The Current State Of The Video Gaming Industry

Throughout its history, the video gaming industry has experienced up and downs that have shaped its character. It was in the 1970s when everything began with the first home gaming console. Success came almost immediately. The following decade would see it reaching its golden age as far as arcade games. Overall revenue was in the billions of dollars. Technologies continued to advance in the 90’s with CD’s, mobile gaming, 3D graphics, and the rise of the Internet all changing the game. In the new millennium, social networks provided a lucrative platform for casual games. Mobile has outpaced console gaming. The Web brought more forms of entertainment like online casinos where people can get a Euro palace casino bonus just by signing up.

Business Trends

While people are familiar with the biggest industry players, a substantial part of the sector is composed of small independent developers. Many of these spring-up quickly and fade just as fast. There is incredible volatility as audience preference can change in a snap. Everyone is always looking for the latest distraction. Some are able to achieve tremendous success and evolve to hang on in this competitive environment. Recently, there is a movement from newer companies to do both development and publishing instead of depending on the big publishers for support. Crowdfunding and other methods are used to obtain the necessary money for the operations.

The Increasing Cost of Development

In the past, it didn't take much to make a game. It was possible for a person to create one themselves. This is still true for the simple mobile apps and the like, but the bigger titles require an entire team.

Nowadays it is more common to see large groups working on projects. The increased complexity makes it impossible for a single individual to finish everything in a reasonable period. These development teams are composed of programmers, artists, writers, and many more.

Games that used to take months to finish now have 3-year timelines. These are hyper realistic 3D games that require thousands of hours to develop, even with the help of game engines. The expectations of people are also increasing so there is always pressure to keep innovating.

Salaries for projects like these usually range from $50,000 and $120,000. This constitutes a significant investment from publishers, so some have branched out to different countries where talent is abundant but labor cost is cheaper in order to stay within budget.

The Economic Impact of the Industry

Video gaming is a large industry that is currently valued at more than $93 billion. The former chairman of Nintendo is Japan's third richest person. Call of Duty alone was able to generate $650 million in sales in the first five days after the release of Black Ops. This is higher than the gross of any game, movie or book before it.