Legal and Regulatory – what legal or regulatory trends or changes coming that will impact IT/gaming sectors
Ex: Legal might include changes in government, new laws in discussion, issues that the public is not bothered by
1) The UK is making a consumer rights measures to allow people to claim for compensation for faulty digital games, music and movies. Because all games when bought are not owned by the customer they just have the right to use the game. If they cannot use the game they want it to be able to be returned. What they are proposing is: Compensation if a game bought online is repeatedly inaccessible or it keeps freezing A replacement or money back for apps which continually freeze or have constant bugs.
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Except its just hand and finger motions that let you scroll web pages, zoom in the map and photos, sign documents and play a first person shooter games.
Competition
Ex. Competition changes, one company buying another company – mergers and acquisitions
1) Microsoft has bought Skype for $8.5 billion. Microsoft’s own software already has considerable overlap with Skype. Windows Live Messenger offers free instant messaging, voice-chat and video-chat.
2) Sony bought a cloud streaming company called Gaikai for $380 million. People see it as Sony preparing for the possibility of cloud entertainment which include music, movies, and games.
Social forces/changes
Ex. Changes in the makeup of society, age, cultural changes, immigration, etc.
1) The age group of people who use computers and phones has switched from just adults to all age groups over time. Making everyone more accessible and a bigger range of markets to be explored.
2) Social media is getting bigger with Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and Whatsapp. More places to go to stay connected. Also to stay up to date they always stay updated like how Facebook has added hash tags to their site because that’s what people want.
Global
Ex. From a global perspective, what changes are happening that could affect gaming now or in the future?
1) China is lifting its ban on video games most likely at the end of 2013. Making a new market place for places like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to go. Only hitch is all
The Entertainment Software Association have fought to overturn the Brown case and similar laws involving the ban of violent video games (Video Software Dealers Ass 'n, et al. v. Schwarzenegger). The ESA won all of these previous cases based on the fact of the
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.
In the last 30 year the video game industry has vastly changed. From pixelated games to having 3D graphics. From going to the arcade and using a quarter for paying games to having a microphone to talk to friends from around the world. While there are many differences there are also many similarities.
Consumer protection also imposes additional costs onto a business since it is mandatory that they comply with these laws. If they do not comply they risk fines and ultimately being put out of business by a court of law. The Consumer Rights Act is now operating in place of the Sales of Goods, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations and the Supply of Goods and Services Act. The Consumer Rights Act was introduced in October 2015 to simplify, strengthen and make clearer an individual’s rights when acting as a consumer. Similarly to the Sale of Goods Act, under the Consumer Rights Act all products must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. Under the Consumer Rights Act individuals have a legal right to discard goods that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, and get a full refund. This right is limited to 30 days from the date the product is bought. After 30 days the consumer will not be legally entitled to a full refund if the item develops a fault. With digital products such as apps or games consumers can ask for the product to be repaired or replaced if it develops a fault. And if this isn't possible, individuals have the right to receive a price
To achieve a distinction, I will be exploring the future of the gaming industry on each of the various platforms.
Technology and computerization has taken over almost every major industry today. More people purchase their movie tickets through an application on their phone, do their Christmas shopping online, deposit checks by taking a picture on their phone. Some people can even earn their degree without stepping their foot into a classroom, obtaining it completely online. With all of these advances in so many different
With social media, such as “Twitter” or “Instagram,” it keeps everyone informed and help them stay up to date with the events in the world they are living in. Some might suggest that we have other ways of keeping up to date, newspapers for example, but by the time the paper arrives at your doorsteps, the news is already dated. As Carr has mentioned “ The Net provides a high-speed system for delivering responses and rewards.” It keeps you informed with events that are currently happening at that exact moment. Looking up information is easier and more convenient as well.
First, a good target market would be the “Baby Boomer” generation. This generation’s age demographic falls into the 45-64 year range which makes up about 30% of internet usage in the United States. With the rise of smart phone technology, even the Baby Boomers are catching on to the trend. Roughly about 15% of smart phone users are over 55 years old and with the
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.
Besides, customers were rapidly shifting for computers to tablets and smartphone making the business of developing apps for the industry lucrative.
The legal issues faced by the video game industry include trademarks, copyrights, licensing, online ownership, revenue recognition and demands of
Gaming is becoming mainstream and it’s generating a lot of buzz. It’s not just that we like to spend more time playing games, gaming itself is becoming increasingly lucrative and competitive. This kind of rise in popularity is bound to mean one thing: changes in the industry. New gaming trends are popping up and they will change the future of gaming once more. What to expect?
This will have a major impact on Alphabet Games as it is constantly changing and therefore consumer demands change as a result as they want improved graphics and sound etc. This means that it can be costly for a small business such as Alphabet Games due to the fact that they are forced to keep up to date with modern technology for example Discs replaced video tapes and cassette tapes and may eventually become obsolete as more USB memory sticks are becoming cheap and readily available and used for downloading games, videos and music from the internet. As technology is changing the staff capabilities also change as it is new to them and therefore there might be a need for costly staff training to enable them to operate it efficiently.
PR, N. (2013, March 7). The US Video Game Industry Outlook to 2017 - Transition from Console to Online and Mobile Gaming. PR Newswire US.
In 2003 Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis created a VoIP service application named Skype. Microsoft owned Skype since 2011. Users can communicate with each other through P2P by voice and messaging. Video conferencing and file transferring are the important features of Skype. Making calls through Skype are free of cost whereas calls to landline and repairs are billed through user account.