Finished task 1
- 1. Task 1 Unit 13 Jake Thompson
- 2. Developers Games developers are involved in the creation and production of games for personal computers, games consoles, social/online games, arcade games, tablets, mobile phones and other hand held devices. Their work involves either design (including art and animation) or programming. Games development is a fast-moving, multi-billion pound industry. The making of a game from concept to finished product can take up to three years and involve teams of up to 200 professionals.
- 3. publishers A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. As with book publishers or publishers of DVD movies, video game publishers are responsible for their product's manufacturing and marketing, including market research and all aspects of advertising. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer (the publisher calls this external development) and sometimes by paying an internal staff of developers called a studio. The large video game publishers also distribute the games they publish, while some smaller publishers instead hire distribution companies (or larger video game publishers) to distribute the games they publish. Other functions usually performed by the publisher include deciding on and paying for any license that the game may utilize; paying for localization; layout, printing, and possibly the writing of the user manual; and the creation of graphic design elements such as the box design.
- 4. Console Manufacturers/First Party Publishers Console Manufacturers And First Party Publishers First Party Publishers are the companies that make the hardware, e.g. games consoles, that games are played on – specifically Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and, now that mobile phone based platforms are emerging, companies such as Nokia. These companies are the gatekeepers of the industry, as they decide whether or not to approve each game targeted for development on the irrespective console platforms. They have an immense amount of power and influence over what gets released and which titles get priority marketing. First Party Publishers provide support to developers and publishers working on their particular platforms
- 5. Distributionand Retail In the video game industry, digital distribution is the process of delivering video game content as digital information, without the exchange or purchase of new physical media. This process has existed since the early 1980s, but it was only with network advancements in bandwidth capabilities in the early 2000s that digital distribution became more prominent as a method of selling games. Currently, the process is dominated by online distribution over broadband internet. To facilitate the sale of games, various game companies have created their own platforms for digital distribution. These platforms, such as Steam, Origin, and Xbox Live Marketplace, provide centralized services to purchase and download digital content for either specific video game consoles or PCs. Some platforms may also serve as digital rights management systems, limiting the use of purchased items to one account.
- 6. Outsourcing Companies Video-game makers were beginning to deal with the complexity and cost of their operations by relying on outsourcing—by using both temporary workers in the United States…people in low-wage developing countries. Game Developer Research found in a 2008 survey that eighty-six per cent of game studios used outsourcing for at least one aspect of development. In 2009, Electronic Arts laid off more than twenty-six hundred employees; the C.E.O., John Riccitiello, said the company had over invested in internal development and vowed to increase focus on outsourcing. “The high-cost locations have gotten so far out of line that the best we can do is keep a core design team there, and use support in other places like Montreal or South Korea,” he told investors at a 2009 presentation.
- 7. Press and Media Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games. It is typically based on a core reveal/preview/review cycle. There has been a recent growth in online publications and blogs.