and accessibility of games.

Impacts of Ownership and Control

• The patterns of ownership and control can influence the video games’ content, affecting representation, narratives, and the ideologies they convey.
• The focus on profit-making often leads to sequels and spin-offs of successful games, which can limit innovation and diversity within the industry.
• The control held by large corporations often leads to exclusive deals and practices that limit competition, such as exclusive availability of certain games on specific platforms.
• Despite this, the rise of digital distribution and indie games has enabled some counter to this dominant corporate voice, allowing for a range of perspectives and innovation in game narratives and play styles.

Video Games: Key Takeaways

• Understand the dynamic world of video game ownership which is largely dominated by major corporations that significantly influence the content and narratives of these games.
• Scrutinise the factors impacting control, such as drastic technological advancements and a shift towards digital distribution, and how this affects the market structure.
• Reflect on the implications that this control has on game diversity, narrative, and cultural influence, acknowledging both the constraints and evolving counter-narratives due to emerging platforms and methodologies.
• Recognising video games not just as a recreational activity but as a significant aspect of global culture and media consumption, which affect and reflect societal ideologies and norms.