Electronic Arts : A Leading Global Interactive Entertainment Software Company Essay

Nintendo has dominated the console market with their first handheld gaming device called Gameboy, having sold over 150 million units, and continuing to create more handheld ones. Games have also become easily accessible on smart phones, following the trend of portability. According to research conducted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 43% of gamers play games on their smartphones, and 25% play on a wireless device. Video game consoles have drastically improved since the 1970s, having become lighter, faster, and more interactive. All of these improvements were made possible by the advancements in hardware.

The network effects in the video game industry are derived from the console system that is sold to consumers. If a company is able to increase penetration in this arena, though at-cost/ below-cost pricing or pull created through the development of desirable content, it can potentially lock in the added value of the video games sold for the system. Which is to say, the console locks-in the network effects in the industry and the games serve to reap the profits. The video games, however, may present something of a challenge in that they can be somewhat easily replicated by competitors. Nintendo used an encrypted chip system to reduce this possibility.

Activision Pre-merger: Activision was a leading developer and publisher of video game software for consoles. Its top titles include Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, and Call of Duty, all of which have multiple games in their series. The company itself was moderately vertically integrated, with ownership of some development, publishing, and distribution activities. Its strengths lie in its growth strategies; partnerships allowed the firm to exclusive rights to certain brands. Other strengths include leading game titles for multiple platforms, hit sequels that are less capital intensive to develop, a stringent “green light” process for quality control, ability for online game play, and divisions in over a dozen countries. Weaknesses include lack of existence in foreign markets, lack of PC software development techniques, and the fact that licensed content is vulnerable to competition. The opportunities available are sequels to already established titles, growth in industry, and future partnerships based on their good reputation with previous alliances. Threats include competition from other software developers like THQ and Take-Two, the cyclical nature of releases, and the reliance on game consoles for use of software.

Video games are an ever-growing franchise that is constantly undergoing change. Ever since the dawn of video games, new consoles, games, developers, and teams have come together, fallen apart, triumphed, and failed. What is it that has allowed some to thrive where others failed? Several different factors have changed and influenced the world of gaming, including the history that is continuously being written, the people who have built the games behind the scenes, and, of course, the actual video games themselves. Numerous video games have been more successful than others, but identifying what components set the successful apart from the unsuccessful is something definitely worth observing.

Now that technological companies all over the world have set most of the seven billion individuals in the world with a computer, smartphone or tablet, it is time for better software to use with them. This is where games come in. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello stated in a recent interview that PC gaming is the ‘fastest growing platform’. This shows the growing interest in gaming bearing in mind that gamers also have the means to play on. The term ‘gamer’ refers to an individual that plays a game or games, typically a participant in a computer or role playing game. The gaming community has grown so wide in the last few years because of the shift from single player games to multiplayer games on the internet

Mattel needs to develop strategies and solutions for the increasingly popular digital delivery of entertainment. Children are spending more and more time online and playing videogames. The major growth in electronic games is console gaming (Xbox, Playstation, Wii) and, so far, Mattel has not made progress in the right direction in this field.

Adcom games should allocate all costs from the Product Development Support Center, as well as the project team labor, to the games that are developed. I believe that all costs from the Product Development Support Center (PDSC) should be allocated in order to properly match expenses with revenues. Costs should be allocated on the basis of lines of code written. For example, 16% of all code written pertained to “Secret Agent”. Because 16% of work product went towards this game, 16% of all costs incurred by the PDSC should be allocated to this game as well. Labor costs pertaining to this game should be added to the allocated PDSC

Activision develops, distributes, and publishes deeply immersive interactive entertainment for gaming consoles, mobile and tablet platforms, and PCs, including blockbuster franchises

Threat of Substitutes: The main substitute for a video game console would be a personal computer. They can both be used for playing different types of video games and be used for entertainment. The threat of this substitute edging out video game consoles is very low, because they are not completely similar. If anything, video game consoles are edging out personal computers in the gaming industry. The threat of substitutes in the video game is not very high. In 2008, this was not a very strong force in the video game industry.

Future growth expectations for the Video Games industry have been significantly moderated, as the picture of the market for gaming on mobile platforms becomes clearer. Since mobile games are sold at much lower prices compared to traditional console and PC games, their rise may foretell a slowdown of the video game market in the United States. While the recent launch of the next generation video game consoles is expected to rekindle interest in the more expensive console gaming market, the rise of low-cost, low-margin mobile gaming market may weigh on the overall gaming market. Consequently, this is expected to pull revenue downward as consumers pay less per hour for gaming entertainment. Revenue is expected to reach $47.4 billion in 2019 as a result of the expanding population and an increased percentage of Americans

1972, the year the first home video game system, named Odyssey, is released by Magnavox. This main games featured on this system were a light gun game and a tennis game. During the same time, a game by the name of Pong is a success in the public. It is because people wanted to play Pong in the comfort of their own homes, that they bought Odyssey. The system only sold around 100,000 units since Magnavox only sold the game system from their own stores, making consumers believe that the game system would only work on Magnavox TV sets.

Sometimes it seems like the computer game industry is dying, crushed to death by its own bulk. Every year more and more gaming companies get gobbled up into huge conglomerates like Electronic Arts, companies that mostly put out trash that is technically and visually impressive, but devoid of concept and content. However, there are some small gaming companies that buck the trend. While mostly just small groups of programmers and artists, some are huge unions of fans who, irritated with the dropping quality of computer games, have decided to use the power of the internet to get together and to produce games tailor-made to their personal preferences.

Video games in today’s society have become very popular. Every new game that comes out to be played and conquered by the average gamer has its own category. There are several other types of genres of games that people play but because of big hit titles and the new popular game systems like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, people become more interested in a game that is well known than a game they have never even heard of before. Every game has its own storyline and own way of how it unfolds and where the game ends according to game play. Some of the biggest reasons people sway to certain genres of games is because of the game titles released under them and the demand of people who want a good game under that category. The top three most

Another alternative is to have an IT system that is integrated into the billing system. It can have several advantages and resolve key issues effecting billing accuracy and timeliness. An important flaw that an IT system will help address is efficiency in the billing process. Currently, billing work can only be submitted once a week and reports take too long to download onto a PM’s computer. With an integrated system, bill processing time is reduced through automation. Since changes in estimates are common, there can be a lot of paperwork submissions that have to go through the proper channels. Automated entry saves time, money, and can be more accurate. Management is able to update POs quickly and easily. Some customers might not be happy with the current system of receiving POs because they quickly become obsolete. With

Herman et all (2002) points out that history of video games begins from 1971 year, when Nutting association released 1500 machines with Spacewar video game. At the beginning it was too difficult to control the game process and playing machines had huge dimensions. But by the time with new technologies they become more compact and easier to play. According to the information given by Herman et all (2002), the period between the years of 1978-1981 is called ‘golden age’ of video game industry. In this period the arcade games ‘Football’ and ‘Space Invaders’ were released. All previously known sale records were broken by these two games with nearly equal wages. In this time interval great breakthroughs in the field of graphics were achieved,