by
Binh Ton Le and Snow Khounborinh
The 3 Major Players in the Video Game Industry
Sony
Sony came into the video game hardware industry purely through luck.
This is because their introduction into the hardware industry left a bitter taste.
The Playstation One was originally designed as a hardware add-on for Nintendo’s then 16-bit
system, the Super Nintendo. Nintendo then scrapped the deal and went ahead with their newest
system Nintendo-64. Sony angered by this move introduced the Playstation One into the market,
thus marking their first foray into the video game world and led to the crowning of their current system the
Playstation 2 as the king of the video game console world.
Microsoft
Microsoft, is the new
comer to the hardware business. Its system is the XBox which was just launched in 2001.
It is still too early to determine Microsoft’s success as hardware company. While by no
means a failure, it has yet to achieve the success of Sony’s Playstation 2.
Nintendo
Out of the current three companies, Nintendo by far has the most experience in the industry.
While not wildly successful like Sony in the Playstation/Nintendo-64 era, Nintendo seem
to establish themselves a niche and rather than trying to rule the market they seem to be content
with their current position due to their many exclusive software titles and loyal fans. Nintendo
originally started in the industry with the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), followed by
the Super Nintendo, the Nintendo 64, and now the Nintendo Gamecube. While their Nintendo 64 lost in popularity
to Sony’s Playstation it was by no means a financial lost. Seemingly, the Gamecube will be in the same situation.
The Current State of the Market
If current trends continue the video game industry (hardware and software) is on pace
to out-gross the movie industry. Visit this site for more information.http://www.ceangal.com/gaming/statistics.html.
In the year of 2001 the industry grossed $6.35 billion
dollars and that figure is expected to increase for 2002. While previously assumed as a
predominately male and childish, the video game industry is starting to mature.
Roughly 60% of Americans, or 145 million people, report that they play video games.
Also, 43% of
the market are women and the average age of people playing games are 28 years old.
61% of
the video and computer game market are 18 and over. While originally a children’s industry,
the video game market has surely matured and soon will be taking on Hollywood for people’s
dollars and its standards.
More and more hardware consoles are moving away from being solely for playing video games.
In 1999 the Sega Dreamcast, now no longer in the market, was the first home video game console
to be able to go online. The Sony Playstation 2 and Microsoft XBox have only continued this
trend. The Playstation 2 is the first home console ever to support DVD content. This has only
broadened its appeal now that it is a part family entertainment set up. Why go for the pure
DVD player when one is able to get a Playstation 2, a home video game console and a DVD player
straight out of the box? The Xbox though took a step back and requires an extra piece of
hardware to play DVD content. Despite this its no wonder why 44% of U.S. households have
video games consoles compared to only 25% for DVD Players.
The Social Impact of Video Games
The first time that the video game
industry seriously came under fire was during the era of Mortal Kombat and the “lightgun”
games. “Lightgun” games are games in which players use a hardware peripheral to play the
game which resembles a gun. In 1993 Senate hearings were being made on the industry by
Senators Joseph Lieberman and Herbert Kohl.
What these hearings produced though is the Entertainment Software Ratings
Board which established a rating system for all video game software. The ratings vary for
different games so that one may be able to differentiate from a game suitable for everyone
to a violent game suitable for mature audience only. It is large, bold, and appears on every
video game cover. The Ratings are as follows: early childhood, kids to adult, everyone,
teen (ages thirteen and up), mature (ages seventeen and up), adults only (ages eightteen and up),
and rating pending.
Studies on the effects of video games on their players have for the most part showed that
video games have had little negative effects.Go to this link for more information http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/.
However there is a correlation between playing
video games and a slight increase in negative behavior after playing videogames. Another point
these studies make is the unrealistic world that the video game sets the player it such as one
without consequence or the killings were unjustified.
Do You Think Video Games Cause Violence? Visit this site to voice your opinion
The Cross Pollination
Video games are now becoming respected among many people these days. This is because video
games are no longer relegated to being perceived as a “children’s entertainment”. Video games
are now seen in movies, television, magazines, and toys. Many software titles have made the
transition from video game to the big screen. Among these titles are Double Dragon, Tomb Raider,
Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat with all titles having varying success. Recently there was
an article on Excite News, that ICM; a talent agency has developed a new division just to mine
the video market for possible new properties. Video games much like movies have to immerse the
player into that world so thus much thought must go into the plot, characters, amongst other
things.
It also works in reverse that movies and real life situations, such as sports, have made the
transition into the virtual world. There have been many video games that have been made into
movies most recently 
Lord of the Rings and Monsters Inc. There is a high demand because of the
visibility of the property. For the most part though because it costs so much money to purchase
the license to make the game, less money is spent on the production of the game thus equaling
a lower quality product. 
Still though these games make huge amounts of money because of the
license and unknowing customers who purchase solely on title. Almost all sports are represented
in video games. Most of these sports see an annual update. The two biggest sports game
produces are Electronic Arts and Sega. The mainstream sports see an annual update and these
sports are basketball, baseball, football,and hockey. Other niche sports though are
represented such as BMX racing, skate boarding, martial arts, soccer, and tennis.
Certain video game titles are so popular that there is such a demand the cross over into
for children. They include toys and televisions shows.
Where the Market is Headed
The current trend of the market is to just continue forward. With consoles now being able
to both play DVD content and be able to browse the internet and be available at a reasonable
price point there is no stopping this industry. Video game software is approaching Hollywood
standards in terms of overall package and immersing the player in its world except it’s
interactive. Video game consoles with each and every generation have been able to do more,
with the current three being able to play DVD content and having the ability to go online.
It seems as if video game consoles are being positioned to be the centerpiece of the
entertainment set up of a home.
Concerning the online aspect for home video game consoles it seems that the companies want
to set themselves to mimic the internet. There seems to be leaning to encourage huge
online communities where people will be able to meet and play. This is evident by the
start kit offered by both Sony and Microsoft for the online aspect of their consoles as
they both have headpieces so players potentionally playing on different coast may verbally
communicate.
References