Videogames 2 - Videogames are a Specialised Industry

Videogames as a Specialised Industry

The main questions about the topic of videogames is an industry question or audience question.

Videogames are specialised because:

• Interactivity - You can press buttons to do different actions, this gives control to the audience. 
• There is a large expenditure of specialised resources, especially in major games with large offices and computers with employees who are highly skilled at their work can be expensive to find people.
• Videogames have higher RRP compared with other forms of media products like films and TV shows.
• Videogames are longer in length, games are usually over 10hrs and can be over hundreds of hours, this may explain why they are expensive.
• There is an assumption of dedicated of 'core' audiences and also negative stereotypes, nice audience.
• Videogames are further specialised as they usually use specific hardware like console games, however these games can be multiplatform.

How videogames are developed and marketed:

• Videogames are produced on computers by coding, each studio have their own way of producing a videogame.
• Most videogames begin with concept art in pre-production, it is then taken into design and the game is roughly designed from character, setting, narrative, etc. 
• In production, the videogame will be coded, this usually requires a specialised person in that field. The game is then tested, usually looking for bugs and issues, then it is re-coded. The videogame then creates an alpha version/build, usually with bugs and the beta builds is the almost perfected version with few problems however this version can be leaked. In post-production, particularly with digital convergence, the game is easily patched and maintained when downloading updates. After made, there needs to be marketing and promotion like the Electronic Entertainment Expo, where the game can be shown, there are game trailers that can cause conversation among fans.
• However in indie games, it is done much more differently as it is lower budget and can be marketed in conventions but they are usually much smaller.

E3 - Electronic Entertainment Expo

• It is a trade event for the videogame industry in which many developers, publishers and hardware and accessory manifacturers advertise games and merch to retailers and press.
• It is considered to be the largest gaming-expo of the year.
• Only people with connections to the industry are allowed however recently the conferences have allowed general admissions and with streaming sites, some have broadcasted which fans can watch.
• However there were some issues in 2019 of data being leaked from the ESA site of information about atendees.